Apply Now for 2019 SCTP Junior Olympic Development Camp

Scholastic Clay Target Program coaches and athletes are invited to apply for a very special camp this spring focused on learning the fun and challenging clay target disciplines of international (i.e. “bunker”) trap and international skeet. The 2019 Junior Olympic Development Camp (JODC) will take place in Colorado Springs, CO at the Olympic Training Center and USA Shooting’s International Shotgun Range at Fort Carson– training grounds for USA’s Olympic shooting athletes! The purpose of the JODC camp is twofold: 1. To assist USA Shooting in its pursuit of identifying SCTP Athletes who have the potential to become USA Shooting Team members and, ultimately, Olympic champions; and 2. To provide SCTP Coaches and State Advisors with increased knowledge and skills in order to become more effective in working with SCTP Athletes. The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation will host the JODC, which is specifically for SCTP Athletes, Head and Assistant Coaches, and State Advisors registered with the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. Coaches, State Advisors, and all registered, active SCTP Athletes who are 14 years of age or older in the Intermediate Advanced through Varsity Division, are eligible to apply. The National Coach Training Staff will conduct introductory training for SCTP Athletes in the Olympic disciplines of Bunker Trap and International Skeet. The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Shooting have confirmed May 22-27, 2019 for the camp with coaches attending all days and athletes attending May 23-27. Interested coaches and athletes must apply and be selected for the camp. The 2019 Junior Olympic Development Camp has room for up to twenty four (24) qualified SCTP Athletes. (That doesn’t mean all slots must be filled). For active registered Coaches and State Advisors, there are up to ten (10) slots for coach training For complete details, please review the information sheet and application forms below or on the SCTP Forms and Handbook section of our website. The deadline for receiving all completed application packages is Midnight, Saturday, April 6th, 2019……NO EXCEPTIONS! 2019 JODC Information 2019 Athlete Application 2019 Coach Application

SCTP National Team Kicks off the New Year in Gainesville, Florida

Gator Skeet & Trap Club once again played host to the SCTP National Team for their first training camp of the year, January 3rd – 5th.  The emphasis of this camp was technical training, i.e. pulling the trigger and breaking targets, in preparation for USA Shooting’s Spring Selection Match, February 25th – March 9th in Tucson, AZ. Athletes were on site for three days with coaches Terri DeWitt and Joe Buffa who put them through drills, finals practices, and a few pressure scenarios. With reference to the athletes, Coach Dewitt remarked, “They came to work and that’s what we did. Not only did they break a lot of targets, but they started to incorporate the mental training techniques they learned at last month’s camp with Dr. Jason Selk.”

Shirts and Logos.com Announces 2019 Donations to the SCTP Scholarship Program

SCTP Official Sublimated Team Shirt Sponsor Shirts and Logos.com, a long time supplier of high quality Team shirts to SCTP Teams across the country has announced a new program for 2019 to directly benefit the SCTP Scholarship Program. Beginning with the first team shirts ordered on January 1, 2019, Shirts and Logos.com will be donating 10% of each order it receives from SCTP teams to the SCTP Scholarship Program. Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director said “we are delighted to have our long time and trusted team shirt supplier Shirts and Logos.com step up and commit this level of support to the SCTP Scholarship Program. Shirts and Logo’s.com has been providing creative team graphics on high quality shirts since their first order for my high school team years ago.” Shirts & Logo’s currently provide the SCTP with the JODC sublimated dye shirts as well as the “All State Team” shirts. They will help your team design a shirt specifically for you! Let their team of highly talented designers go to work for you and turn out some shirts your team will be proud to wear. All while a portion of those proceeds help build the Scholarship fund for our graduating seniors! For more information, check out the Shirts and Logo’s.com website, www.shirtsandlogos.com or call 414.727.0415 and ask for Joe James.

