whether that is different techniques, ideas, or just how to approach something. He is just as dedicated to his family as well. He’s always making sure they are includ- ed in his life and taken care of. Vinny is a great person both on and off the fi eld and is a great icon for our sport.” “His training ethics and natural ability have taken him to the top of the podi- um,” said fi ve-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode. “With his perfect scores, he has raised the bar for all compet- itors to achieve. You simply won’t fi nd a more upstand- ing representative and role model for young shooters in the shooting world.” “Vinny is a perfect ex-
ample of how to be a pro- fessional, along with being a great teammate,”
said
2014 National Champion Dustin Perry.
“As the young
guy on the team the last couple years, I have learned a tremendous amount about shooting and competing along with how you handle yourself during the ups and downs encountered during competition. What makes him so tough as a competi- tor is that he has the ability to do the same thing over and over like a machine - which is downright lethal in a perfectionist sport. Com- peting against him is always fun because you know you have to have your a-game from the start if you want to contend for a win.” Team sports were never
going to cut it for someone with as fi erce a competitive drive as Vinny, who grew up in Eatonton, Georgia. There are too many people to count on to be successful.
Sure, he played baseball until he
was 12 years old and discov- ered the shooting sports, but he was always that kid, the one yelling and trying to do too much because his team- mates wouldn’t.
Through
shooting and competing for Team USA, he’s found a per- fect match – an individual sport within a team setting. “I’m an extremely fi erce I love to win. I
competitor.
don’t think that it’s some- thing that gets instilled with- in you. It’s just something you are born with. You have to have that killer instinct. As a kid, I would do something over and over again until I could win. I’m going to do it until I get it right and I’m go- ing to have it perfect. I’m go- ing to be sure I’m the best at it when I’m done. I’ve put a lot of effort and a lot of time into all this and now I’m sup- porting a family, so that’s another motivating factor. But the will to win, the drive to win, it just comes from somewhere inside, a charac- teristic that’s put into you by God and you fi ne tune that throughout your life.” Veering out of his Pilla shades during competition is an unmistakable fi re that burns deep in his eyes.
His
wife describes it as Vinny’s “split personality.”
Off the
line, he’s as nice a per- son as you could ever be around. But then there’s a certain amount of beast mode that comes over him once he steps into that fi rst station, waiting for his fi rst low-house target. His oppo- nents see it and intimidation usually sets in. “When you’re in the zone,
it does change you com- pletely,” admits Hancock. “The difference between my- self and perhaps other com-
40 USA Shooting News | July 2015
Vincent with wife Rebekah and daughter Bailey following his gold- medal win.
petitors is that we have the expectation of greatness, while they have the dream of it. If you’re already think- ing that you have to beat me, then you’ve already put enormous pressure on yourself and not everyone can handle that. You know facing me that I’m going to step on your throat should we meet in the Finals, be- cause that’s what it’s going to take to win. You can’t be a nice guy. I think people misinterpret the look that I have on the range as be- ing this cocky, arrogant per- son. I’m not like that off the range, but when we’re on the range, I have to be that way because with that ex- pectation comes the ability, and with that ability comes the success. They can think whatever they want when I’m on that range. I am in- tense and I am focused, but it’s basically to go out there and break targets. That’s it.” Naturally, the will to win has been his biggest con-
tributor to the success he’s found. “If you don’t have that drive, that will to win, you’re not really going to be successful. You’ve got to tru- ly want it. If you talk to any of the great ones like Matt [Em- mons] or Kim [Rhode], we all have the same exact mental- ity of yeah, I’m the best and I’m going for the win and if you want to beat me, you better bring it.” That will was almost stripped completely in 2011, repercussions from Olympic success, the grind of so much at such a young, and managing quadruple re- sponsibilities as athlete, sol- dier in the U.S. Army Marks- manship Unit, father and husband. London almost didn’t happen because he was ready to quit. It wasn’t fun anymore. An introspective ques-
tion, however, from his wife Rebekah changed every- thing - that and plenty of prayer. She said, “If you don’t want to do it anymore,
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