Reminder to Coaches: Complete All Steps in Registration
Coaches who are registering at sssfonline.org are reminded that their paperwork is not done until all steps have been completed. This includes submitting the required background check every two years and completing the one-time Double-Goal Coaching Course for new coaches. Until these steps have been completed, a coach is not considered registered and is not covered under SSSF‘s liability insurance. For a complete “how to” list for team registration, go to:https://sssfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Registering-a-new-team-instructions.pdf
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), parent organization for the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP), is announcing a change of venue for the 2016 SCTP and SASP National Championship events. The 2016 National Championships are being planned for July 9-16 at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. The World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) located in Sparta, Illinois, has been home of the SSSF National Championships for the last several years. Due to the unresolved statewide budget issues in Illinois, the state-owned WSRC remains closed at this time with no communicated schedule for reopening. The SSSF board of directors and senior leadership team have evaluated different options to keep the event in Sparta. Due to the continued unresolved budget situation and potential for government-mandated continued closure, the Foundation feels it is in the best interest of its members to provide certainty for the 2016 National Championship event. The SSSF National Championships contract with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) extends through July of 2017. The SSSF and IDNR have mutually agreed to suspend the contract for 2016 and will meet again to revisit the terms for 2017 in September of this year. The Foundation has entered into a one year agreement with the Cardinal Center Campground and Shooting Center to host the 2016 National Championships. The Center has 52 trap fields, 3 sporting clays courses, and rifle and pistol range construction is well underway. Several large-scale infrastructure projects are commencing at the center to accommodate the multiple shooting disciplines the SCTP and SASP championships bring. These projects include construction of 14 new skeet fields and 14 new action shooting bays which are scheduled to be completed well prior to the championships in July. Considered Ohio’s premier public shooting sports facility, the Cardinal Center offers impressive shooting ranges, as well as an indoor heated pool, lake for fishing, lots of outdoor activities, and great facilities for family camping, including 550 camp sites and Wi-Fi service available on the grounds. The center is located at I-71 (exit 140) and St. Rt. 61, just 30 miles north of Columbus and in close proximity to several hotels and restaurants. Looking for Lodging? 
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is pleased to announce the release of a brand new DVD on the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). The nearly two-hour educational video is geared toward coaches, parents and athletes interested in getting started in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program. In addition, anyone looking to get started in the action shooting sports will benefit from the detailed presentation. The video covers all aspects of the program including safety, equipment selection, action shooting fundamentals, coaching new athletes, the SASP competition format, season planning, and much, much more! The DVD is available for purchase for those attending a 
The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) hosted its 2nd National Coach Development Staff (NCDS) class on January 7-9, 2016. Rick Leach, director of development, Lance Rider, Tennessee SASP state advisor, and Robin Taylor, Washington SASP state advisor, attended the training class. The NCDS is the National Rifle Association's volunteer National Shooting Coaching Staff. Members of the NCDS hail from all across the United States in all of the shooting sports disciplines. This elite shooting staff is the backbone of the nation’s shooting coach programs teaching and fostering growth at all levels of the sport. Hand-picked by the National Coach Trainer for their ability to teach, coach, and develop the shooting sports, these individuals are carefully selected based on their talents and expertise in sport education and specific shooting discipline. The National Coach Trainer uses the NCDS to teach coach schools, conduct shooting clinics and as coaches for the National Shooting Camps. New members of the NCDS are required to attend an enjoyable, informative and challenging three-day training course learning the procedures and policies of being an NCDS member and learning how to teach the coach school. We would like to thank Daniel Subia, NRA National Coach Trainer (rifle/pistol), Will Hart, NRA Level 4 Pistol Coach, Assistant Coach at US Coast Guard Academy, multi time NRA distinguished Pistol shooter, and Bill Perkins, regional field representative for instructing the class. 
SASP Hosts Level 1 Pistol Coach Class The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) hosted a Level 1 Pistol Coach class with 24 new coach candidates from four different states. The NRA Level 1 Pistol Coaches class took place on January 9 and 10 in Huntingdon, Tenn.. The coach school consists of two days of sports-specific lessons and practical coaching exercises designed to teach the coach candidate the basics of coaching a pistol team and is the preferred course for new coaches looking to start or join a Scholastic Pistol Program. Our thanks go out to Lance Rider, head coach, McKenzie Scholastic Shooting Team, and Lacey Lane, TN SASP state director, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, for sponsoring the class. We appreciate the Carroll County Shooting Sports Park for opening the complex to us for the weekend for the classroom time as well as the live-fire practical portion of the class. The class was taught by Rick Leach, director of development, Lance Rider, Tennessee SASP state advisor, and Robin Taylor, Washington SASP state advisor. For more information and a current schedule of upcoming course, go to 
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, recognized and respected as the leader in youth development shooting programs, is pleased to announce that the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) will now be re-branded as the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP). With this change, a rimfire rifle component is now being offered along with the Centerfire and Rimfire pistol disciplines that teams have been competing in since 2012. Coaches and state SPP leaders have been asking the Foundation to offer other disciplines that their teams can learn and compete in that will help them grow and develop within their program. We’re happy to announce that beginning in January, current Scholastic Pistol Program teams and new teams will now be able to add Rimfire rifle as another discipline. While the pistol program begins with athletes in grades 6 and above (including full-time college students), the rifle discipline also has a “Rookie” division for grades 5 and below (depending on federal, state and local range requirements), allowing younger athletes to join the fun! SASP offers an absolutely “level playing field” for gender participation in the shooting sports and will use the same rules, scoring and course of fire as the original pistol program. “We’re excited with the opportunity of adding rimfire rifle as a component of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program. We feel that this additional discipline opens the door for younger athletes to learn firearms safety along with the thrill and excitement of competition. This is a positive step in giving our teams more opportunities to pursue their passion for the shooting sports. We want to be able to introduce young shooters to a sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime”, said Tammy Mowry, National Program Director. The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is an educational-athletic organization that exists to introduce school-age youth to the shooting sports and to facilitate their continued involvement by providing, promoting, and perpetuating opportunities to safely and enjoyably participate and compete in a high-quality, team-based sport led by trained adult coaches focused on enhancing the personal growth and development of their athletes. For more information, check out the 
A Family Enjoys A Safari Adventure In Africa by Joel Hodgdon After three car rides, two plane flights, one 13 hours long, and an exhausting trip through South African customs where one of our rifles was left behind at the airport due to changes in paper- work we were not aware of, shooting our first antelope, an impala, in the thick brush made the journey there well worth it. Memories of this safari will last a lifetime and get us through many a slow day at work. But we didn’t make these memories alone. Our whole family journeyed across the world to have an adventure together - big game and plains game hunting in the Limpopo province near Vaalwater in northern South Africa. Driving to a different location every day was special; the land- scape was vast and beautiful, including deep woods, mountains, open plains, swamps, peanut farms and plenty of dusty roads. 
