Q& A
These days, Dave Johnson wears many hats for USA Shooting. Primary among them now, however, LV KLV UROH DV 1DWLRQDO 5LÁ H Coach. Backed by a pedi- gree of extensive coaching DVVLVWDQWV -RKQVRQ UHÁ HFWV on 2015, gives some advice to both the young and vet- HUDQ ULÁ H VKRRWHUV DQG VHWV his sights on an exciting 2016.
We saw some tremendous successes among the Junior shooters in 2015. To what do you attribute their success?
I think junior success
stems from the steady increase that we have seen in the level of coaching and mentoring throughout many clubs and programs. At the national level, our coaching staff has long been impressed with the growing quantity of young athletes and the quality of their skills as they approach top Junior/collegiate levels. Additionally, opportunities for young athletes have increased. USA Shooting’s team selection systems can seem extensive and varied, but part of the reason behind the procedures is to offer multiple tryout oppor- tunities to our next genera- tion athletes at key points in their formative years to allow them to develop their skills and experiences.
As you look ahead to the 2016 Olympic year, what advice do you have for both the up-and-coming shooter and the veteran as they look to try and secure their spots on the Olympic Team? For the up-and-coming
athletes: There is no sub- stitute for good, smart and organized training--just like in any sport. Skill building takes time and there are no real shortcuts. Keep at it and we love to see our youth push the veterans! For the veterans: Set
your goals looking forward and go after them with discipline and a competitive zeal. Your window of time in this sport will not last for-
ever.Do the best you can to focus on what is important and give your best measure to reach your goals. The rest of the world is working hard and smart too. 6SHFLÀ F WR ULÁ H ZKDW VNLOOV do you see our athletes needing so as to remain competitive with other countries in the future?
16 USA Shooting News | Year in Review 2015
One of our growing chal- lenges is that our young athletes in smallbore do not get the same experiences in outdoor shooting that the
last few generations ben- HÀ WHG IURP 7KHUH DUH IHZHU
smallbore-based programs and clubs that historically have mentored athletes in the art of wind and condi- tions shooting and provided the necessary experiences. Our challenge is making sure we expose athletes to necessary outdoor shooting skill sets and then training athletes to master them. Looking back on it, what would you say was the KLJKOLJKW RI WKH
ULÁ H
season? First, the rise of several
strong young athletes, really starting in 2014, has been fun to watch and exciting to see. At the veteran level, the battle for Men’s Prone dominance between Mi- chael McPhail and Matt Em- mons was unprecedented. Three gold medals and one silver between them inter- nationally was an amazing performance!
Dave Johnson 1DWLRQDO 5LÁ H &RDFK
Once we enter the Olympic Trials process, there’s a possibility we could have some athletes double start in events. What does that mean for the number of competitors we can take to the Games? Our maximum team size in Rio will be 20 athletes based on the Olympic Coun- try Quota slots that were earned. We can enter two athletes in each Olympic Event. Our athletes typically earn an Olympic team berth in their best event. If they also have an MQS score in another event, they may be eligible to compete in that event also as long as we don’t exceed the maximum of 2 entries per country. For example, we do not have any quota slots in Men’s Trap, but we could enter an athlete that is already on the Rio Team (one of the 20 athletes) into Men’s Trap if they have an MQS in that event. Another example is in Men’s Pistol. We have a Quota in Men’s Air Pistol and a quota in Men’s Free Pistol, plus two in Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol. We can enter two men in both AP and FP. After we select the Men’s Pistol team (top two in RFP and top AP & FP athlete) we can still enter another AP and FP athlete from this group to compete in Rio for a maximum of two competitors in each event.
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