The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT April 30, 2011

For Dalton Elementary School fourth-grader Dylan Bengtson, a road that started in his P.E. class in January has taken him from Coeur d'Alene to Springfield, Mass., will conclude today.

Bengtson, 9, will represent the Coeur d'Alene Elks Lodge in the Elks National Hoop Shoot competition today in Springfield.

Of the 3 million kids between the ages of 9 and 14, he'll be among the 72 national finalists to compete today. He is one of 12 finalists in the boys 9-10 age group.

"It's really been amazing," said his father, Mark Bengtson. "This is more than we could have imagined when we started this thing. It's really escalated into something bigger than we could have expected. The Elks group has been off-the-chart fantastic. The experience they give these kids is amazing."

Live results of today's event can be found at www.elks.org/hoopshoot/

AFTER ARRIVING in Massachusetts on Thursday afternoon, Bengtson added that Dylan may be getting a little nervous.

"He's really been embarrassed by his success," Mark Bengtson said. "He's a really humble kid. He's super sweet and mild off the court - but he's like a caged lion that likes to step up to compete. It's an admirable trait."

Since the journey from the school hoop shoot at Dalton Elementary to today, Dylan Bengtson said he has enjoyed every second.

"I've liked it a lot," Dylan Bengtson said. "It's been a lot of fun."

When it comes to getting inside the arena for the finals - Bengtson already has a strategy.

"I'm just going to think of it as another practice," Dylan Bengtson said. "I don't really get nervous."

Bengtson spends an hour a day shooting baskets in the gym at Dalton.

“Nothing affects him,” said Coeur d’Alene Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot director Rick Alexander. “I don’t think he’ll be nervous at all. Most kids know what’s going on around them. He comes to school with his family and shoots hoops for an hour. Shooting baskets is a normal thing for him.”

Alexander has served as the Coeur d’Alene Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot Director for the past five years.

The last person from this area to make it to the national competition was Bryan Klingaman of Rathdrum, who went on to finish second 16 years ago.

BENGTSON WILL be accompanied by Idaho Hoop Shoot director Keith Mills and Regional Director Harley Birchmier.

“We’re all really excited for him,” Alexander said. “He’s captivated the attention of our entire lodge. We’ve had a caravan of people following him around. We were kind of blessed with having three go to regionals.”

Alexander added that Bengtson’s cool-as-ice demeanor could take him far this weekend.

“Sometimes I question if he’s even alive,” Alexander said. “He’s much more calm that I am.”

During regionals, at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., Alexander was keeping score for Bengtson and knew heading into the final round of 15 shots, Bengtson could still miss three and win.

Shooting from four feet inside the foul line (which is 15 feet from the basket), Bengtson missed three of the first seven shots.

“His last four shots, my hands were shaking so bad I couldn’t even write,” Alexander said.

Bengtson went on to make his next eight shots, finishing 22 out of 25 to advance.

Alexander has since dubbed Bengtson the “Ice Man.”

He was so calm that when receiving his trophy for the regional title — they had to beg him to smile.

“He had a half smile on his face,” Alexander said. “It was like he was just holding a trophy. In 12 years of coaching, I’ve never seen anybody so matter-of-fact about what they do. I’m hoping it’s a good thing for him — he sinks 25 of 25 and brings back a trophy that’s bigger than he is. That trophy is five feet tall — and he ain’t.”

They arrived in Hartford on Thursday and took a tour of the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. Dylan’s photo will be among the other participants from this weekend’s event in the Elks Hoop Shoot wing.

“We saw the Hall of Fame as we were riding in on the bus,” Mark Bengtson said. “It’s an awesome spectacle.”

Bengtson, who said his favorite basketball player is Dwyane Wade, said that he’s really enjoyed the competition throughout.

That is, if you couldn’t tell.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached via telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or by e-mail at [email protected].