For Coach Jason Anderson, the season started with the concept of holding a few low-cost scrimmages between several North Texas SCTP teams. More than 70,000 tournament targets later, Anderson chuckled that he, “can’t wait to get to SCTP Nationals in Marengo and let someone else run the shoot.” According to Anderson who coaches the Allen Eagles Competitive Shooting Team (plus the fishing team, archery team, and oversees almost 700 students in Outdoor Adventures) for one of Texas’ largest high schools, “We did virtually no advertising. We just hosted shoots and they came.” SCTP is popular and growing in Texas because it’s a safe, healthy, pragmatic atmosphere that features many of the best competitive shooters in the state, but is equally welcoming and encouraging to beginners. For those reasons, the league tripled in size in less than a year and is quickly becoming a full time job. Fortunately, lots of volunteersmake it work. “That’s what happens when you keep it friendly and cost effective,” said Don Williams, head coach of Red Oak High School’s shotgun team. Williams, president of Ellis County Sportsman’s Club, has been a longtime advocate for youth clay target shooting. The league was run with volunteers and kept entry fees to a minimum. The sport is costly enough for parents. So, when word gets out that you can shoot 300 targets in a state tournament for $100, you get a lot of shooters. Over 200 shooters from 11 teams competed in six league tournaments, plus state and regional tournaments including trap, skeet, and sporting clays. “We had teams from as far away as Austin, Lubbock, and Texarkana make their way to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for tournaments,” said Coach Roger Guerra of the Fort Worth Claymores who hosted several of the shoots at Fort Worth Trap and Skeet. This year’s collegiate division featured former high school athletes now representing Oklahoma University, Oklahoma State, Nicholl’s State, Sam Houston State, University of Texas Dallas, and Texas A&M. It’s great to see these young men and women mature and take on leadership roles in college and continue to promote firearms responsibility through shooting sports. SCTP Texas has had shooters go on to become All American’s, NRA Certified Instructors, and NSSA Referees. Some have started college teams that compete in ACUI as well as SCTP. Thanks to support from SCTP, Allen alone has over 20 NRA certified coaches. Better still, several of the athletes completed their NRA certifications and have already put that training to work assisting their peers and with clinics including one for the DIVA’s Women Outdoor Worldwide. Volunteering is what enables the league to grow. So, it’s great to see the athletes pay it back by volunteering to help others. “The level of competition is on the rise,” says Rick Walker, coach for Southlake High School’s shooting team. The competition rivals anything you'll see in Texas and it’s only going to continue to get better with more teams inquiring and existing teams maturing. It’s a great time to be a positive influence. And if you’re not involved, it’s a great time to get started.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to providing shooting-sports education and opportunities to school-age youths around the United States to encourage young athlete personal growth and development. Tax-ID number 20-8484121.
For Coach Jason Anderson, the season started with the concept of holding a few low-cost scrimmages between several North Texas SCTP teams. More than 70,000 tournament targets later, Anderson chuckled that he, “can’t wait to get to SCTP Nationals in Marengo and let someone else run the shoot.” According to Anderson who coaches the Allen Eagles Competitive Shooting Team (plus the fishing team, archery team, and oversees almost 700 students in Outdoor Adventures) for one of Texas’ largest high schools, “We did virtually no advertising. We just hosted shoots and they came.” SCTP is popular and growing in Texas because it’s a safe, healthy, pragmatic atmosphere that features many of the best competitive shooters in the state, but is equally welcoming and encouraging to beginners. For those reasons, the league tripled in size in less than a year and is quickly becoming a full time job. Fortunately, lots of volunteersmake it work. 
“That’s what happens when you keep it friendly and cost effective,” said Don Williams, head coach of Red Oak High School’s shotgun team. Williams, president of Ellis County Sportsman’s Club, has been a longtime advocate for youth clay target shooting. The league was run with volunteers and kept entry fees to a minimum. The sport is costly enough for parents. So, when word gets out that you can shoot 300 targets in a state tournament for $100, you get a lot of shooters. Over 200 shooters from 11 teams competed in six league tournaments, plus state and regional tournaments including trap, skeet, and sporting clays. “We had teams from as far away as Austin, Lubbock, and Texarkana make their way to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for tournaments,” said Coach Roger Guerra of the Fort Worth Claymores who hosted several of the shoots at Fort Worth Trap and Skeet. 
This year’s collegiate division featured former high school athletes now representing Oklahoma University, Oklahoma State, Nicholl’s State, Sam Houston State, University of Texas Dallas, and Texas A&M. It’s great to see these young men and women mature and take on leadership roles in college and continue to promote firearms responsibility through shooting sports. SCTP Texas has had shooters go on to become All American’s, NRA Certified Instructors, and NSSA Referees. Some have started college teams that compete in ACUI as well as SCTP. Thanks to support from SCTP, Allen alone has over 20 NRA certified coaches. Better still, several of the athletes completed their NRA certifications and have already put that training to work assisting their peers and with clinics including one for the DIVA’s Women Outdoor Worldwide. Volunteering is what enables the league to grow. So, it’s great to see the athletes pay it back by volunteering to help others. “The level of competition is on the rise,” says Rick Walker, coach for Southlake High School’s shooting team. The competition rivals anything you'll see in Texas and it’s only going to continue to get better with more teams inquiring and existing teams maturing. It’s a great time to be a positive influence. And if you’re not involved, it’s a great time to get started.