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Tag: youth development

Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation 2020 Scholarship Program

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), is once again offering our scholarship program to reward deserving, graduating seniors in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) with needed college assistance. The main objective is to award as many scholarships as possible to qualifying SCTP / SASP graduating seniors.

Since 2013, the SSSF has awarded over $450,000 in scholarship funds benefiting over 450 student athletes, from nearly all 50 states in the Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Action Shooting programs. We are pleased to announce that last year’s Scholarship Program awarded over $100,000 to qualifying applicants.

The SSSF is establishing minimal guidelines for the selection procedure, thus allowing the final selection to be as simple as possible.

*NOTE – You must be a current and paid member of the SCTP or SASP national organization at the time of application submission! See details on how to complete your team registration here.

General Procedures: Each applicant must be a graduating senior within the year of the awarded scholarship and must be registered for college before the scholarship is awarded in that same year.• Applicant must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative Grade Point Average through the most recent grading period ending on or before April 1, 2020.

• Each prospective recipient must be registered as a full-time college student before the scholarship is awarded and must provide the name of the post-secondary college or community/ junior college to receive the scholarship proceeds. Each scholarship check will be mailed to the appropriate college in the student’s name by October 1, 2020. The scholarship funds are to be used for tuition.  This is a one-time, non-renewable scholarship.

• Applicants may not be in receipt of any “full” scholarship funds in order to qualify (i.e., athletics, military academy, academic, etc.).

• Applicants must have participated during 2019-2020 in one of their SCTP / SASP State Championships, National Championships, or regional events in Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, Olympic Bunker, Olympic Skeet Championships; Pistol or Rifle.

• Applicants must be able to complete all parts of the application packet:

Application / Personal Information Page:
•One Page Student Resume or School and Non-School Activities and Honors
•One Page Essay (see Essay Guidelines)
•Must attach current high school transcript or home school transcript!
Application Deadline (for the entire application packet): Midnight, April 19th, 2020
All Materials Must Be Received together as one packet by Deadline.  No exceptions!

2018 SSSF/NRA All-Scholastic Team Announced

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation(SSSF) and National Rifle Association (NRA) Competitive Shooting Sports division are proud to announce members of the 2018 All-Scholastic Team!

Over 230 student athletes from 25 states have been named to the team this year and will be recognized at the opening ceremonies of the SSSF/SCTP/SASP Team Championship event on July 18 in Marengo, Ohio.

The All-Scholastic Team recognizes the top student athletes in the SSSF’s Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Action Shooting Program for their achievements in the classroom, on the range and in their communities. Through an application process, 2018 All-Scholastic Team Members have proven academic excellence by posting 3.0 or better grade point averages, shooting excellent scores in recent competition (95% in trap or skeet, 85% in sporting clays, 88% in international trap/skeet or 75 seconds or less for SASP) and by demonstrating outstanding community involvement.

See the state-by-state athlete profiles for the 2018 All Scholastic Team members and learn more about how the SCTP and SASP are working to improve the lives of young people across the country.

Congratulations to all qualifying team members!

Pheasants Forever to Host Iowa Shooting Sports Clinic

High School and Collegiate shotgun coaches & athletes are invited to this special 1 day clinic hosted by Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever. If you want to learn how to shoot better, or understand why you miss, you wont want to miss this opportunity.  Each clinic is open to shooters of varying skill levels and is customized to the needs of coaches and athletes.

Attendees will learn from former Team USA member Terri DeWitt.  Terri is a level 3 NRA Certified Shotgun Instructor and is finishing her Master’s degree in sport coaching as well as attending the International Shooting Sports Federation Coach School to attain international certification.  Most recently, Terri served as the MidwayUSA Foundation Program Manager for the eastern U.S. Terri also serves as the head coach for the Scholastic Clay Target Program International National Team.

For the Coaches:

Shooting Sports Clinics will help evaluate the skills and techniques of those coaches who introduce and teach trap shooting at the youth level.  Attendees will receive instruction and hands-on experience with athletes during the Youth Clinic.

For the Athletes:

Athletes will be provided a fun and safe learning enivronment that enhances the quality & abilities of young aspiring shotgun athletes.  The training will enhance the fundamentals an athlete needs to allow them to achieve greater consistency in training & competition.

Shooting Sports Clinic Topics:

  • Coaching techniques (including the stages of learning)
  • Mental Training for Shooting Sports Athletes
  • Goal Setting for Success
  • Physical training (stretching and warm-up exercises)
  • Vision Training & Exercises
  • Trap Shooting Training Drills
  • Gun Fit Fundamentals & Eye Dominance

Registration 

Fee is $50.00 per person.  The fee covers the training day instruction, clay birds, printed materials and lunch.  You will also receive a complimentary membership to Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever.  Please bring your own shotgun and 4 boxes of trap shooting ammo for the range portion of the training.

Click here for complete details and for registration information.

Space is limited to the first 50 attendees.

                 Sponsored in part by Larry & Brenda Potterfield, founders of MidwayUSA &  the MidwayUSA Foundation

 

2018 Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation Scholarship Program

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), the National Governing Body of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP), is once again offering a scholarship program to reward deserving SCTP/SASP graduating seniors with needed college assistance. The main objective is to award as many scholarships as possible to qualifying SCTP / SASP graduating seniors.

