Stu Wright is a man on a mission, and that mission is his 32 athletes here competing in the 2015 National Team Championships. Nothing is going to keep him from watching them take a run at the title…not even Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Stu is the head coach of the Pinckneyville Community High School shooting program. The owner of Wright’s, a gun shop he opened in the mid 70’s which caters to the clay target shooter, started his high school coaching career back in 2002 when he was asked to coach the school’s FFA squad. At the time there were just five shooters, enough for a competition squad. Today his program has 32 solid shooters competing in trap, skeet and sporting clays. Here at Nationals he has six seniors who have been with him from between four and seven years, and missing their final run at a national title isn’t something that he’s going to miss. On Thursday, the first day he could get out of bed after chemo, Stu made it to the World Shooting & Recreational Complex to watch his kids compete in sporting clays. He showed up not knowing where they stood or if they even had a chance at a title. When he found out how they were shooting, well, as Stu put it, “there’s no getting me out of here.” Led by senior Andy Opp, who was the only high school team shooter to post a perfect 100 on Wednesday and followed that up with 95 on Thursday to claim the individual High Overall title, PCHS Shooting Sports finished as the first place high school team, with 562, and second place among all teams. That made Thursday a very good day in Stu's book. Five months ago, back on February 6, Stu Wright learned he had cancer. On February 10 Andy and the rest of his team, the coaches and parents got the news, too. “It was rough getting the news but then everybody stepped up,” said Opp in describing how the close knit group took the news. Up until last year Stu Wright was the coach of the team, carrying most all of the responsibility with help from assistant coach Donny Nehring who coached the sporting clays shooters and traveled with the team to major events. But last year there were 22 team shooters and this year there are 32, a big jump for a community of just 2,500. Stu realized he needed help and built a team of assistant coaches for this season. “Now I have four fine guys that picked up the torch,” says Wright. And picking up the torch is exactly what was needed since February. Chemo takes a lot out of a person, even one with the drive and enthusiasm that Stu Wright seems to have an endless supply of. On those days, the bad days as Wright refers to them, he refuses to be around the kids because he doesn’t want his cancer to be their burden. Wright’s motto is ‘Fun With A Gun’ and that’s why he won’t get in the way of his kids’ fun with his cancer. Opp describes his coach as "one of a kind" and says, “Nobody’s going to be like Stu. He’s strict but fun and we always seem to be laughing.” Going into today’s American Trap finals, Stu’s kids, the boys from that small, tight community of Pinckneyville, Illinois, are ahead by 34 targets after breaking a 482 in their quest for the high school team title, making Coach Wright a very happy man. With no hope of hiding his pride in their first day’s performance Stu gushes, “That’s totally over our head.” And then he says of his cancer and recent round of chemo, “I have no side effects. I’m on top of the world and it doesn’t get any better than this.” And that's why there's no stopping Stu Wright.
Getting a shooting team up and running can take a bite out one’s wallet. But the cost isn’t much different than what families with competitive football, baseball or soccer players face. They all have equipment costs, training fees and, of course, travel expenses. Fortunately for those competing in the shooting sports there is help. Through the MidwayUSA Foundation, which was started by MidwayUSA owners Larry and Brenda Potterfield, several teams have built up small war chests to fund their shooting. In fact, you’d be surprised how much some have raised. To make it into the top ten teams based on the amount raised you’d have to start at the $400,000 mark. The top five all have over a half million in the bank. And most amazing of all is the amount the Massachusetts Shooters Foundation Junior Programs has raised. Their account is in excess of $1.2 million. Larry Gay, who coaches the Oskaloosa Shooting Team from a small faming community in Iowa, has 43 kids on his team with 20 of them competing in the 2015 National Team Championships in Sparta, Illinois. He also has over $515,000 in his endowment fund. It took the team only about a year to raise $480,000 and now the size of the team’s fund allows them to draw as much as $25,000 annually to help cover travel expenses, which has been crucial to their ability to compete at competitions like the Nationals and the upcoming International Trap Nationals in Colorado Springs. In addition to their draw the team raises another $15,000 to $20,000 each year thanks to the strong support of their community where several business and individuals step forward to assist the team. But it’s the endowment structure that has been the key to maintaining the team. “The MidwayUSA Foundation’s endowment program is extremely important to us because travel is ungodly expensive,” explained Coach Gay whose team competes two to three times a month during the season. “Our endowment helps underwrite those costs so parents don’t have to carry the full burden of sending the team to Nationals or Colorado.” To find out more about the MidwayUSA Foundation’s programs visit www.midwayusafoundation.org.
