Sam Kuhn earns $2,000 in scholarships from A to Z Sports.

It was an award that Sam Kuhn said he honestly never expected.

“I’ve entered a lot of contests, but I’ve never really won,” he said.

But thanks to his work with the Bainbridge high school boys basketball team and the Dusty Muffin Snowboarding, Kuhn took home $2,000 for his winning entries in the “For The Love Of The Game” contest put on by A to Z Sports.

A to Z Sports is a company based in Seattle that wants to help improve communities through the popularity of amateur sports and online media.

Kuhn said he got involved with the basketball team thanks to his friend Austin Wood, whose dad was working on getting a video made showcasing highlights from this season.

“They knew I was into video and making film so they asked if I’d put together a piece for the team,” he said.

Kuhn heard about the contest through a friend he was working with on the video.

“She heard about it somehow and said ‘why don’t you enter?’” he said. “So I entered and it did pretty well.”

His highlight video was good enough to take third place in the contest out of 89 videos from 39 different schools representing 19 different sports.

For his efforts, he took home a $1,000 scholarship check.

“It’s very cool,” he said.

Kuhn also took home first place in the team award category for his two-minute video featuring his friends from the Dusty Muffin snowboarding club.

Kuhn, who has been filming snowboarders for eight years since he started with his good friends making homemade movies, said he worked with Stevens Pass in making a video for the ski resort that ended up winning the first place check of $1,000.

He plans to use the money when he attends Willamette University in Salem, Ore. this fall.

While the school doesn’t have a film program, Kuhn, who has been working in film since he was four years old shooting with a Hi8 around his house, said he wants to make it a career.

“I want to film, write, produce, edit, direct,” he said. “I want to do it all.”

To see his snowboarding videos and various other projects, visit www.samuelkuhn.com.