SCTP National Team Members Sharpen Their Mental Game

In the pause between finishing their finals and finishing their Christmas shopping, members of the 2018/2019 SCTP National Team gathered at Fairfield Sportsmen’s Association in Cincinnati, Ohio to take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to work with sport psychologist, Dr. Jason Selk. These International Trap and Skeet athletes alternated classroom time with live-fire training; in other words, learning, then applying, the fundamentals of Dr. Selk’s mental workout.
Dr. Jason Selk shares his mental workout with SCTP National Team members
“Our intent was to give these athletes the tools to develop a strong mental game before next year’s competition season begins. For most of them, that will be USA Shooting’s Spring Selection Match at the end of February,” shared Coach Terri DeWitt. “Jason Selk is a dynamic speaker and his mental workout program is rock solid. We’re extremely grateful that we were able to have him here. I’m really excited for these kids next year,” she smiled. Assistant Coach Joe Buffa adds, “I really think Dr. Selk brings a different outlook on how to attain mental strength. He makes his students understand that they can train themselves to be mentally strong. I feel that if our shooting athletes implement his techniques, we will see their level of competition rise!”
Mental training camp – December 14/15, Cincinnati, OH
A little over 3000 trap and skeet targets were thrown over two days in spite of a persistent, bone-chilling rain on Saturday. But the weather was not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of these athletes. Skeet team member AJ Nomina was pragmatic, saying, “Training your shooting mechanically is always a must before the next match. Everyone needs practice. However, this was the first time I learned what I can do to prepare myself mentally before a match. The mental preparation aspect of this camp was what I’ve been looking for.” Peter Meola, Trap team member, seemed to give voice to what everyone was feeling as the camp drew to a close on Saturday afternoon. “It was a great experience and I was happy to have the opportunity to participate in it,” he said.
Jay Bible, Josh Corbin, and AJ Nomina (left to right) training on the skeet range at Fairfield Sportsmen’s Association
The SCTP National Team will meet again in just two short weeks, this time in Gainesville, Florida in preparation for USA Shooting’s Spring Selection Match in Tucson, Arizona.  

Gene Overstreet and Phil Murray join the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation Board of Directors

  12th SGT Major of the United States Marine Corps, Gene Overstreet and White Flyer National Sales Manager Phil Murray have recently  joined the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Board of Directors. “We are pleased to have SGT Major Overstreet and Phil Murray on the SSSF Board of Directors” stated SSSF Board Chair Louise Terry. “Both bring an industry and personal perspective to the importance of continued growth and development of responsible youth shooting sports across the country”. SGT Major Overstreet spent 29 years in the United States Marine Corps, his last four years from 1991-1995 as the 12th SGT Major of the Marine Corps. Since retirement, SGT, Major Overstreet has served on several military and civilian boards. Phil Murray is currently the National Sales Manager of White Flyer Targets, Inc, the nation’s largest manufacturer of clay targets. Phil currently is also a member of the Kid & Clays Board of Directors. Ben Berka, SSSF President and Executive Director added, “both SGT Major Overstreet and Phil Murray are currently involved in the growth of youth shooting sports. They have experienced first hand the responsible, high quality life skills youth shooting competitors learn and utilize throughout their entire lives”.
Murray Photo Credit J. Michael Whitacre via Facebook

2018 Vision 20/20 Final Results

A big thanks goes out to all of the teams and donors who participated in the 2018 Vision 20/20 campaign! With your help we have raised $259,588!! Total impact for the campaign amounts to almost $130,000 in cash grants going to Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Action Shooting Program teams along with over $350,000 in MidwayUSA Foundation team endowment account benefit! Congratulations to the teams that worked hard to compete in our team endowment bonus fund competitions. There were two team competitions with $30,000 each in MidwayUSA Foundation team endowment funding up for grabs as follows:
  1. Teams with the most dollars raised.
  2. Teams with the most unique donors making donations via the SSSF website or print and mail form.
Top team in each category receives $10,000, 2nd gets $8,000, 3rd gets $5,000, 4th gets, $3,000, 5th gets $2,500 and 6th receives $1,500.
Here are the final team standings for each competition: Most Dollars Raised
Team NameStateTeam IDTotal Donations
Buckeye Chippewa Trapshooting ClubOhio614$54,321.00
Rio Salado Target TerminatorsArizona1070$31,843.00
Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Trap TeamIowa54$22,500.00
Waterford Wolverine Shooting TeamWisconsin1254$22,305.00
Ballard Clay BombersIowa172$16,505.00
North Scott Trap TeamIowa119$16,104.00
Most Unique Donors
Team NameStateTeam IDUnique Donors
Waterford Wolverine Shooting TeamWisconsin1254142
Central Arizona Target ShootersArizona64688
Rio Salado Target TerminatorsArizona107087
Ballard Clay BombersIowa17277
Williams County Target BustersOhio127660
Ankeny Centennial Jaguars Trap TeamIowa5455
Thanks again to all of the teams who participated and to the generous donors who supported them! If you did not participate in 2018, make plans to participate in the 2019 campaign starting in October.