Since 2013 SSSF has awarded over $300,000 in scholarship funds benefiting over 300 student athletes from 39 different states in the Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Action Shooting programs.

SSSF is establishing minimal guidelines for the selection procedure, thus allowing the final selection to be as simple as possible.

*NOTE – You must be a current and paid member of the SCTP or SASP national organization at time of application submission! See details on how to complete your team registration here.

General Procedures:
Each applicant must be a graduating senior within the year of the awarded scholarship and must be registered for college before the scholarship is awarded in that same year.

  • Applicant must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative Grade Point Average through the most recent grading period ending on or before April 1, 2018.
  • Each prospective recipient must be registered as a full-time college student before the scholarship is awarded and must provide the name of the post-secondary college or community/ junior college to receive the scholarship proceeds. Each scholarship check will be mailed to the appropriate college in the student’s name by October 1, 2018. The scholarship funds are to be used for tuition, fees, etc. This is a one-time, non-renewable scholarship.
  • Applicants may not be in receipt of any “full” scholarship funds in order to qualify (i.e., athletics, military academy, academic, etc.).
  • Applicants must have participated during 2017-2018 in one of their SCTP / SASP State Championships, National Championships, or regional events in Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, or Olympic Bunker; Olympic Skeet Championships, Pistol or Rifle.
  • Applicants must be able to complete all parts of the application packet:

Application / Personal Information Page:

  • One Page Student Resume or School and Non-School Activities and Honors
  • One Page Essay (see Essay Guidelines)
  • Must attach current high school transcript or home school transcript!

Download the complete application form here…

Application and all supporting materials must be received by April 21, 2018 – no exceptions.

Photo Credit Carla Jennings Photography

Beyond the Clays – The 2017 SSSF Championships

Article Courtesy Michael Sabbeth and Fiocchi USA. Photo credit to Carla Jennings Photography.

“We are looking at the future,” Chris Hodgdon said as his hand swept like a conductor’s baton in an arc toward the line of trap fields. Hundreds of young shooters were pulverizing clay targets, laughing and speaking words of support to their teammates. We were at the 2017 Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championships sponsored by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. The Cardinal Trap Shooting Facility in Marengo, Ohio, developed through the magnanimity of the Fishburn family, hosted the event.

Competitive shooters, ages 8 to 23 from 32 states, competed for national titles in the shotgun disciplines of American Trap, Handicap Trap, Bunker Trap, Trap Doubles, Skeet, Skeet Doubles and Sporting Clays. Pistol and rifle competitors competed for steel shooting titles in Rimfire Pistol, Centerfire Pistol, Iron Sight Rifle and Optics Rifle divisions. About 2,700 athletes on 255 teams boasted 6,400 event entries. Thirty-three states were represented and an estimated 1.26 million shots were fired in the competition events! One hundred and five SCTP student athletes will receive scholarships totaling $83,000.

Prior to SSSF, many students never or had only rarely shot a gun. Feeder organizations such as 4H and the Boy Scouts gave them opportunities to try. Many parents asked SSSF to help their children get involved in shooting. The children loved the sports, become members and gained deeper knowledge about shooting.

I learned many teams were created by the desire of a parent to enable their child to shoot responsibly and routinely. Young shooters told me the attractions of these sports: they love to shoot, they value opportunities to improve, they welcome challenges, they can be competitive or just have fun, and, unlike most sports, they can participate throughout their lives.

The vast property was lush and green with stands of hardwoods and cornfields, the earth’s fragrance more alluring than the finest perfumes. The range was a beehive of activity. Electric carts darted about like bugs on a pond and hundreds of shooters carried shotguns as nonchalantly as if holding bags of popcorn. Anna Van Nostrand, instructor and CZ representative, crafted a beautiful insightful phrase: “This is an environment of positivity.”

I arrived on Wednesday, the CZ-USA recognition day. Dave Miller, CZ’s shotgun manager and exhibition shooter, was my host. Dave shot his way into the Guinness Book of Records by breaking 3,653 clays in 60 minutes! CZ has been a Platinum sponsor of this event for five years. Dave tutored me on the sporting clays, make-or-break and crazy-quail disciplines. He even taught me to break targets shooting from my hip!

These programs require great effort. Ben Berka, President/Executive Director of SSSF, and Louise Terry, Chairman of the SSSF Board, told of the thousands of hours of organizing the event and the engagement of hundreds of volunteers. But it’s all worth it, they said. The youngsters are learning skills, get outside away from iPhones and, most significantly, develop a dedication to the American heritage and an appreciation for individual liberty. “The SSSF is about more than just breaking pieces of clay,” Louise told me.

Support for SSSF signifies a commitment to shooting’s future. Companies such as CZ-USA, Hodgdon Powder and Fiocchi USA routinely make substantial financial commitments. Observing this championship, I am comforted that the future of shooting looks bright indeed.

Michael Sabbeth is a lawyer and writer in Denver, Colorado. Please see his book The Good, The Bad & The Difference: How to Talk with Children About Values. Now in an eBook, available at Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/c5flmmu

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