SCTP Shooter Sam Blevins Pursues 2020 Olympics
Originally published in Oldham Era Four years may seem well in the future to some, but it’s the target Sam Blevins has set his sites on. What is the significance of 2020? The Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. Blevins, a freshman at Oldham County High School, received word from the Amateur Trap Shooting Association (ATA) that he made the All-American team after a grueling schedule of events to qualify for the honor. He was also the only shooter in Kentucky to make the 2016 Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation and National Rifle Association All-Scholastic Team. Over the span of eight months, Blevins shot in nearly 40 ATA competitions, winning 18 times and finished second on 17 occasions. Trap shooting is different than other forms of competitive shooting like precision rifle competitions or Fullbore target shooting. Instead of a rifle, a shotgun is used which fires a wide pattern of projectiles at a moving target. In ATA trap, the machine that throws the clay targets oscillates back and forth, so the shooter knows the point of origin and the height, but doesn’t know the angle of the target until it emerges from the house. Until recently Blevins has shot primarily American Trap, where targets will travel 42-43 miles per hour with limited angles and at the same height, but he is now making the transition to Bunker Trap, which is the official Olympic competition. In August, Blevins attended the Junior Olympic Development Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and shot his first round of Bunker Trap, which is much more difficult because the clays are thrown at varying speeds upwards of 80 miles per hour and at wider angles. 
Spending a week in Colorado Springs, Blevins met with Olympic coaches to learning about Bunker Trap shooting. By the end of the week, Blevins realized he liked Bunker Trap shooting and wanted to pursue an opportunity at the upcoming Olympics. He also had the opportunity to spend time with many of the Paralympians preparing for their Olympic games. “It was really cool to see, I was nervous at the beginning of the week, but by the end I wanted to stay there because it was an amazing experience,” Blevins said. Once Blevins returned from the Junior Olympic Training, his father, Joe Blevins, and he decided to try for the 2020 Olympics. Some people questioned the goal, but Joe Blevins called it optimistic and didn’t see a reason to set a goal eight or 12 years down the road. Former Olympic team member Terry Dewitt is Blevins’ Olympic coach, and Blevins travels to Fairfield Sportsmen’s Club, just outside of Cincinnati, for his regular practices and to work with her when she can make it in from her home in Missouri. Coach Dewitt also mentors Joe Blevins in coaching Olympic trap so he can work with Sam when she is not available. Joe Blevins said Bunker Trap will magnify any weaknesses that shooters have in American Trap, something that Sam is going through as he transitions. “In American Trap you don’t really have to stress yourself very much, you want to do your form and you want to do it correctly. You want to do it correctly every time because consistency is key. But when you shoot Bunker Trap it is different,” Sam Blevins said. “I am starting all over again. I have to relearn my form and do things a little differently. Instead of leaning forward where I felt comfortable I have to get out of my box and do things a bit differently.” With a change in stance and adjustments to be made, Blevins also decided to add a new element to his training, which includes live firing and a DryFire simulator. To improve his core strength and balance, Blevins has begun taking taekwondo. “It is different, but it will help me with my balance,” Sam Blevins said, adding that he had fun in his first lesson last week at Brown’s Traditional Taekwondo in Louisville. Although the prospect of the Olympics lies ahead, the process to this point wasn’t easy. Blevins was eight years old when he first shot a rifle, but didn’t connect with shooting until he received a shotgun from his grandfather. He thought rifles were boring and enjoyed the action of shotguns more. Working on his craft every night for years, Blevins improved as a shooter and nearly earned All-American status last year. After missing out on the honor a year ago, Blevins and his father dedicated themselves to earning the title. With the season running from Sept. 1 2015 to Aug. 31, 2016, Blevins won 37 different events in seven different states. The constant travel schedule was demanding for Joe and Sam Blevins, but the dedication eventually paid off. The younger Blevins said the long road trips helped him learn how to be patient. The experiences also allowed him to realize he wouldn’t win every single time, which helped him handle competitions better. “We were road warriors,” Joe Blevins said. “There wasn’t very much time at home.” As a pre-shooting routine, Blevins will drink a Coke before competitions to give him a rush of energy while trying to avoid large meals hours leading up to it. Though the score is the deciding factor on where he will place, Blevins doesn’t go into a competition with a goal based around scoring. “I don’t try to make goals based on scores. I make goals about my form. If you make goals about your scores then that is all you can focus on,” Sam Blevins said. “The only thing you’re thinking about is not the thing that is going to get you your score. It is the end. You can’t think about what is going to happen, you have to think about what is going to make it happen.” Sam was the first member of the Kentucky Clay Busters, a team started in 2013 by Joe which practices at the Jefferson Gun Club in Brooks. In four years, it has grown to 25 members and recently won the Kentucky State AIM Shoot, including the highest team score in the state in all categories. Joe Blevins said the team is transitioning this year from ATA to more focus on Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP). To reach the 2020 Olympics, Sam will first have to compete in up to five national competitions this year and hopefully at the USA Shooting Junior Olympic Nationals competition, if he qualifies. He will also have an opportunity at a state shoot in Cincinnati because there isn’t a Bunker Trap qualifier in Kentucky. With 125 targets in a competition, Blevins expects hitting 115 or more should get him an invitation to nationals. If interested in joining the Clay Busters, Joe Blevins can be reached at (502) 551-7940.
