With a common underlying mission of improving the experiences of students in the Winthrop school system, the Neil Shapiro Foundation; The 11 Foundation: In Memory of Michael Mason; Viking Pride Foundation; and Winthrop Charities joined together to purchase a high-tech training tool and donate it to the Winthrop High School (WHS) Basketball Program.
The Gun 8000 Series Shooting Machine with Shot-tracker‚ provides basketball players across all ability levels with customized opportunities to practice their shots, fine-tune their skills and improve their overall game. Used by dozens of college basketball programs and several NBA teams, the Gun also allows coaches to track their players‚ shooting sessions and upload the information to computers for in-depth analysis. The shooting machine was delivered to WHS in April, 2014.
The 11 Foundation made its contribution in memory of Michael “Mase” Mason, member of the WHS boys‚ basketball team and one of the few elite players to earn a spot in the WHS 1000-Point Club. Mason started volunteering as a coach for the sixth grade boys basketball team in Winthrop shortly before he passed away in 2011 at the age of 36. The Neil Shapiro Foundation made its donation in memory of Neil Shapiro, a long-time Dramatic Arts Teacher and Director at Winthrop High and Middle Schools. Shapiro, a point guard on the WHS boys team during his student days, also served as an assistant girls’ Basketball Coach for the ninth grade team for a number of years. Shapiro passed away in 2001 at the age of 48.