Name Dane Elkins | ||
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Dane Elkins vs Jason Sauer
Dane Elkins (born 1999) is a professional racquetball player and a resident of Brentwood, California. 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. Dane holds a black belt in Taekwondo.
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Dane 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 he was featured in the LA Times for his accomplishments. [Also, more recently (for the same distinction) in the May 28, 2017, issue of Sports Illustrated.] 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), 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). He is currently ranked [33rd] on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT)) — the largest and best known professional racquetball tour.
Racquetball
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). As a National Outdoor USA Team member, Elkins has achieved outdoor racquetball #1 world ranking (in singles and doubles 2011 and 2013) four times.
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.
Elkins has made the 2014 USA Junior National Team (indoor racquetball) and played at the World Championships in Cali, Columbia, representing Team USA in October 2014. The USA Jr. National Team finished third overall, receiving a Bronze medal. 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.
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). 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. In July 2014 and August 2016, Elkins again attended the USOC Olympic Training Camp.
He is now sponsored and coached at national pro/junior events by six-time #1 pro player/coach Cliff Swain.
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).
In July 2013 at the 45th annual WOR Championships, Elkins made the national outdoor team in singles and doubles.
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.
Education and training
Dane attends Palisades Charter High School. In June 2016, Dane received a black belt in martial arts from five-time world champion instructor Keith Hirabayashi Cooke (Keith Cooke).
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. His younger brother, Cody Elkins, in 2015 was ranked 2nd nationally in racquetball for boys 10 and under, finished 3rd in boys 10 and under at the 2014 Junior Olympics, and finished 2nd in boys mixed and boys 10 doubles in 2015.
Features
Elkins was featured on the Palisadean Post Sports Page on June 28, 2016. 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."
In the Spring 2014 edition of USA Racquetball, Elkins contributed an article on the January 2014 California-Nevada junior racquetball championships.
Elkins authored the article 2015 California-Nevada State Junior Racquetball Championships (Southern California) published on the California-Nevada Racquetball Website. He also co-wrote the article, "California Divides with Awesome Results," in the Spring 2012 issue of USA Racquetball Magazine.
Highlights
Elkins was interviewed by the Palisadian Post following the recent Junior World Championships held in Cali, Colombia. Elkins and his teammates brought home the Bronze Medal for Team USA.
Elkins defeats Lucas Shoemaker at the 2015 Jr Olympics, boys 16 gold division.
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.