With spring comes the mixed blessings of
clear streets and the muddy feet of four dogs that, no matter how good
a dog trainer you are, you cannot teach to wipe their feet when they
come inside. We have a towel at every entry point to the house and
everyone gets a quick foot wipe before access is gained. I really like
warm weather and, as always, I hope summer is close behind.
Another
rite of spring is the ability to get out the shotgun and do a little
recreational shooting. If you like to fish, there is nothing better
than the first casts in open water to make you think spring has sprung.
Shooters are no different. With snow drifts 6 to 10 feet deep, it’s
hard to walk back and forth from the shooter’s bench to the target
wall. Spring brings with it the first broken clay pigeons of the season.
The
smell of gun powder and the thump of the shotgun recoil is much the
same for a shooter as the first casts into open water are to the
fisherman.
Recreational shooting is on the rise in Nobles County,
and in a big way. I am referring to the fledgling High School Trap Club
Shooting Team. I wrote about this organization last year and they have
made monumental progress since that time. In the club’s first year,
they fielded six teams of high school shooters. The second year more
than doubled to 13 teams, and so far this year there are 24 teams
registered with a great possibility of it increasing by the time the
registration deadline has been reached.
A team is limited to 10
members, and each team has its own volunteer coach. As with all other
organizations, this shooting club is always looking for more great
volunteers. There are three levels of competition — varsity, junior
varsity and C class. Most programs have both young men and women
participants. Last year the state competition was won by a young lady.
The
Worthington area team competes against other towns either in head to
head competitions or by virtual competition, where the team competes at
their home location without the other competing team on site. The
scores are posted online and each team is ranked among their
competitors.
This virtual competition was started between the
Worthington Area team and the St. Francis team. It has grown
tremendously and, as of last count, 43 other schools have expressed
interest in joining this exciting opportunity. The closest team that
competes with the local team is located in Tracy.
The team is
completely self-funded and receives no taxpayer support. Expenses are
covered by registration fees and the generous donations from outside
sources and club supporters. It is considered a Worthington High School
sport and participants can letter in Trapshooting much like football
and other recognized athletics. The home base for the Worthington Area
team is the Worthington Gun Club, located just north of Worthington on
U.S. 59.
So how do you get involved in the fastest growing
sport in Minnesota either as a participant of adult volunteer? You
attend an informational meeting at the Worthington High School
cafeteria at 6 p.m., March 14. This is where and when all the
information you need will be presented. Interested schools need to act
faster and join the league by March 4, but interested students need to
have the necessary paperwork and fees paid by March 25.
Students
can pick up a registration form at the meeting or can log on to
www.mnclaytarget.com to get a form. It also has tons of other
information on this outdoor activity and is a great source of
information.
The current coaching staff of the Worthington Area
trap shooting league are some of the most dedicated volunteers you will
ever meet. I know them all and they have committed vast amounts of
their time and energy to get this program from non-existence a few
years ago to the fastest growing shooting club in the entire state.
They are Scott Oberloh, Chris Kruse and Aaron Sieve. Their intentions
go far beyond just helping students become better shooters. By
connecting young people to positive role models, these volunteers help
students learn both a respect for safe firearm handling as well as the
respect for other people and the character that will aid them for the
rest of their lives.
It has been a long time since my kid skated
as a mite in the Worthington Hockey program. They had a saying back
then that “kids on ice stay out of hot water.” I think this is as true
today as it was 20 years ago, and it matters little if it is on the
ice, at the trap range or any other activity with adult supervision,
these kids have a better chance of growing up to be responsible young
adults than those released on their own recognizance.
Recreational
shooting is a lifelong activity. I look forward to seeing the
Worthington High School Trap team listed in the big name publications
as the leader in high school shooting sports. Many of these young
shooters will be the mainstay of the Worthington Trap Club 20 years
from now. Many little towns have a sign at the entrance to their
community that proudly displays their state championships dating back
50 to 60 years ago. Maybe with the efforts of the volunteer staff of
our new trap club, we will need a sign like that in Worthington to say
we are the state champs in the high school shooting sports.
I will help dig the holes for the posts. You can call team coach Chris Kruse at 360-5482 for more information.
Scott Rall is the Daily Globe’s outdoors columnist. His column can also be read weekly at www.dglobe.com.