Participation at the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation's 2015 National Team Championships is broad reaching with 28 states represented. Nearly three quarters (74.1%) of the 2,800+ shooters come from just five states. Here's how athletes from the SSSF's Big 5 break out. Tennessee (25.3%) The Volunteer State accounts for 25.3% of all athletes with 601 competing in SCTP (24.4%) and 109 (31.6%) in SPP. Illinois (18.6%) The home of the World Shooting & Recreational Complex, the Land of Lincoln sent 484 (19.6%) of shotgunners and 40 (11.6%) of the pistol competitors. Wisconsin (14.9%) The Badger State athletes came to shoot with 371 (15.0%) in SCTP and 47 (13.6%) in SPP. Iowa (8.1%) The Hawkeye State rolled in with 200 (8.2%) of the SCTP athletes and 29 (8.4%) of those in SPP. Missouri (7.2%) The Show-Me State showed up with 202 (8.2%) SCTP competitors, and despite not having any shooters in the SPP Nationals they still hold down fifth overall on this list.
The USO of Wisconsin launched a first-of-its-kind program in 2015 with its USO shooting scholarships awarded to 13 SCTP / military youth athletes. The USO partnered with SCTP to provide clay target shooting gear and ammunition for athletes whose parents serve in the military. The bar was set high for the selection criteria with emphasis on scholastic performance, community volunteerism, and leadership potential. As the USO noted, both organizations share similar values and a vision to provide positive opportunities for youth through shooting sports. For 2016, the USO of Wisconsin is expanding that program by awarding $2,500 in college scholarships for next year’s high school seniors who are involved in SCTP. The scholarships will be available to athletes from Wisconsin whose parents are serving on active duty, in the National Guard, or Reserve Military. The USO-Wisconsin Board of Directors noted, "We understand that when our military members serve, it often comes at the sacrifice of their families. We take great pride in serving the whole military family." We commend the USO-Wisconsin for this innovative program and their support of SCTP athletes, and we look forward to seeing other organizations follow their lead!
The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), in conjunction with the Pacific International Trapshooting Association (PITA) Grand Pacific Championships, will host the SCTP Western U.S. Trap Shooting Tournament at the Evergreen Sportsman's Club in Olympia, Washington. This will be a 200-target, 16-yard singles event on Thursday-Friday, July 23-24. The tournament will run concurrently with PITA’s Y-E-S program and Event #13 & #15 of PITA’s Grand Pacific Championships. SCTP teams with memberships in the PITA and ATA are welcome. Youth membership in PITA is free. Over $30,000 in team endowment funding will be available. Squad and athlete awards will be presented in Senior and Intermediate divisions. A limited number of slots are available, and teams must register by July 5. Registration is through the SHOT system at www.sssfonline.org.
Ellis County Sportsman's Club in Waxahachie, Texas, will host the 2015 SCTP Texas State Sporting Clays Championship on June 27, and all SCTP teams are invited to participate. Please note that this is a location change due to flooding at the original location, Elm Fork Shooting Sports. The event will offer 100 sporting clays targets. Team and individual awards and prizes will be presented.See the event flyer for details.
Coaches and athletes will have two new side events to participate in at this year’s SCTP National Team Championships. Preliminary 16-Yard Trap Singles Athletes and teams can register to shoot some preliminary trap targets in this Monday/Tuesday side event. These targets will be registered and we will have some awards for squads and Individuals.Preliminary 16-Yard Trap Singles – Coach/Athlete Coaches and athletes get the chance to compete together! The coach's score counts as one of the five squad scores. Coaches sign up in the #1 spot and squad four athletes in the next four spots. Squads with coach and four Intermediate/Rookie shooters will be in the Intermediate Division; coach and four Senior Division athletes will be in the Senior Division; and a mixed squad will be in the Open Division. Only one coach per four athletes is eligible. This is designed to be a fun competition, but targets are registered and awards will be offered. This event is sponsored by the ATA.