And hunt we did! Two weeks in the brush yielded more than 19 trophies among the three of us hunters. My brother and I were successful in getting an impala, warthog, blue wildebeest, blesbok, and I tacked on a zebra and nyala. Little brother did well taking a nice kudu. Dad’s trophies included sable, waterbuck, eland, bush- buck, reedbuck (common and mountain), duiker, blesbok and klipspringer. Mom was there to pull the trigger—on a camera instead of a .30-’06—while we boys did the dirty work of crawling through mud and sprinting up hills to realize our dream of getting that perfect mount on the wall. Mom was a trooper through and through. She experienced many bumpy roads in the truck while appreciating the beauty an African sunrise gave us as a shared experience unmatched by any typical resort or sunny island. For the first time she witnessed the whole process of stalking, tracking (seeing dad crawl through the bushes, too), trophy shot and didn’t shy away from watching the field dressing of each animal. One of the highlights dad and mom enjoyed was seeing a hippo cross the highway directly in front of their vehicle. Good thing they stopped in time. Hunting was, of course, pure fun as our outfitter Joubert Pro Hunt. Owners Spyker and Ilse Joubert handled everything else. From the minute we stepped off the plane, our guides took care of the travel arrangements: cooking, cleaning, laundry, and our time in the field on game farms throughout the area. 
Spyker and Clinton van Tonder, our Professional Hunters, always knew where and when to take us for the exact animal that we wanted to track and hunt. Mom had a more realistic view of a safari after hunting seven straight days. Her perception came from Hollywood movies where they show wide-open country driving the herd to the vehicle and just point and shoot. Spyker gave her an education. Our family didn’t bring home the Big Five, but we were astonished to learn about the diversity that a safari offered. There was a little something for each of us, like a dove hunt rivaling Argentina. We were never bored as there was always a unique day planned for us. 
Coming back to the lodge at night after our usually successful day hunting, a three-course dinner was waiting for us, exotic and delicious, as prepared by our live-in Chef, Gerda Van Graan. These feasts, with fresh entrées often prepared from our own trophy animals (nothing is wasted—meat, organs, bones—everything is used), were accompanied with Ilse’s homemade hot sauce, plenty of award winning South African wine and the local’s favorite drink, brandy. Mom learned to appreciate the brandy when she needed to warm herself after the cold bush pig hunt. After dinner, our family mingled with our hosts in their comfortable home until we could no longer keep our eyes open. An unforgettable experience, my first African safari was made all the more meaningful by having my family alongside me. After you go on safari once, however, you will want to go back...we are already talking about another trip! Many thanks to our hosts, Joubert Pro Hunt! 
Commentary From Chris Hodgdon: With my older son Joel recently finishing his undergraduate degree in May 2015 and off to graduate school and Pierce, my younger son in the middle of his college career, we are at the point of our life where the nest will soon be empty. My wife Adele and I agreed that now was the best time as any to travel together on an African adventure. We purchased this safari through a fundraiser benefitting the Scholastic Clay Target program. It certainly was well worth the investment. This was my second safari; quite frankly I don’t know why it took ten years to go back! My caliber of choice was my terrific .270 WSM Model 70 Featherweight Winchester that has traveled the world with me. Plenty of horsepower to knock down the massive eland to the little duiker, my rifle seems to really like 68 to 69 grains of Retumbo (powder) under either the 160 Nosler Partition or the 150 Hornady SST bullet. The other rifle (that didn’t get held up at South African customs) was a Browning A-Bolt .30-’06. It shot very well with the Nosler 180 Partition Custom ammunition. My sincere thank you to Denis Karnosky who donated the safari to SCTP; Ilse and Leon “Spyker” of Joubert Pro Hunt; Kobus Lizkor, who was a terrific escort to Krueger Park; John Nosler, Bushnell, MTM Case-Gard, SKB Gun Cases and all our friends at Safari Club International. 
