Director’s Pages More than Competitions
BY ROBERT MITCHELL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Much of our focus - and
certainly that of our media efforts - hinges on competi- tions. There are, however, many projects ongoing at USA Shooting to prepare ath- letes to win medals, govern international shooting in the U.S. and promote the shoot- ing sports beyond preparing for, conducting and report- ing matches. Our most sig- nifi cant challenge is funding athletes and the many pro- grams that make USAS suc- cessful. The number of vi- able initiatives and projects always exceeds our ability to fund them. While we have been successful generat- ing revenue with our direct mail program, sponsorships, support from allied organi- zations and gaining incre- mental funding from the USOC, our fundraising initia- tives must grow to meet the rising costs of providing ath- lete programs ranging from grassroots to our top medal potential. Excellent progress in revenue generation is be- ing made by our Marketing Department since bringing fundraising efforts back in house; however, I will focus on other programs critical to the continued growth and success of USAS. A USAS coach education
and certifi cation program dedicated to Olympic-style shooting is critical to con- tinued development of our pool of coaches. It is the coaches that are the multi-
USA Shooting
currently partners with 17 Certifi ed Training Centers across the U.S. that support
international-style shooting.
pliers in growing our athlete pipeline. More and better skilled coaches will result in more and better skilled ath- letes. USAS and NRA have had a cooperative coach education and certifi cation program since 1997. Since inception, NRA has man- aged the program with USAS providing technical content. In today’s high-performance world, USAS is in need of a coach program that devel- ops Olympic-style shooting coaches from grassroots through the national-coach level. We have enjoyed a mu- tually benefi cial relationship with NRA and that program has trained thousands of excellent coaches. We have reached the point, however, where we need special-
8 USA Shooting News | March 2015
ized coaches that can man- age programs, in addition to having strong technical skills. USAS has committed to developing specialized Olympic-oriented training for advanced coaches with the fi rst courses being imple- mented later this year. This project requires both fund- ing and manpower to be successful. Youth Programs and Coach Development Manager Mike Theimer is leading this project and has assembled a group of ex- perts to develop course and training structure. Approximately fi ve years
ago, USAS established a Certifi ed Training Center (CTC) program to serve as regional centers of coach- ing, training and competition excellence. To date, 17 clubs have received CTC desig- nation in Shotgun, Rifl e or Pistol. The program is work- ing but the impact of CTCs must be enhanced. A larger
investment by USAS in CTC support for coaching, com- petition and national team interaction is needed to ob- tain more results from those centers. A number of the CTCs are advanced clubs, but not yet the regional cen- ters of development that are needed to feed our athlete & coach pipeline. When avail- able, additional funding will be dedicated to supporting training camps and nation- al team activities at these centers. Increased USAS involvement and support is the necessary catalyst for elevated success. When the Olympic Shoot-
ing Center was constructed in Colorado Springs in 1985, the NRA managed Olympic shooting with most adminis- trative functions performed at NRA headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the NRA tenure as National Gov- erning Body, the Shooting Center was home to three
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