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Level 1 Pistol Course in Michigan for SPP Coaches

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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.

Click here for full information and registration form

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.

Click here for more details and registration form.

SSSF Extends Agreement with WSRC to Host Nationals Through 2017

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Art Ashbrook, Ben Berka
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.

Video: Basics to Scholastic Pistol Program Shooting

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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.

Kim Rhode to Serve as Honorary Fundraising Chairperson

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Five-time Olympic medalist is SCTP Alumna

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.

Kim Rhode“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.”

SCTP and SPP Make History with National Championships

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More than 2500 young shooters, along with thousands of coaches, family members, and supporters, descended upon the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Ill. last week for the largest youth shooting event ever held, the SCTP and SPP National Championships.

The July 14-19 event saw significant increases in virtually every metric over 2013’s record-setting Nationals. In the SCTP event alone, competitors shot 715,000 targets, a 35% increase over last year. Shooters from 175 SCTP teams came from 26 states.

SPP also saw its own increases. In only its second Junior/Senior National Championship, SPP experienced an increase of 62% in participant numbers, hosting 326 shooters representing 39 teams from 15 states. Earlier this year, SPP hosted a separate Collegiate National Championship with close to 100 shooters from 24 squads.

See National Championship Scores and Results

With the largest contingency of shooters, Trap had almost 1900 participants, a 19% increase. A total of 736 shooters shot Skeet for a 29% growth, and the 677 Sporting Clays shooters represented a 30% increase.

Of the 2180 SCTP shooters, 1818 were male and 361 female.

“An event of this magnitude could only take place so successfully with a great deal of hard work and dedication from our student athletes, coaches, parents, team volunteers, and our own staff,” said Ben Berka, President and Executive Director of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), which powers SCTP and SPP. “We are especially grateful to our many sponsors and benefactors who make it possible for us to create an unforgettable experience for our athletes. We also owe kudos to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex, a remarkable venue that hosted our thousands of shooters and spectators with ease. We look forward to hosting our 2015 National Championships there.”

SPP Shooters Win Valuable Prizes at Nationals

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Not only did each Scholastic Pistol Program shooter take home more than $60 in goodies supplied by our sponsors, but many of the shooters and squads also won valuable prizes in random drawings throughout the SPP Junior/Senior National Championships.

Among the more than $16,000 in prizes given away were PARA USA pistols, Beretta Neos pistols, Glock pistols, a Mossberg .22 LR rifle, a Browning Buckmark pink pistol, Americase pistol cases, Brownells shooting accessories, NextLevel training pistol, Blade Tech knives and holsters, products from Otis Technology, gift certificates from XS Sights, Atlanta Arms, Tactical Solutions, and GT Targets, and much more.

See the SPP Nationals Prizes and Winners.

How to Get Photos from the National Championships

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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 Page
    SPP Facebook Page

Get Your Nationals T-shirts

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You left Sparta without buying an official event t-shirt, or you liked them so much you want one in another color — or even if you missed the event but don’t want to miss the t-shirt — no worries! The Great Outdoors Company at the WSRC still has a limited supply of shirts available.

Black t-shirtThe black shirt has the full, colorful design on the back, with the World Shooting and Recreational Complex logo on the front left chest.

WSRC logoBlack t-shirts are available in Small, Medium, Large, XL, 2XL, and 3XL.

The other t-shirt style has the entire event design on the front and is offered in four colors in the sizes indicated:

    SCTP t-shirtHeather Blue – Small, Large
    Heather Green – Small, Medium, Large, XL
    Heather Pink – Small, Medium, Large, XL
    Heather Coral – Small, XL

Price for the t-shirts is $15.99 each with free shipping in the contiguous 48 states.

For credit card orders, call The Great Outdoors Company at 888-529-5130.

Dan Rex Is Krieghoff K-80 Winner

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Krieghoff K-80 Congratulations to Dan Rex of Audubon, Penn., drawn as winner of the Krieghoff Vintage Scroll K-80 shotgun worth more than $20,000. The drawing was held last Saturday night during the National Championships.

Raffle tickets for the gun drawing were sold for $50 each to raise money for the SSSF Scholarship Fund. SCTP and SPP teams also had the opportunity to sell the tickets to earn endowment funds.

Our congratulations to Mr. Rex!

Potterfields Visit with Shooters at Nationals

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Larry and Brenda Potterfield
Brenda Potterfield, far left, and Larry Potterfield, far right, accepted gifts including school letter sweaters from the Marian High School and Creighton Prep Trap Team from Omaha, Neb.

Larry and Brenda Potterfield, founders and owners of MidwayUSA and founders of the MidwayUSA Foundation, spent last Thursday at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex with SCTP and SPP shooters, touring the National Championship event and even taking time to shoot a round of trap with three lucky SCTP competitors. Anticipating the visit, many teams brought along autographed photos, cards, and other gifts — including a pair of letter sweaters — to express their appreciation for the Potterfields’ generosity to SSSF programs.

Brenda Potterfield
L-R, Brenda Potterfield, Kalee Lancour of Burlington High School Demons (WI), and Chase Rich of Jefferson County 4-H Patriot Shooters (TN). Kalee and Chase,along with Zachary Wells of the Ft. Lee Dusters (VA), had the privilege of shooting a round of trap with the Potterfields.
The Potterfields watched teams shoot, talked with shooters and coaches, posed for photos, and demonstrated the warmth and interest in young shooters for which they are known.

SSSF also had a presentation to Larry and Brenda, a pair of hand-engraved leather shooting bags, in recognition of their being named “Founding Life Diamond Members” of the Champion’s Roundtable, which recognizes donors who have made major contributions to our mission. They are also Charter Members of the SSSF Legacy Society, which honors our donors who have included SSSF in their estate plans through deferred gifts.

See more photos on our SCTP Facebook page and SPP page.

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