Deadline Approaching for Colonel D.D. Behrens Athlete Endowment Grant Applications

2019 Athlete Endowment Deadline - January 31, 2019 In 2005 the Athlete Endowment Fund was established by Colonel D.D. Behrens with the intention of awarding grants to shooting sport athletes to help offset the cost of competitions, equipment, ammunition, travel and training in hopes of maintaining USA Shooting’s competitive excellence well into the future. The goal of the endowment is to build a strong foundation of USA Shooting athletes by assisting with development of their shooting skills needed to become high-level competitors and Olympians. Learn more and view applications materials at the USA Shooting website...

Congratulations to the SCTP National Raffle Winner!

Congratulations to Wayne Werner, from Schaller, Iowa who won a Kolar Low Max over/under Shotgun in the 2018 Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) National Raffle.

Wayne’s purchased his ticket, one of approximately 8,000 tickets sold by 65-70 SCTP teams across the country from his grandson Allen, an SCTP Trap Team member.

Our special thanks to Kolar Arms and all of our SCTP teams that worked so hard to sell this year’s raffle tickets.

SSSF Donates Nearly $500,000 to MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Accounts

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) recently donated $480,281 to Team Endowment Accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation. Teams earned funds by raising money through the SSSF's Vision 20/20 fundraising campaign, SCTP and SASP national fundraisers and by placing in SCTP/SASP national events. These donations have benefited 97 teams participating in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) across 25 different states. Since 2014 the SSSF has donated over $6.5 million to benefit 642 SCTP and SASP team endowment accounts across 45 states at the MidwayUSA Foundation. The SSSF provides SCTP and SASP member-teams the opportunity to earn MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Account funds by participating in SCTP and SASP fundraising activities benefiting local shooting sports communities and through placements in SSSF-sponsored competitions . Please contact the SSSF for more information on how your shooting team can earn team endowment funding for their account at the MidwayUSA Foundation. The Team Endowment Program at the MidwayUSA Foundation gives a community the ability to financially support a competitive youth shooting sports program or financially assist in the start-up of a new youth shooting sports program. The team can then request a grant of up to 5% of their endowment account balance once each year, in either December or June, to pay for team expenses. For more information about how the MidwayUSA Foundation is changing the future of youth shooting sports, please visit midwayusafoundation.org or call 1-877-375-4570.

2018 SCTP Nationals Rebroadcast on Shooting USA Sports Television

The Scholastic Clay Target Program’s 2018 National Competition from the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio will be the featured story on the Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019 Shooting USA Sports Television broadcast at 8:00 PM Central on the Outdoor Channel. The episode will be re-broadcast once more in 2019. Check the current airing schedule at www.ShootingUSA.com for upcoming shows. This year’s SCTP Nationals featured over 5,600 registrations by 2,256 athletes between 9 years of age and college from 26 states across the country.  Overall attendance including siblings, parents, and guests exceeded 10,000 making this year’s SCTP Nationals the largest SCTP event in our history. Tom Wondrash, National Director of the Scholastic Clay Target Program was thrilled with this years competition. “ This years national event featured some of our closest team competitions and the energy and enthusiasm was “off the charts”. The 2019 SCTP Nationals are scheduled for July 13-20 at The Cardinal Shooting Center.

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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.
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