Athlete Training Pipeline
USA Shooting’s Certifi ed Training Centers Helping Build Pathway to Excellence
In Part I of our Pathway to Excellence series we featured the affi liated organizations that help build a stronger USA Shooting. Pathways such as the NCAA Rifl e program, SCTP
, ACUIs, 4-H, American Legion and Boy Scouts all help funnel athletes toward USA Shooting.
In Part II, we feature 15 unique shooting clubs that have the distinction of being Certifi ed Training Centers (CTCs) on behalf of USA Shooting. These centers of excellence carry both the honor and burden of helping fuel the pursuit of champions. We recognize them for all they do to contribute to USA Shooting’s success.
Fifteen USA Shooting clubs
to date have been charged with the task of defi ning the future of Olympic-style shooting in Ameri- ca. Recognized for their contri- butions to the shooting sports then labeled to help be a rem- edy for success, USA Shooting’s CTCs are helping build our Path- way to Excellence, one brick, one bullet and one shell at a time. “Our CTCs are a major con-
tributor to the Olympic athlete pipeline,” said Michael Theimer, USA Shooting’s Manager of Youth Programs and Athlete De- velopment. “They mentor not only athletes, but coaches who are interested in advancing their own knowledge and skill to help their own club’s emerging talent in their local area. We frequently refer to our CTCs and USAS coaches as ‘multipliers.’ They reach and help more athletes than USAS could from the OTC.” The perks of being a CTC
aren’t as a fruitful as the name may imply; given the limited re- sources and funding capabilities. There is no golden ticket provid- ed that eliminates fi nancial bur- den of club ownership, nor eases the strain of rising ammunition costs along with tighter political and regulatory constraints. A read through the year-end
reports provided by these clubs identifi es a common set of chal- lenges that includes everything
USA Shooting
currently partners with 15 Certifi ed Training Centers across the U.S. that support
international-style shooting.
from equipment, facility and fi nancial management as well as athlete, coach, parent and volun- teer recruitment and retention. Despite the challenges, these
clubs, owned and operated by those with the greatest dedica- tion and conviction to the cause, are ultimately successful. Los Angeles Rifl e and Revolver
Club, under David Kimes, hosted National Team members during the Road to the 2012 Olympic Games. WillaWalla Creek, under Dwayne Weger, helped host the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders for their CMT television show as part of the ‘Shoot For Gold’ Fundraiser that helped raised $100,000
16 USA Shooting News | May 2013
to help support the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team for Shooting. De- spite mounting gun-control ef- forts in New Jersey, Belita Perez and the International Marksman- ship Center continues to prog- ress in support of Olympic-style shooting; Ole Mill Range in Geor- gia, overseen by Roy McClain has began a series of success- ful postal matches with German shooting teams and owns the highest rate of club activity of any CTC. Under the leadership of Alan Chubb, the Keystone Shooting Park provides youth members an opportunity for an Italian Training Camp, promising shooters an opportunity to gain international exposure well be- fore they may became National Team members. A parent, whose daughter
found the Ole Mill Range Com- plex, succinctly describes the
benefi ts of any of our CTCs. “Four years ago as my daughter came home and told me she wanted to shoot on her school’s AFJROTC rifl e team my reaction was ‘huh.’ Two years later she jumped to the Precision level. Since then, I have learned that it is not an air gun but an air rifl e, that if you use the W word; it will cost you, and, having had gymnasts, that a 10.0 is not a perfect score, it is 10.9. Of course, I have also learned that whether I believe it or not, there is a dot in the cen- ter of the target and I do not do kneeling. When she wanted to transition to Precision we were directed to Roy McClain who headed up the Ole Mill Com- plex, our nearest USAS Certifi ed Training Center. The time she spent there was invaluable. Not only did the center provide the necessary facility but also pro-
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