A teenager from McKinney just won the national spelling bee.
Now, another McKinney teen wants to bring home a different title.
Philip Pacific wants to become the National Yo-yo Champion.
At age 13, he’s already won three Texas Yo-yo Contests.
He earned his first title when he was 11 year old, beating out competitors two to three times his age.
“I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into,” Pacific said.
Spend a few minutes with him and you'll see tricks have come a long way since the days of 'Walk the Dog' and 'Around the World.'
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In one category, he uses a high-tech, $120 Yo-yo.
In another, he flips and flings a larger Yo-yo that isn't even attached to a string.
“These days it’s considered a nerdy sport, something nerds do, and I would definitely like to change that,” he said.
Pacific has had more ups than downs since his yoyo career began three years ago at age 10.
“I just kept going. I loved it,” he said.
Mom Denise Pacific said her son improved his skills by watching YouTube tutorials from a laptop at the kitchen table.
He wound up in first place his first time at the state championship.
“He went from being not known by a soul in the Yo-yo world to being pretty well known,” she explained.
Philip Pacific will compete in nationals for the third time at the end of June. His ultimate goal is to win the world championship and from there, “make the sport a bigger thing,” he said.
National Yo-yo Contest is from June 29–July 1 in Chicago.
