Mark Burgess

Coach, State Advisor Mark Burgess Passes

We regret to report the passing of longtime SCTP coach and state advisor for Indiana, Mark Burgess, on Monday, December 15. Burgess was active in the shooting sports in Indiana and coach of the Hoosier Daddys shooting team.Mark Burgess Burgess was recently instrumental in helping to facilitate and encourage the formation of the new Indiana SCTP league. "Mark was a very nice guy, always making jokes and laughing," said Tom Wondrash, SCTP Director. "He will be sadly missed from our program, his team, and his family." On the team's Facebook page, another of the team's coaches commented, "He was a great man who would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it, and he was an embodiment of the ROOTS program we preach as coaches. He would gladly drop what he was doing to help someone in need and he always did the job right." Burgess' son Jeffrey posted a loving tribute to his father about his passion for coaching. "Each and every one of you brought so much joy to my father and he looked forward to seeing you all continue to grow in the sport that he loved so much. We all will miss him very much. Please continue to think about all the lessons and advice he gave. It truly was his honor to be your coach. The next time you are out on the field, you call for your bird, pull the trigger just an instant before you think you should and magically that target rises up enough to knock a chip off of it, just know it was probably my Dad, your coach, and your shooting angel giving you just that last bit of help. God bless you all and thank you for filling my Dad's heart with so much joy while he was your coach." Mark Burgess was preceded in death by his wife, Linda Jo Burgess. Survivors include children Jeffrey Burgess and Stephani (Allen) Burgess. A visitation will be held this Friday, December 19 from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Wilson St. Pierre in Greenwood, IN, with a funeral at the same location on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Indiana Forms Youth Clay Target Shooting League

December 6 was an historic day for clay target shooting in Indiana. A youth trap shooting league was formed for the state, with 14 youth shooting teams meeting at the historic Kingen Gun Club to plan the 2015 season for the new league, which will utilize SCTP rules and guidelines for its shoots. Ten competitions are scheduled in 2015 for the Hoosier youth shooters, including an SCTP State Championship and the SCTP National Championship. Among the attendees at the formative meeting were Mark Burgess, SCTP State Director, and Chet Tuinstra, SCTP Regional Field Representative. Formation of the league was due to the efforts of Derek Marshall, Superintendent of Attica Consolidated School Corporation in Attica, Indiana, who started by contacting every youth trap shooting program and every gun club in the state with the goal of organizing the people in Indiana shooting sports to create a statewide trap shooting league for youth. Student shooters will compete in one of five divisions according to SCTP rules, and awards will be presented at each event. In the future, the Hoosier Clay Target Association hopes to expand to encompass skeet and sporting clays.

SSSF Donates $45,100 to SPP Team Endowment Accounts at MidwayUSA Foundation

Last week, SSSF contributed $45,100 to the MidwayUSA Foundation on behalf of 23 Scholastic Pistol Program teams from 10 states. The donation represented team endowment funds earned in the inaugural Florida Law Enforcement Explorer Shooting League match and the Washington State Scrimmage, both of which were held on November 15. In addition, 12 of the teams earned endowment money through their participation in the 2013-2014 SPP Virtual Match target season. SSSF's latest contribution to the MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Program brings the total to $446,000 donated to date in 2014 on behalf of SPP teams. The program expects teams to earn another $6,000 before year's end. The purpose of the MidwayUSA Foundation endowment program is to provide sustained financial support for youth shooting teams. Teams with an endowment account are able to draw a grant each year to use for team expenses. SSSF regularly makes endowment funds available for SCTP and SPP events and contributes them to participating teams’ endowment accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation. Since 2011, SSSF has donated funding to several hundred team endowment accounts across 48 states.

GOAL Is New SPP State Advisor in Massachusetts

The Scholastic Pistol Program has a new State Advisor in Massachusetts to coordinate SPP activities and events there. The Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL) will fill the role of State Advisor, giving the SPP an entire organization of "boots on the ground" to form new clubs, host events, and promote the program in Massachusetts. GOAL is the state's NRA affiliate organization that promotes both political and sporting efforts there. "GOAL members worked very, very hard this past legislative session to change the Massachusetts law regarding minors and handguns," said Jon Green, Director of Education and Training for GOAL. "We are all so happy that we were successful. GOAL can now get behind this fantastic shooting sport known as the Scholastic Pistol Program and help to share gun safety, sportsmanship, and the Second Amendment with our young people." State Advisors play a critical role in SPP shooting activities within their respective states. State Advisors promote the principles of the SPP and act in the program’s best interests. They are also the program’s “resource central” for their states. Advisors respond to inquiries about SPP, assist in program activities, encourage participation and the formation of new teams, and provide important program information to team coaches, shooting facilities, and other organizations hosting SPP teams. GOAL has already confirmed several events in Massachusetts for 2015 since their recent appointment and expects to confirm additional ones soon. “SPP is pleased to have the Gun Owners' Action League as our new partner,” said Scott Moore, SPP Director. “The experience and hard work of GOAL will a huge asset as we continue to grow SPP in New England!” Learn more about the Gun Owners' Action League.

