Basketball skills run in the family for 10-year-old Dominique Garcia and her 8-year-old sister, Natalie.
On Dec. 19 in Los Angeles, the girls participated in the regional finals of the National Basketball Association’s youth skills competitions. Dominique won the NBA Fit Challenge—a series of six basketball-related exercises—while Natalie placed second in her age group in the Dribble, Dish, and Swish competition, an obstacle course involving shooting, dribbling, and passing.
By virtue of their performances, both girls received plaques, Clippers’ tickets, and T-shirts autographed by an NBA player.
“I was just thinking about doing my best and trying to do it hard and making my parents proud,” Dominique said. “It felt good winning. I was surprised and excited.”
The girls advanced to L.A. after winning NBA-sponsored skills competitions at Edwards Community Center in November. Parents Butch and Teresa signed the girls up for the events to teach them not to be afraid to try new things.
“We don’t push them. We just tell them to do their best, and they do their best when they’re relaxed and having fun,” Teresa said. “They get to meet a lot of different people and make friends at these competitions.”
Both girls, who play city league basketball and softball, have excelled at skills challenges in other sports. Dominique also won the city’s Punt, Pass, and Kick football competition and beat girls and boys to win the local Hit, Pitch, and Run baseball competition. She and Natalie also won the recent Elks “Hoop Shoot” free throw challenge and will be participating in the district finals in Goleta.
Dominique’s score in the Fit Challenge will be compared with other regional winners and the top two scores will go to Dallas for the NBA All-Star Game in February.
This article appears in Jan 7-14, 2010.
