elite marksmen with the physical, mental and emotional approach to represent America’s Shooting Team, well that only comes with collaboration, quality control and opportunity. Luckily for USA Shooting and
for those shooting dreamers, the pathway to excellence is littered with choice, class and distinc- tion with organizations and indi- viduals helping to support USA Shooting and shooting sports as
a whole at the youth level while ultimately helping nurture the next crop of Olympic shooters for Team USA. In this issue of USA Shooting
News, it’s our privilege to pay homage to some of the organiza- tions that help fuel the dreams of our USA Shooting Team. An acronymic alphabet soup of or- ganizations are responsible for greatness as Olympians Kim Rhode, Vincent Hancock, Jamie Gray,
NCAA/ NRA Collegiate
In 1980, the NCAA Rifl e Championships were estab- lished and the fi rst competition held. The competitive events were three-position smallbore rifl e and air rifl e. These courses of fi re are still in effect today. “The NCAA program has long
been a prime training ground for future U.S. Team members that can set the path towards the Olympic podium,” said USA Shooting Director of Operations
Dave Johnson. “Team athletes learn critical skills for success in life and on the range. Most of the student athletes are high achievers—they perform in the classroom and behind the rifl e. Self-discipline, motivation, goal setting and achievement, effi - cient use of limited practice time, athletic lifestyle, and the perfor- mance skills learned through regular competitions and deal- ing with high expectations are all
30 USA Shooting News | Spring 2013
critical experience factors that help develop athletes.” USAS has long supported the
NCAA program: the athletes for the NCAA Teams come through the USAS, CMP, and NRA pipe- lines. The USAS Junior Olym- pic Program is a prime training vehicle for young athletes and a great recruiting ground for coaches. USAS and the NCAA programs are close partners as both organizations feed athletes
to each other. USAS also has hosted the
NCAA Championships twice and has played a leadership role in bringing the NCAA program into the electronic target and fi nals era. Ongoing programs include coach certifi cation and training, athlete and coach mentoring, skill seminars sponsored by both USAS and USOC, and a constant eye towards building the sport.
o man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession
without having passed through the slow and painful process
of study and preparation.” – HORACE
Matt Emmons, Nick Mowrer and the many before them and the ones to follow are and will be dis- ciples of the youth development model feeding USA Shooting. The USA Shooting Team is all
AIM, NSSA, ATA, PPP, NASSA, JROTC, NSCA and others without identifi able acronyms like American Legion. We thank you for giving generously of your time for the betterment of the shooting sports and for mining our Olympic prospects.