You can learn about everything that's happening at the 2015 National Team Championships with the event program, and it's ready for your perusal. Use it to plan your schedule, learn about side events, or just stoke your excitement for the biggest event of the year! The program also includes information on the SCTP International-Style National Championships in Colorado Springs.
The SCTP and SPP National Team Championships will be July 13-18 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois. Based on opening-week registrations that were almost double 2014 numbers, staff are expecting to have a record-breaking event. If your team hasn't yet registered, do it today!
June 1 was much anticipated by Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) teams across the country, as it marked the opening of registration for the 2015 SCTP National Team Championships. Based on the first day’s registrations, staff are predicting another record-breaking event. In the first 24 hours of open registration for the July 13-18 tournament, the program saw 66 teams register 1036 athletes. Eighteen states were represented with 2,026 event registrations filed. “These numbers are incredible; they doubled last year’s first-day totals,” commented Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “Coaches set their alarm clocks to wake up at 12:01 on June 1 to register their teams!” While the numbers are already up significantly from last year’s registrations, Wondrash points out that there will be enough shooting slots at the spacious World Shooting and Recreational Complex to fit in every team wanting to attend. The Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) will also hold its National Junior/Senior Championships in conjunction with the SCTP tournament. In its third year, the SPP event has registered 259 athletes from 24 teams in 13 states to date. New SCTP side events include 16-yard Preliminary Singles Trap and a coach/athlete trap shoot. Team endowment funding, games, and many industry representatives will also be on hand all week. With appearances by people like MidwayUSA’s own Larry and Brenda Potterfield on Tuesday, July 14, Olympic Gold Medalist Vincent Hancock on Wednesday through Friday, shooting exhibitions and clinics by professional shooters, and more exciting events still to be announced, SCTP and SPP are looking at a very busy and exciting week in Sparta, Illinois!
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is proud to announce the 2015 recipients in our SSSF Scholarship Program. Sixty-five SCTP and SPP student athletes will receive scholarships totaling $57,000. SSSF will add another $4,000 to that total in July when it awards scholarships to four additional athletes during Last Competitor Standing events at its 2015 National Championships. From 2013 through its 2015 distributions, SSSF will have awarded $140,000 in scholarship funds to 148 student athletes in the SCTP and SPP programs. Athletes who graduated from high school in 2015 and will enroll in college this year were eligible to apply for this year's scholarships. Awards are based on SCTP/SPP participation, academics, need, and other factors. The scholarships are being funded by generous sponsors who support our youth shooting programs, as well as supporters who raise funds through national banquets. For the SCTP scholarships, the National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association (NSSA-NSCA) contributed $10,000 for 10 awards, and an additional $8,500 was provided by the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), GunBroker.com, NRA, Hodgdon Powder, Zanders Sporting Goods, and MEC. Of the eight $1000 scholarships being awarded to SPP athletes, six are being funded by a donation from Smith & Wesson, while others are being funded by a $1000 donation each from the Joyce Wilson Women in the Shooting Sports Scholarship and the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). Congratulations to the following 2015 scholarship recipients:
Scholastic Clay Target Program Athletes
Scholarships are funded by the SSSF and NSSA-NSCA unless otherwise indicated.
