fbpx

Tag: Joe Buffa

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.”

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.

 

Dr. Jason Selk Mental Training Camp, Harrison Ohio

Join the SCTP National Team for a December mental training camp with Dr. Jason Selk, Director of Mental Training for the St. Louis Cardinals. We are very fortunate to have been able to schedule Dr. Selk to come work with us.

Dr. Selk will be presenting a half-day seminar based on his book, 10-Minute Toughness. This book combines all of the concepts including breathing, visualization, task-centered focus, goals, etc. A copy of this book will be provided to all athletes attending the camp. At this time the only openings remaining are for coaches.

What: SCTP NT mental training camp w/ Dr. Jason Selk

Who: SCTP NT members and NT alumni (and walk-ons as determined by available slots)

When: Friday, December 14th, 12:30 – 4:30 (Dr. Selk’s seminar with some live-fire)

Saturday, December 15th, 9:00 – 4:00 (range training with Coach DeWitt and Coach Buffa)

Where: Fairfield Sportsmen’s Association, 6501 River Road, Harrison, OH 45030

How: Download the application form and return with payment before November 28

*Ammunition will be available for purchase on site, to include Winchester AA #9 for Skeet. You may also bring your own ammo.

*Lunch will be provided for Saturday only. Friday afternoon we will have light refreshments, but no meal. Plan accordingly.

*Hotel suggestions (in no particular order):

Hampton Inn Cincinnati Northwest/Fairfield

Comfort Suites

Springhill Suites by Marriott Cincinnati North/Forest Park

Quality Inn & Suites

Holiday Inn Express Cincinnati West

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Harrison

SCTP National Team Members Compete at Junior Olympic Nationals

Over 200 junior International Trap and Skeet athletes converged in Colorado Springs June 21-29 for the 2018 USA Shooting Junior Olympic National Championships.  Of those 200 young athletes, nine were wearing SCTP National Team vests: Maddy Bernau, Heather Broski, Jack Brosseau, Trevor Evelhair, AJ Nomina, Molly Sheehan, Mark Shields, Madeleine Taylor, and Tyler Theide (Cole Barrett withdrew from Men’s Skeet due to illness).

After a week of capricious Colorado weather that included extreme heat, strong winds, lightning, and hail, four SCTP National Team members will be trading their SCTP vests for a USA Shooting Junior Team or Junior Squad vest.  Consistent with the mission of the SCTP National Team program as a pipeline for USA Shooting’s upcoming junior talent Bernau, Brosseau, and Shields have graduated to the major leagues.  Bernau and Brosseau both fought their way to silver medals in Women’s and Men’s Trap, respectively.  Their second-place finish places them on USA Shooting’s Junior National Team. Mark Shields, with his fourth-place finish in Men’s Skeet, will be added to USA Shooting’s Junior Squad. Heather Broski also made the Women’s Trap final, taking home the gold medal in the J2 age category (age 15-17). In addition, Broski and teammate Jeff Holguin (U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit) finished 5th out of 21 teams in USA Shooting’s first Mixed Team Trap Selection Match.

“All of the SCTP National Team members performed extremely well this week.  They displayed great resilience and determination in spite of less than optimum weather conditions.  Assistant Skeet Coach Joe Buffa and I could not be prouder of these athletes.  All of them represented our program with integrity and professionalism and I look forward to working with next year’s athletes,” remarked Head Coach Terri DeWitt.

Next year’s SCTP National Team will be selected at the SCTP International National Championships in Colorado Springs, July 22-27.

Photos courtesy USA Shooting

SCTP National Team Trains in Ohio

The 2018 SCTP National Team recently completed its fourth training camp at Fairfield Sportsmen’s Association in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This was the last scheduled training camp for the team and team members Madeleine Taylor, Mark Shields, and Trevor Evelhair (not pictured) took advantage of one last opportunity to work with coaches Terri DeWitt and Joe Buffa.

Because not all of the SCTP National Team members could attend this 3-day training camp, available training spots were filled with local (and not so local) athletes coming from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Montana. Next up for most of these international trap and skeet competitors is the USA Shooting Junior Olympic Championships in Colorado Springs.  July will see them back in Colorado Springs for the SCTP International National Championships where the 2019 SCTP National Team will be selected.

SCTP National Team Trains in Colorado

The first weekend in May, four of the SCTP’s National Team members – AJ Nomina, Mark Shields, Madeleine Taylor, and Tyler Thiede – met coaches Terri DeWitt and Joe Buffa in Colorado Springs for the third National Team training camp this year.  This camp was intended to coincide with the Colorado State Junior Olympic (JO) Championships in order to offer National Team members an opportunity to compete in a training match.

