Dane Elkins

Dane Elkins
Dane Elkins with gold medals from National High School championship, 2017.
Personal information
National team United States USA
Born 1999 (age 18–19)
Residence Brentwood, California
Sport
Sport Racquetball
Coached by Cliff Swain

Dane Elkins (born 1999) is a professional racquetball player. He holds 21 major national junior racquetball championships (12 world outdoor racquetball championships, 6 USA National Junior Indoor Championships (including 4 titles at Jr. Olympics), and 3 USA National High School Championships). He is also the 2017 National Paddleball Association-(NPA) Junior's 18-and-under National Champion.[1] Elkins holds a black belt in taekwondo.

Elkins is the second person in USA Racquetball history, male or female, to win all three number one gold divisions (singles, doubles, and mixed) at the USA Racquetball National High School Championships, and was featured in the Los Angeles Times for his accomplishments.[2] Also, more recently (for the same distinction) in the May 28, 2017, issue of 'Sports Illustrated'.[3] His singles title earned him a spot on the 2017/18 USA Jr. National Racquetball Team.

Elkins is an eight-time member of the USA National Junior Racquetball Team (indoor and outdoor),[4] a six-time USA Racquetball "All American," a three-time USA Jr. Olympic "All American," a three-time USA Racquetball High School "All American," and a two-time USA National Singles Champion (Boys' Division, 14 and 18).[5] He is currently ranked 33rd on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT))[6] — the largest and best known professional racquetball tour.

Although still seeking his 1st Tier 1 win on the IRT - Elkins holds a staggeringly impressive USAR National Singles Ranking of 385.[7]

Early and personal life

Elkins is a member of University Synagogue in Los Angeles, California.[8][9] He lives in Brentwood, California. His father, Brett Elkins, is a world outdoor skills three-wall champion (2012), ranked IRT pro, and head of the World Outdoor Racquetball Hall of Fame.[10] His younger brother, Cody Elkins, in 2015 was ranked 2nd nationally in racquetball for boys 10-and-under,[11] finished 3rd in boys 10 and under at the 2014 Junior Olympics, and finished 2nd in boys mixed and boys 10 doubles in 2015.[12][13]

He attends Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, California.[12] In June 2016, Elkins received a black belt in martial arts from five-time world champion instructor Keith Hirabayashi Cooke (Keith Cooke). He plans to attend Santa Monica College.[14]

Racquetball

In 2011, Elkins won a full scholarship from the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) pro racquetball Network /USA Racquetball (USAR) team to attend the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Olympic Training Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2013

Dane with medals at USAR National Singles championships in Fullerton, CA, 2013
USAR National Singles Championship, 2013

In July 2013 at the 45th annual WOR Championships,[15] Elkins made the national outdoor team in singles and doubles.[16][17]

2014

At the 2014 Wilson Junior Olympics (indoor racquetball) in Denver, Colorado, Elkins won the gold medal in 14-and-under boys doubles with partner Ricardo Diaz. He also won the gold medal for 14-and-under mixed doubles with partner Atossa Rejaei.[18]

Elkins made the 2014 USA Junior National Team (indoor racquetball) and played at the World Championships in Cali, Colombia, representing Team USA in October 2014. The USA Jr. National Team finished third overall, receiving a bronze medal.[19] Elkins and partner Ricky Diaz, at the 2014 World Jr. Championships, lost in the quarterfinals in doubles (in a tiebreaker) to the team that silver-medaled.

Dane at USOC training center for Team USA training camp for racquetball with Junior National Team for its upcoming appearance at World Championships, Cali, Columbia, where the team took 3rd overall and Elkins 5th place in Doubles boys 14, July 2014.
USOC Training Center, 2014

In 2014, at the 47th annual USA Racquetball National Singles Championship (indoor) in Fullerton, California, Elkins won the gold medal in the boy's 14-and-under and boys 18-and-under (as a 14-year-old).[20] In July 2014 and August 2016, Elkins again attended the USOC Olympic Training Camp.[21]

Elkins won his first professional match in 2014 in Fresno, California, at age 15; he has now played several top 20 professional players and has placed in the finals, semifinals, and quarterfinals at several IRT pro racquetball tour events.[22][23][24]

2015

Since 2015, Elkins has served as a junior board member for the California-Nevada State Racquetball Association (CNRA). He and several local southern California players have raised several thousand dollars in CNRA fundraisers for Jr. Olympics and World Championships. Elkins is the founding member and original president (he now shares that title with high school doubles’ partner Jared Anwar) of the Palisades Charter High School Racquetball Team that represented California at the 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 USA National High School Championship held in Oregon (2014 and 2016) and Missouri (2015 and 2017).