Jacob Buchanon
Alaska
Grace Hambuchen
Arkansas
Marshall Anema
Arizona
Danielle Buttermore
Connecticut
Clayton Teall
Florida
Zachary Metz
Florida
GunBroker.com
Ciara Erenberger
Iowa
NRA
Samuel Frederes
Iowa
Joshua Morrison
Iowa
Lake Heaton
Iowa
ATA
Lauren Herr
Iowa
Christopher Martin
Iowa
Caleb Gradeless
Iowa
Samantha Ashland
Iowa
Luke Borden
Idaho
Sydney Carson
Indiana
Conner Haley
Indiana
ATA
Emily Duquette
Massachusetts
Alyssa Minder
Minnesota
Zachary Jung
Minnesota
Emily Hampson
Missouri
Austin Webb
Montana
Hodgdon Powder
Courtney Jones
North Carolina
Hunter Clark
North Carolina
Grant Lind
North Dakota
Madison Webster
Nebraska
Hodgdon Powder
Carl Kessler
Ohio
Sean Curran
Ohio
GunBroker.com
Tess Decker
Oklahoma
Douglas Birchard
Pennsylvania
ATA
Bryce Buckwalter
Pennsylvania
Zane McShane
Pennsylvania
Donovan Barry
Pennsylvania
William Till
South Carolina
Braxton Rider
Tennessee
Harold Doughty III
Tennessee
Samantha Smith
Tennessee
Mathew St.John
Tennessee
NRA Scholarship
Joseph Simmons
Tennessee
Travis Old
Texas
GunBroker.com
Ian Stodart
Utah
Grayson Helms
Washington
Megan Rice
Washington
Abigail Denmark
Washington
Abigail Rosenau
Wisconsin
ATA
Dalton Karow
Wisconsin
Emily Bradley
Wisconsin
Samuel Hovde
Wisconsin
Zachary Hahn
Wisconsin
Zachary Henderson
Wisconsin
Emma Gehring
Wisconsin
Atticus Clark
Wisconsin
Gunnar Kern
Wisconsin
Molly Cocroft
Wisconsin
Joseph Altwies
Wisconsin
Brian Morris
Wisconsin
Zanders Sporting Goods
Pauline Schlais
Wisconsin
MEC
Scholastic Pistol Program Athletes
Franklin Ordway
Oregon
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Eri Martin
Maine
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Hunter Reiley
Texas
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Ryan Hellyer
Kentucky
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Tyler Wright
Ohio
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Corey Bucholz
Wisconsin
Smith & Wesson Scholarship
Amber Rasmussen
Wisconsin
Joyce Wilson Women in the Shooting Sports Scholarship
Stu Wright is a man on a mission, and that mission is his 32 athletes here competing in the 2015 National Team Championships. Nothing is going to keep him from watching them take a run at the title…not even Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Stu is the head coach of the Pinckneyville Community High School shooting program. The owner of Wright’s, a gun shop he opened in the mid 70’s which caters to the clay target shooter, started his high school coaching career back in 2002 when he was asked to coach the school’s FFA squad. At the time there were just five shooters, enough for a competition squad. Today his program has 32 solid shooters competing in trap, skeet and sporting clays. Here at Nationals he has six seniors who have been with him from between four and seven years, and missing their final run at a national title isn’t something that he’s going to miss. On Thursday, the first day he could get out of bed after chemo, Stu made it to the World Shooting & Recreational Complex to watch his kids compete in sporting clays. He showed up not knowing where they stood or if they even had a chance at a title. When he found out how they were shooting, well, as Stu put it, “there’s no getting me out of here.” Led by senior Andy Opp, who was the only high school team shooter to post a perfect 100 on Wednesday and followed that up with 95 on Thursday to claim the individual High Overall title, PCHS Shooting Sports finished as the first place high school team, with 562, and second place among all teams. That made Thursday a very good day in Stu's book. Five months ago, back on February 6, Stu Wright learned he had cancer. On February 10 Andy and the rest of his team, the coaches and parents got the news, too. “It was rough getting the news but then everybody stepped up,” said Opp in describing how the close knit group took the news. Up until last year Stu Wright was the coach of the team, carrying most all of the responsibility with help from assistant coach Donny Nehring who coached the sporting clays shooters and traveled with the team to major events. But last year there were 22 team shooters and this year there are 32, a big jump for a community of just 2,500. Stu realized he needed help and built a team of assistant coaches for this season. “Now I have four fine guys that picked up the torch,” says Wright. And picking up the torch is exactly what was needed since February. Chemo takes a lot out of a person, even one with the drive and enthusiasm that Stu Wright seems to have an endless supply of. On those days, the bad days as Wright refers to them, he refuses to be around the kids because he doesn’t want his cancer to be their burden. Wright’s motto is ‘Fun With A Gun’ and that’s why he won’t get in the way of his kids’ fun with his cancer. Opp describes his coach as "one of a kind" and says, “Nobody’s going to be like Stu. He’s strict but fun and we always seem to be laughing.” Going into today’s American Trap finals, Stu’s kids, the boys from that small, tight community of Pinckneyville, Illinois, are ahead by 34 targets after breaking a 482 in their quest for the high school team title, making Coach Wright a very happy man. With no hope of hiding his pride in their first day’s performance Stu gushes, “That’s totally over our head.” And then he says of his cancer and recent round of chemo, “I have no side effects. I’m on top of the world and it doesn’t get any better than this.” And that's why there's no stopping Stu Wright.
