If you're in Middle America this weekend, here's something you can do that is fun and benefits a good cause. SCTP shooter Corey Spruill and his father, coach James Spruill, of the Gateway Claybusters in Missouri, are hosting their annual sporting clays shoot to benefit Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, August 23. Shooting for the 100-target event starts at 8 a.m. Team entry is $300, and individuals may shoot for $75. Click on the links below for more information and registration. Event FlyerSponsor InformationRegistration Form
It's moving day! Effective immediately, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is relocating home-office administration and financial operations from the current Maumee, Ohio office to the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas. Plans for the move were originally announced in March, with a long time-frame for the move to allow for new staff to be hired and trained and to ensure there was no interruption of services to our program participants. "As the Headquarters of the National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association, the National Shooting Complex is a natural choice to house the SSSF’s operations,” said Louise Terry, Chairperson of the SSSF Board of Directors. "Since we are the largest feeder program for youth shooters to NSSA-NSCA, we envision this as a win-win relationship." Ben Berka, SSSF President and Executive Director, added, "We are pleased to call the National Shooting Complex home for our headquarters operations. Housing our key administrative and financial operations alongside an established and mature shooting sports organization such as the NSSA-NSCA will help us grow and give our home office perpetuity into the future." For most of your contacts with SCTP and SPP, nothing has changed. For program-specific requests, continue to contact the program staff as in the past. Contact for all of those staff members remains unchanged. Only for those reasons you might have contacted the Maumee, Ohio home office in the past will you now need to contact us in San Antonio. You can find contact information for our home office and each program on every page of our website. Just scroll down the page, and you'll find those contacts on the lower right side. Our new home office contact information is:
SSSF
5931 Roft Road
San Antonio, TX 78253
210-448-8946
The Scholastic Pistol Program, along with National Rifle Association and USA Shooting, will host a Level 1 Pistol Coach's course next month in Michigan. The course covers all required coaching fundamentals for pistol coaches in the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP), in addition to other disciplines of pistol competition. The training is provided by the SPP/NRA/USAS National Coach Development Staff (NCDS). Caledonia Sportsman's Club (10721 Coldwater Avenue SE, Alto, MI 49302) will host the class on September 13-14, 2014.
The school is two days of sports-specific lessons and practical coaching exercises designed to teach the coach candidate the basics of coaching. The following general subjects are taught:
Introduction to the Coaching Program
Safety and Risk Management
Competition Events
Rule Book Use
Equipment and Facilities
Fundamentals of Shooting
Coaching Ethics
Coaching Methodology
Sports Psychology
Training Planning
Running Quality Programs
How to Conduct a Tournament
The two-day course runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. Candidates should bring eye and ear protection and note-taking materials, along with either a 9mm or .22 LR handgun and 50 rounds of ammunition for their handgun. Cost of the course is $140, which includes all printed materials, 3-year coaching credentials with the NRA, a binder for your materials, and lunch/refreshments each day.
Want to host a Level 1 SPP coaching class in your area? Training is provided by the SPP / NRA / USA Shooting National Coach Development Staff (NCDS). The course covers all required coaching fundamentals for pistol coaches in the Scholastic Pistol Program, in addition to other disciplines of pistol competition. The class fee would include all printed materials, 3-year coaching credentials with the NRA, lunch, and refreshments each day. Here are the requirements: at least 15-20 people wanting to take the class, a facility where the class can be taught indoors with access to electricity, and a range for field work. If you're interested in hosting a class, contact Tammy Mowry, tmowry@sssfonline.com or 724-822-7390 for more information and to make arrangements.
Scholastic Clay Target Program athletes have long made their mark in national and international competition, but perhaps in no year has SCTP produced as many of the top shooters in the Olympic development program as in 2014. In every discipline, SCTP was well represented among the medalists in USA Shooting's 2014 Junior Olympic National Championships held in Colorado Springs last month. In International Skeet, four of the top six women's scores were shot by SCTP athletes, while 11 of the top 16 men's scores were recorded by SCTP shooters. Among Bunker Trap shooters, nine of the top 16 women were from SCTP. Men's shooters had a similar top-16 count, with all of the top six athletes and eight of the top nine being SCTP shooters. SCTP almost made a clean sweep in Double Trap. Nineteen of the top 21 shooters and all of the top 10 are from SCTP. "We're very proud of the achievements of these SCTP members, and we're anxiously watching their progress as they follow in the footsteps of such SCTP alums as Olympic gold medalists Kim Rhode and Vincent Hancock and bronze medalist Corey Cogdell," said Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. "The state, regional, and national competitions provided by SCTP allow athletes to learn their sport, improve their skills, and gain the competitive experience they need to move on to the world stage." SCTP is an official feeder program to USA Shooting for shotgun disciplines. The National Junior Olympic Program serves as an important element of USA Shooting's pipeline development system in promoting the shooting sports. The goal of Junior Olympics is to allow skilled junior athletes to obtain national competitive experience for future development. The program also serves as an opportunity to appoint the top finishers to the National Junior Team. Click here for more information on the National Junior Olympic Program.