2016

In 2016, Elkins won the Junior Olympic Nationals Championships in the boys' Gold 16 and under doubles, earning him the sport’s top honor again—a coveted spot on the USA Jr. National Racquetball (indoor) Team.

At the 2016 Junior National Championships, Elkins' longtime partner, Ricky Diaz, played on a fractured ankle in their semi and finals doubles championship victories to qualify them for the World Championships in November 2016 in San Luis Portosi, Mexico, and play for the 2016 USA Jr. National Team.

At the 2016 World Jr. Championships, Elkins had his best showing as a two-time quarter-finalist in singles and doubles (his USA team won two bronze medals - in overall and boys).[25] As a National Outdoor USA Team member, Elkins has achieved outdoor racquetball #1 world ranking (in singles and doubles 2011 and 2013) four times.[26][27]

He is now sponsored and coached at national pro/junior events by six-time #1 pro player/coach Cliff Swain.

2017

In March 2017, he became only the second player in US history to win the top singles (defeating Cayden Akins of Texas, 15-2, 15-2), doubles, and mixed doubles titles at the USA Racquetball National High School Championships, in St. Louis.[28][5] With those victories, he had won 21 major national championship junior titles.[28] He was ranked Number 35 on the International Racquetball Pro Tour, the highest ranking for anybody 17 years old or younger.[28] Later that month, he won the Boys 18s singles division.[29] He also won the gold medal in the 18-and-under mixed doubles division with Elena Dent.[30]

Features

Elkins was featured on the Palisadean Post Sports Page on June 28, 2016.[31] He was also featured, along with several other acclaimed athletes from the Pacific Palisades, in a December 24, 2015, article in the Palisadian-Post, "Top Athletes of the Year in 2015."[32]

In the Spring 2014 edition of USA Racquetball, Elkins contributed an article on the January 2014 California-Nevada junior racquetball championships.[33]

Elkins authored the article "2015 California-Nevada State Junior Racquetball Championships (Southern California)" published on the California-Nevada Racquetball website.[34] He also co-wrote the article, "California Divides with Awesome Results," in the Spring 2012 issue of USA Racquetball Magazine.[35]

Highlights

Elkins was interviewed by the Palisadian Post following the Junior World Championships held in Cali, Colombia. Elkins and his teammates brought home the Bronze Medal for Team USA.[36]

Elkins defeated Lucas Shoemaker at the 2015 Jr Olympics, boys 16 gold division.[37]

The 2016 National Olympic Junior Championships, boys 16 gold division doubles, featured their Championships match on USA Racquetball National Streaming. Elkins and Ricky Diaz defeated Mitch Turner (Oregon) and Julian Singh (California) to make the USA National Jr. Team.[38]