Not only was this particular camp an opportunity to train on the home range of USA Shooting’s National JO Championships as well as the SCTP’s International National Championships, it gave National Team members a chance to test their training under true match conditions. Coach DeWitt explains, “You can never quite replicate match pressure in a training environment, which is what makes ‘practice’ matches like these so valuable.”

The results speak for themselves. All four SCTP National Team athletes made the finals in their respective events and two of them came away with medals; AJ Nomina took home a Bronze medal in Skeet and Tyler Theide battled his way to the Silver medal in Trap.

National Team (NT) athletes earned their spot via participation and placement in the 2017 Scholastic Clay Target Program International Championships held July 23-29, 2017.

2018 national team members receive ongoing coaching in the international shooting disciplines, a USA Shooting jacket, paid fall selection match fees and ammo, along with an SCTP National Team vest, five cases of NobelSport Quattro Finest International ammunition and more!

The 2019 National Team will be selected based on scores from the 2018 Scholastic Clay Target Program International Championships to be conducted July 22-27 in Colorado Springs.

SCTP National Team Trains in Tucson

Members of the SCTP National Team gathered in Tucson, AZ last month just prior to the USA Shooting Spring Selection Match for some fine-tuning before the competition.  Head Coach Terri DeWitt and Assistant Coach Joe Buffa worked with team members making minor adjustments where needed but mostly providing some major encouragement. “The days just prior to a competition is not the time to be making big changes,” stated Coach Terri, “Joe and I were there to put some polish on their performance. And that’s all they needed – these athletes were ready to perform.”

And perform they did. Congratulations go to AJ Nomina, Madelynn Bernau, and Heather Broski for finishing top six in their respective Junior categories and earning the chance to compete in those finals.  When all was said and done, Maddy not only captured the Junior Women’s silver medal but secured her place on the 2018 World Championship Team going to Changwon, Korea later this summer.

“I would also like to thank Coach Tom Slaughter for bringing some of the Arizona Outdoor Sports, Inc. athletes to train with us.  We really enjoyed having them and we look forward to seeing those young athletes on a future SCTP National Team,” said Coach Terri.

National Team (NT) athletes earned their spot via participation and placement in the 2017 Scholastic Clay Target Program International Championships held July 23-29, 2017.

2018 national team members receive ongoing coaching in the international shooting disciplines, a USA Shooting jacket, paid fall selection match fees and ammo, along with an SCTP National Team vest, five cases of NobelSport Quattro Finest International ammunition and more!

The 2019 National Team will be selected based on scores from the 2018 Scholastic Clay Target Program International Championships to be conducted July 22-27 in Colorado Springs.

2018 SCTP National Team Trains in Gainesville

Thinking to start the year with some early season warm weather training, the Scholastic Clay Target Program National Team held its first training camp of 2018 at Gator Skeet and Trap Club in Gainesville, Florida January 3-5. Winter Storm Grayson, however, had other ideas. In spite of pouring rain and freezing temperatures, these athletes accepted the challenge, layered up, and shot just over 5000 targets in three days.

SCTP athletes in attendance included  Mark Shields (NT/Missouri), AJ Nomina (NT/Colorado), Sarah Schwacher (NT/Wisconsin), Jack Brosseau (NT/Florida), Tyler Thiede (NT/Wisconsin), Madeleine Taylor (NT/Alaska), Jay Bible (walk on/Florida), Abbey Wigh (walk on/Florida), Scott Schuldt (walk on/Florida).

“It was pretty miserable the first day, but they put their heads down and went to work. Goals don’t wait for the weather to clear up,” said head coach, Terri DeWitt. She and assistant skeet coach Joe Buffa will host another training camp in Tucson, Arizona prior to the USA Shooting Spring Selection Match in March. Other training camps are planned for 2018, but not yet finalized.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Terri and the leadership she is providing for the SCTP National Team!” Said SCTP National Director, Tom Wondrash. “This practice and training is one of many to come that will help these team members surge in the International disciplines. People like Terri and Joe Buffa out there working with these athletes is a very welcome addition to our program!”

National Team (NT) athletes earned their spot via participation and placement in the 2017 Scholastic Clay Target Program International Championships held July 23-29, 2017.

2018 national team members receive ongoing coaching in the international shooting disciplines, a USA Shooting jacket, paid fall selection match fees and ammo, along with an SCTP National Team vest, five cases of NobelSport Quattro Finest International ammunition and more!

© 2020 - Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Website by Venomous Design