Randolph Engineering: How to Choose the Right Tint for Shooting Glasses

There is probably no type of shooting equipment that provokes more questions than colored shooting glasses. With so many choices, how do you know which colors to buy? In this interview by Field & Stream's Phil Bourjaily, Frank Robertson of Randolph Engineering, maker of the exceptional Randolph Ranger shooting glasses which are offered in numerous colors, explains how to choose the right lens tints for different lighting conditions.

SPP Announces Virtual Match Drawing Winners

Congratulations to the 11 Scholastic Pistol Program teams that have been drawn as prize winners at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 SPP Virtual Match Target Season. Winners were selected in a random drawing among teams that participated in the season. Your team can easily compete with teams from across the country in the 2014-2015 Virtual Match season without ever leaving your home range. All squads have to do is shoot the SPP course of fire at your local range or match and submit SPP score sheets via email to SPP Program Manager Tammy Mowry, tmowry@sssfonline.com. There is also a fee of $5 per squad/per match score. Every time a squad turns in a score, they get a chance to win some great prizes. The more you play, the more you can win! The prize winners for the 2013-2014 season are: 1 Case (1000 rounds) 9mm ammunition
    Hocking County Young Guns Coach: Andy Thompson Squad 3 – 8/16/14 WWCCA Straight Shooters Coach: Joe Cafarelli Squad – 5/31/14 Michigan State University Shooting Sports Club Coach: Paul Kuchek Squad - 5/31/14

  Beretta Neos
    Red Dawn Junior Marksmanship Academy ** Coach: Cathi Bray Squad 3 – 8/17/14 Ozaukee Squad Scholastic Shooting Sports Pistol Team ** Coach: Rick Leach Squad 2 - 6/16/14

  Brownells Lewis Lead Removal Kits
    Union Grove Pistol Team Coach: Mike Ditscheit Squad 1 – 4/26/14

  S&W Range Bags
    Team Gotta Coach: Robin Taylor Squad 1 – 6/21/14 Straight Shooters, Tucson Coach: Bill Perkins Squad Blue - 5/6/14

  Pro Ears Revo Electronic Ear Muffs
    Smokin’ Dragons Coach: Trent Keltner Squad 3 - 4/26/14

  GLOCK Tacti-Kool Backpacks
    Leon County Sheriff’s Explorer Coach: Dustin Brock Squad 3/15/14

  Blade-Tech Knives
    William Blount Shooting Team Coach: Paul Carrington Squad Junior C – 3/26/14
** Gun winners, please send an FFL to Tammy Mowry, tmowry@sssfonline.com
Myles Walker

SCTP’s Myles Walker Takes Gold at USA Shooting’s Fall Selection Match

SCTP shooter Myles Walker from Burlington, Wisconsin has won the gold medal for bunker trap in USA Shooting's Fall Selection Match. The match was held November 6-11 at the Delta Resort and Spa in Tillar, Arkansas. Myles Walker-1-350Myles was one of four athletes awarded a spot on USA Shooting's National Team as a result of his performance at the SCTP National Championship for international disciplines held in July in Colorado Springs. Hank Garvey and Nic Moscetti, who also earned their National Team spots at the SCTP Nationals, placed 4th and 5th, respectively, at the Fall Selection Match. Six bunker trap competitors withstood the intensity of 500 targets and four finals matches to emerge as 2015 World Cup selections for the USA Shooting Team as a result of the four-day competition. The Fall Selection Match served as the second phase of selection for the first three upcoming World Cup competitions to begin 2015, including events in Acapulco, Mexico and Al Ain, UAE in March and Laranaca, Cypress in late April where the top three athletes will compete. Fall Selection Match is also serving as the first of a two-part selection process for the Pan American Games (July), the last World Cup of 2015 in Gabala, Azerbaijan (August) and the 2015 World Clay Target Championships (September). Myles, a sophomore at Lindenwood University, participates in SCTP as a member of his college team's shotgun sports team. The win in Tillar places Myles in a great position to earn USA Shooting Team status come Spring Selection in April. “SCTP has provided me with the opportunity to flourish both as an athlete and an individual," Myles commented. "The benefit of the experience I have had surpasses any other activity I have been involved with.” Congratulations to Myles, Hank, and Nic for earning their National Team positions and representing SCTP well!

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