Marissa Muffie

Marissa Muffie stood at the foul line, basketball poised on her fingertips her knees slightly bent. Eying up the target she sprung upwards tossing the ball in a graceful movement towards the hoop. The ball bounced once off the backboard before skimming the rim and than finally sinking into the basket. This, her first victory, was made at the Saltsburg Junior/Senior High School where she attends 7th grade. With 17 out of 25 baskets, she was able to move on to the next level of the National Hoop Shoot Free Throw Program, sponsored by the Elks Club.

The competition begins at the local level and from there only 10 shooters in each age/gender group move forward. Placing first on the home front, Marissa progressed to the Divisional competition, which was held at Homer-Center High School. There she made 20 out of 25 taking first place and moving on to State College for the finals. Marissa placed 6th in this event, making her one of the top 100 free throw shooters in her age group in the state.

Since her first days on the court in elementary school Marissa has stood out among her peers. She received her first trophy for MVP in 5th grade and has since added extensively to her collection. She also attends basketball camps in the summer such as the Dave Roman Shooting Camp and the Lady Lions Camp held at Penn State. Between basketball season and participating in camps, Marissa is involved in basketball year round.

Besides being on of the top in the state she is also one of the top in her class. She made distinguished honor roll this year (straight A’s) as well as high honor roll. Marissa participates in the accelerated reading program and in English gets well over 100% for her work because of all the extra credit she gets. She was awarded at school for incredible academic achievements.

Marissa is also very committed to the Girl Scout program and donating her time to community service. Beginning as a Brownie in Kindergarten, Marissa has worked her way up through the scouting program to the rank of Cadet. She has earned the Bronze award for community service; her troop being the first in the council to achieve the award. The community service projects she has done in the past consist of going to the cemetery and cleaning the graves, making wreathes for abandoned headstones, and planting flowers around the town. Her troop will also be helping out with Vacation Bible School this summer at the Saltsburg United Methodist church, where she attends. Marissa has also become a certified babysitter by attending nine hours of training through the American Red Cross.

To watch the video, go to http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1430