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“Collegiate programs are increasingly important as they allow students to continue to participate and hopefully develop a lifelong love for the sport.”
An iTrapshooter.com interview
Copyright 2012.
All Rights Reserved.
Collegiate Fort Hays State University Trap Team
Page Two
To keep honing their skills, the students keep a regular practice schedule every week at the Hays City Sportsman’s Club. They practice, trap, skeet and sporting clays as the collegiate shot contain multiple shooting venues.
“More and more of the kids are coming in with a shooting background. Due to the success of the program they are coming in with skills now,” Dr. Shepherd said. “They come in having the trap skills and we help them develop them.”
While it is not necessary to have a specific skill level to participate in the program, students are expected to maintain a certain grade point average and are required to work community service.
“I hold them to a standard – and expect them to be responsible for things,” Dr. Shepherd said. “Also, it’s important they learn teamwork". While shooting is an individual sport, you might say one of my big things is, ‘Hey, you shoot together as a team and the individual honors will take care of themselves. Support one another, be ambassadors, and project that positive image.”
When shooting competitively, the students dress in the university’s colors. “The kids look like professionals and they act like professionals. It pays dividends,” Dr. Shepherd said.
The FHSU team has become increasingly involved in the scholastic clay targets program. Dr. Shepherd remembers the first time the FHSU team attended the Nationals. “There were about 300 students, maybe twenty-
Outside of the Nationals, the Fort Hayes team shoots throughout the school year in collegiate regional shoots. “For the summer ATA shoots we start in Missouri and end in Wyoming. We have a little circuit that goes around. The plan is to end up in five to seven states.
Schools within the region include Colorado State, Oklahoma State, Missouri State, Lindenwood University of Missouri, Missouri S&T, University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming to name a few.
When it’s time for competition, students are squadded based on who is shooting the best. They pay their own entry fees, while entities within the school covers the bulk of the travel costs.
The FHSU trapshooting program continues to grow each season, yet Dr. Shepherd explained it has never been the intent for students to “just come in here and shoot”. “This is an opportunity to participate in an opportunity. I want you (students) to go to the next level,” he said. “You’ll be sitting in my chair someday.”
Dr. Shepherd also pointed out that trapshooting participation can often times drop off after high school. Sometimes people won’t rediscover trap until later in life when they feel more financially able. Collegiate programs are increasingly important as they allow students to continue to participate and hopefully develop a lifelong love for the sport.
For more information on the FHSU trapshooting program or to volunteer time or resources including donations, contact Dshepher@fhsu.edu.
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Team Takes Top Honors
Amid strong competion, the FHSU collegiate team took top honors at the ACUI’s 44th
Annual Clay Targets Tournament held in San Antonio (March 27-
The 2012 Champions include
Damian Giles, who won the men’s division with a perfect
score of 100/100. There were more then 370 participants in the mens event.
Of the
one hundred participants In the ladies division, FHSU’s
Ashley Nau was second with
98/100 and Katie Svoboda third with 98/100. Ladies was decided by a shootoff.