References

  1. ↑ 2017 National Paddleball Association National Doubles: http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=20235.
  2. ↑ "Palisades' Dane Elkins is one of the nation's top junior racquetball players," http://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-dane-elkins-20170306-story.html
  3. ↑ Sports Illustrated, May 28, 2017, "Faces in the Crowd."
  4. ↑ Official event record for boys 18 2015 WOR championship: http://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=13737
  5. 1 2 Rising Jrs player Dane Elkins displays ‘unlimited potential’ to be an IRT star | IRT Tour
  6. ↑ Current Rankings & IRT Ranking System, http://www.irt-tour.com/current-rankingspost/
  7. ↑ http://www.usaracquetballevents.com/profile-player.asp?UID=113601&matchHistoryType=Doubles
  8. ↑ https://unisyn.org/sites/unisyn.org/files/images/The%20Torch%20-%20April%2027,%202016.pdf
  9. ↑ UNITY & Jr. UNITY | University Synagogue
  10. ↑ WOR Hall of Fame.http://www.worldoutdoorracquetball.net/worhof.
  11. ↑ U.S. Racquetball Association Men's National Rankings (http://www.usaracquetballevents.com/rankings.asp?sortOptions=YES)
  12. 1 2 Dane Elkins, Pali High Freshman, wins 3 national/world racquetball tittles over the summer | Brentwood, CA Patch
  13. ↑ 2014 Wilson Junior Olympic Championships (http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=11902)
  14. ↑ Elkins Wins Mixed Doubles at Racquetball Junior Olympics - Palisadian Post
  15. ↑ "Dane Elkins, Pali High Freshman, wins 3 national/world racquetball titles over the summer," Brentwood Patch, August 08, 2013. http://brentwood.patch.com/groups/announcements/p/dane-elkins-pali-high-freshman-wins-3-nationalworld-racquetball-tittles-over-the-summer
  16. ↑ WOR 2011 National Team http://worldoutdoorracquetball.net/downloads/2010-2011%20WOR-national-team-seasonal-champions.pdf
  17. ↑ WOR 2013 National Team http://www.worldoutdoorracquetball.net/files/download/605
  18. ↑ 2014 Wilson Junior Olympics, 6/25/2014-6/29/2014, Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA. http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=11902
  19. ↑ Article, "Congratulations to the U.S. Junior National Team Members," June 30, 2014. http://www.californiaracquetball.org/
  20. ↑ Racquetball Tournament (5/21/2014 - 5/25/2014), 2014 National Singles Championships presented by Penn and Ektelon, location: The Meridian Sports Club, Fullerton, CA, USA. Racquetball Event News. http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=11901.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Results: 2016 Tournament of Terror
  23. ↑ 2016 Egg-Splat Open Racq Tournament & IRT Shootout & CPRT Shootout, 4/22/2016-4/24/2016, 360 Health Club, Reseda, CA, USA (ref. pro/open). http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=17263
  24. ↑ 2015 Bad Santa Racquetball Tournament Crunch Fitness, 12/11/2015-12/13/2015, Gym-Simi Valley, Simi Valley, CA, USA (ref. pro/open). http://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=16548
  25. ↑ Results of 2016 World Junior Championships: http://www.amafraweb.com.ar/juniors2016/
  26. ↑ World Outdoor Racquetball (WOR) 2011 rankings (page 97 singles, page 105 doubles) http://worldoutdoorracquetball.net/rankings
  27. ↑ WOR 2013 rankings (page 89 singles, page 102 doubles) http://worldoutdoorracquetball.net/rankings
  28. 1 2 3 Palisades' Dane Elkins is one of the nation's top junior racquetball players - LA Times
  29. ↑ Premium Access - Palisadian Post
  30. ↑ Seniors not acting their age as competitors
  31. ↑ "Elkins Earns Spot on National Racquetball Team," http://www.palipost.com/58487-2/
  32. ↑ "Top Athletes of the Year in 2015". Palisadian-Post, Steve Galluzzo, December 24, 2015.
  33. ↑ USA Racquetball Online, Spring 2014, page 8 (p. 10 in electronic count), "California State Junior Championships." http://online.publicationprinters.com/launch.aspx?eid=eaef202b-6431-4c3b-b2f0-96f4228f6d20.
  34. ↑ "2015 California-Nevada State Junior Racquetball Championships (Southern California)," California-Nevada Racquetball Website: http://www.californiaracquetball.org/.
  35. ↑ "California Divides with Awesome Results," Spring 2012, USA Racquetball Magazine.
  36. ↑ Dane Elkins interview in Palisadian Post re: Junior World Championships, Cali, Colombia. http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Racquetball/Features/2014/November/11/Dane-Elkins
  37. ↑ 2015 Jr Olympics, boys 16 gold division, featured match. http://livestream.com/usaracquetball/events/3981054/videos/91232267
  38. ↑ "2016 National Olympic Junior Championships," http://livestream.com/accounts/13069673/events/5605945/videos/127708815
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