JBLM trick shot Soldiers make magic in Afghanistan

T Wo Trick Shots produces deployed edition Web video

By Tyler Hemstreet on April 5, 2012

Tommy Wojtala wasn't about to let a deployment to Afghanistan stop him from giving his fans what they want.

The I Corps Soldier and driving force behind "T Wo Trick Shots" recently released another Web video of him and his fellow Soldiers making trick basketball shots on their base in Afghanistan.

"We do like to be as creative as possible, as seen in our other videos, but it was a little difficult this time," Wojtala, an Alabama native, wrote in an email. "There is one basketball court and it is basically surrounded by the (base's outer wall) so there wasn't much to work with. Although I think we came up with some creative shots given our surroundings."

What Wojtala, Joshua Chanthavysouk and Rolando Gonzalez came up with was a collection of shots ranging from bouncing balls off the wall and into the hoop, launching shots from atop the wall and from behind large storage containers.

As of Monday, the video had more than 1,000 views on YouTube, and ESPN.com's Page 2 site even featured it in its Web video of the day segment.

Filming the video with his fellow Soldiers helped the group build morale, Wojtala said.

"It is definitely a good way to get your mind off everything," he said of the marathon shooting sessions.

Wojtala and his friends started T Wo Trick Shots last summer, traveling around Joint Base Lewis-McChord sinking trick shots at various hoops around the base.

"Dream big, go bigger," Wojtala said. "That's our motto ... to hit bigger and better shots each time."

The team shot another video a couple months later, this time filming trick ping-pong shots inside the barracks. The Soldiers even ordered custom T-shirts for each team member to wear when they were out shooting.

"I am looking forward to making a lot more videos when I return," Wojtala said. "Not just basketball trick shot videos, but anything else I can think of. There just isn't a whole lot of free time to (film them) while deployed."

All of the team's videos can be seen on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TwoTrickShots.