Art Ashbrook, left, and Ben Berka The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation has contracted with the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) to hold its National Team Championships at the Sparta, Illinois facility through 2017. Ben Berka, SSSF President and Executive Director, and Art Ashbrook, WSRC Executive Director, signed the agreement recently to formalize the three-year extension of the foundation's relationship with the complex. "We are pleased to call Sparta 'Home of the SSSF National Championships' and look forward to meeting our SSSF extended family there each year during the second full week of July," said Berka. "The Illinois Department of Natural Resources staff at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex are great to work with and are committed to working together with the SSSF to accommodate our growth, both in numbers of participants and in the diversity of events we are offering." WSRA's Ashbrook echoed those sentiments. "The World Shooting and Recreational Complex and the IDNR are extremely pleased by the commitment of the SSSF to hold its National Championships here for the next three years, and hopefully for the next 100," said Ashbrook. "We think we work very well together, serving the community and young shooters alike." More than 10,000 people came to Sparta for the 2014 SCTP National Team Championship and SPP Junior/Senior National Championship at the WSRC in July, including approximately 2500 shooters plus coaches, family members, and other supporters.
If you aren't already a Scholastic Pistol Program shooter, you may have wondered what that sport is all about. And if you are already a participant, you probably want to know how to improve your scores. Our friends at CZ-USA and Rock Road Creative have provided answers to your questions in a new video, Basics to Scholastic Pistol Program Shooting. In very clear steps, the video takes you through the basic procedures required on the line, then gives some tips to help you shoot better. Click the "play" arrow below. Our thanks to Dave Miller, CZ-USA, and Rock Road Creative for producing this video.
SCTP shooters got a taste of Olympic-style shooting last week, competing in the 2014 SCTP National Team Championships for International Disciplines at the International Shooting Park near Colorado Springs, CO. This year's competitor numbers doubled last year's totals. Bunker trap had 90 registrations, with 44 for International Skeet and 55 for International Double Trap. In addition to squad and individual awards for the three disciplines, four athletes earned positions on the USA National Junior Team as a result of their scores:L-R: Nic Moschetti, Hank Garvey, Myles Walker, and Roe Reynolds. (Perry Hintz Photo)
Roe Reynolds – Bunker Trap
Myles Walker – Bunker Trap
Nic Moschetti – International Skeet
Hank Garvey – International Double Trap
Almost 200 athletes, coaches, and family members attended the awards banquet at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort, where shooters received medals and awards for their accomplishments. The four athletes winning spots on the USA National Junior Team were presented blue USA Shooting jackets by Todd Graves, former Olympian and current USA Shooting National Shotgun Coach. Also attending the banquet and recognizing the shooters were Mike Theimer, USA Shooting Director of Youth Shooting; Lloyd Woodhouse, former Olympian and legendary USA National Coach; Dave Johnson, USA Shooting Director of Operations; and USA Shooting members Nick Boerboon and Morgan Craft.
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is pleased to announce that Olympic Gold Medalist Kim Rhode will serve as its Honorary Fundraising Chairperson for 2014-2015. Kim is an alumna of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), having been involved in the earliest days of SCTP. “SCTP was very important to me as I began my competitive shooting career, and I am very pleased to lend my support to promote its ongoing growth,” said Rhode. “Kim represents the best attributes of our program and is a tremendous role model for our youth, not only as an Olympic athlete, but also now as a hard-working mom,” said Louise Terry, Chairperson of the SSSF Board of Directors. “Her extraordinary success in her career is due to her dedication to our sport and to her persistent pursuit of her personal goals. We are very proud of Kim and her outstanding achievements.” Kim Rhode starting shooting skeet at age 10 and won her first World Championship in American skeet only three years later. She won her first Olympic gold medal in women’s double trap at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, making the 17-year-old the youngest female gold medalist in the history of Olympic shooting. Kim followed this performance with a bronze at the Sydney Games in 2000 and another gold medal in double trap in 2004 at the Athens Games. When women’s double trap was eliminated from the Olympics following the 2004 Games, Kim refocused on international skeet, winning the silver medal in 2008 in Beijing and her third Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games, equaling the world record of 99/100 targets and making her the most decorated Olympic female shooter in history. In addition to her five Olympic medals, Kim has won 13 world championships, plus two ISSF World Cup wins in 2014 as she prepares for her sixth Olympic appearance in Rio in 2016. “Kim is also a Charter Member of the SSSF Champion’s Roundtable for major supporters,” said Dan Hathaway, Director of Foundation Development. ”Her leadership is most welcome as we embark on our new fundraising efforts.”
Those of you at the National Championships last week saw our photographers shooting photos on the ranges, at awards ceremonies, and pretty much wherever something was happening. Many of you asked how you could have access to those photos. We are still working our way through the volume of photos but will soon have them posted online where you can view them. You will be welcome to download any of those photos and may print or share them in social media. (This will not include the photos you may have arranged to have Elite Images shoot for you.) Photos posted online will be compressed into smaller sizes, but some of the photos will be available in a larger size. Once all the photos are sorted and posted, we will give you information in this space about how you may view them and request high-resolution digital versions. We will not offer printed photos. In the meantime, you can view the photos posted thus far on our Facebook pages. Keep checking back, as we will be posting hundreds more over the next several days. Any you see there may be downloaded for your personal use. By the way, you do not have to have a Facebook account to view our pages.SCTP Facebook PageSPP Facebook Page
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.