Spending a week in Colorado Springs, Blevins met with Olympic coaches to learning about Bunker Trap shooting. By the end of the week, Blevins realized he liked Bunker Trap shooting and wanted to pursue an opportunity at the upcoming Olympics. He also had the opportunity to spend time with many of the Paralympians preparing for their Olympic games. “It was really cool to see, I was nervous at the beginning of the week, but by the end I wanted to stay there because it was an amazing experience,” Blevins said. Once Blevins returned from the Junior Olympic Training, his father, Joe Blevins, and he decided to try for the 2020 Olympics. Some people questioned the goal, but Joe Blevins called it optimistic and didn’t see a reason to set a goal eight or 12 years down the road. Former Olympic team member Terry Dewitt is Blevins’ Olympic coach, and Blevins travels to Fairfield Sportsmen’s Club, just outside of Cincinnati, for his regular practices and to work with her when she can make it in from her home in Missouri. Coach Dewitt also mentors Joe Blevins in coaching Olympic trap so he can work with Sam when she is not available. Joe Blevins said Bunker Trap will magnify any weaknesses that shooters have in American Trap, something that Sam is going through as he transitions. “In American Trap you don’t really have to stress yourself very much, you want to do your form and you want to do it correctly. You want to do it correctly every time because consistency is key. But when you shoot Bunker Trap it is different,” Sam Blevins said. “I am starting all over again. I have to relearn my form and do things a little differently. Instead of leaning forward where I felt comfortable I have to get out of my box and do things a bit differently.” With a change in stance and adjustments to be made, Blevins also decided to add a new element to his training, which includes live firing and a DryFire simulator. To improve his core strength and balance, Blevins has begun taking taekwondo. “It is different, but it will help me with my balance,” Sam Blevins said, adding that he had fun in his first lesson last week at Brown’s Traditional Taekwondo in Louisville. Although the prospect of the Olympics lies ahead, the process to this point wasn’t easy. Blevins was eight years old when he first shot a rifle, but didn’t connect with shooting until he received a shotgun from his grandfather. He thought rifles were boring and enjoyed the action of shotguns more. Working on his craft every night for years, Blevins improved as a shooter and nearly earned All-American status last year. After missing out on the honor a year ago, Blevins and his father dedicated themselves to earning the title. With the season running from Sept. 1 2015 to Aug. 31, 2016, Blevins won 37 different events in seven different states. The constant travel schedule was demanding for Joe and Sam Blevins, but the dedication eventually paid off. The younger Blevins said the long road trips helped him learn how to be patient. The experiences also allowed him to realize he wouldn’t win every single time, which helped him handle competitions better. “We were road warriors,” Joe Blevins said. “There wasn’t very much time at home.” As a pre-shooting routine, Blevins will drink a Coke before competitions to give him a rush of energy while trying to avoid large meals hours leading up to it. Though the score is the deciding factor on where he will place, Blevins doesn’t go into a competition with a goal based around scoring. “I don’t try to make goals based on scores. I make goals about my form. If you make goals about your scores then that is all you can focus on,” Sam Blevins said. “The only thing you’re thinking about is not the thing that is going to get you your score. It is the end. You can’t think about what is going to happen, you have to think about what is going to make it happen.” Sam was the first member of the Kentucky Clay Busters, a team started in 2013 by Joe which practices at the Jefferson Gun Club in Brooks. In four years, it has grown to 25 members and recently won the Kentucky State AIM Shoot, including the highest team score in the state in all categories. Joe Blevins said the team is transitioning this year from ATA to more focus on Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP). To reach the 2020 Olympics, Sam will first have to compete in up to five national competitions this year and hopefully at the USA Shooting Junior Olympic Nationals competition, if he qualifies. He will also have an opportunity at a state shoot in Cincinnati because there isn’t a Bunker Trap qualifier in Kentucky. With 125 targets in a competition, Blevins expects hitting 115 or more should get him an invitation to nationals. If interested in joining the Clay Busters, Joe Blevins can be reached at (502) 551-7940.