STURGIS – Sturgis youth basketball players now have a new tool to help them improve their shot.

It’s called The Gun by Shoot-A-Way and was purchased with donations given by two groups and three businesses which included the Gus Forbes Memorial, DeTye Vet Supply, Pioneer Bank & Trust, Key City Chiropractic & Acupuncture, and the Scooper Basketball Club.

The $8,000 machine which was given in honor of Gus Forbes, a Sturgis youth who died in 2018 and loved sports. The Gun will be housed in the Sturgis Armory and will be loaned out to basketball teams during the off-season and for practices during the basketball season, said Sturgis Community Center Director Rod Heikes. 

“I really want to thank all those who donated. This was something on our wish list for a while,” Heikes said. “Sturgis Brown High School has one for the older kids, but the youth teams couldn’t access it. This one will stay at the Armory and can be reserved for youth teams.”

Coaches can call the Sturgis Community Center at 605-347-6513 and reserve the Shoot-A-Way for an hour or two. 

The goal of The Gun is to improve a basketball player’s shot. The shooting machine acts as an automatic rebounder, instantly rebounding a made or missed shot and giving a direct return pass for another shot.

The Gun also has a timing device so shooters can determine the distance and the speed of a return pass, thus creating situations where players can develop their shooting skills off the move and with game-like intensity. The Gun can fire up to 1,800 shots per hour and has an optional computerized scoreboard that counts and displays makes, total shots and shooting percentage.

“It does help kids become better shooters, and it’s also fun,” Heikes said. 

PHOTO CUTLINE: Youth basketball players will have a new tool – The Gun by Shoot-A-Way - to help them improve their basketball skills thanks to donations from two local groups and businesses. Those on hand for a demonstration of the new machine were from left, Lisa Katzenstein, City of Sturgis Director of Administrative Services, Rod Heikes, Sturgis Community Center Director, Brice Rock, Senior VP/Manager of Pioneer Bank & Trust Sturgis, Teresa LaRue Forbes, Gus Forbes mom and director of the Gus Forbes Memorial, Jarred Fries, president of the Scooper Basketball Club, Jerrid Goebel and Al Gunderson, of Key City Chiropractic and Acupuncture. Courtesy photo