“When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your team- mates. And the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back! Get that through your head! “
–Herb Brooks, 1980 Olympic Hockey Coach
Nothing evokes a stronger sense of connection and belong- ing than the minute you earn that right to wear USA on your back. Earning the distinction requires all parts discipline, desire and dedication and once earned represents a reward far greater than anything else. “To me, The Team USA jacket
is like a badge of honor,” said National Shotgun Junior Team Member Brandi Hobbs (Edinboro, Pa.). “We all had to achieve something great to earn it, the product of sweat, blood, tears and sacrifice to our sport.” The jacket is a representation.
Earning it requires distinction; wearing it requires embodiment and keeping it requires excel- lence. In a sport where individu- ality reigns, earning the jacket epitomizes when you become
the U-S-A and when an aspect of team is finally realized. “When I wear the jacket, I feel a sense of pride within the depths of my being because I know that I am part of one of the most elite teams in the world,” said National Junior Rifle Team member Matt Chezem (Simi Valley, Calif.). “And as a member of that team, I am responsible for representing the country and our sport.” To wear the jacket means remembering the past, embrac- ing the present and striving for the future. Those proud enough to have worn the jacket before make up the glorious past of USA Shooting. You carry on the proud tradition of medal-winning suc- cess and shooting skill unlike any other country in the world. You exemplify the greatest defense
54 USA Shooting News | Year in Review 2012
possible for protecting, preserv- ing and promoting the shooting sports legacy of this country.
“Wearing this jacket gives me so much pride, not only for my country, but for my hard work and dedication.”
–DANIA VIZZI, SHOTGUN
Being a member of the USA Shooting Team is an invitation to be the best, an exclusive membership that no one can ever take away from you. All that is asked is that you do so with pride and with an understanding
that the team you represent will always be more important than any one individual. “To me the Team USA jacket
is the physical rendition of all my hard work and commitment to shooting coming to fruition,” said National Junior Shotgun Team member Jakob Keldsen (Walkerton, Ind.). “It reminds me that on top of my own goals, I now have a commitment to my team and my country to be the best shooter that I can be.”
“The Team USA jacket, to me, means the opportunity to do my best in something I love, while representing a country that I love.”