Trap shooting is a club that has been at Potosi schools for over ten years. The club has grown more and more popular over the years. Head Coach Heather Emler stated, “24 kids signed up for trap shooting this spring season, who were either returning team members or possible new members on the team.”
Before shooting trap, there are some important things you need to do. Emler stated, “Any student is eligible to participate if he/she is in grades 6 through 12, possesses a league-approved firearm safety certificate, and meets all school curricular activity eligibility requirements.”
Scoring in trap shooting can be tricky to understand for people. Emler explained, “Each round in trap shooting consists of twenty-five clay target birds. Each team member shoots at five clay targets at five different stations. There are five team members that can shoot on a squad. When scoring, a missed clay target is marked as a “0,” and a hit clay target is marked as a “/” on the score sheet.”
All team members get to shoot two rounds each week at their home sportsman's club until the end of the season. The best score possible is 50 straight, meaning they hit the target on every shot. “After each completed week of the season, the scores are then submitted by the head coach to the USA Clay Target League to go towards individual and team placing. The league's exclusive format that they use for scoring is called “True Team Scoring.” All scores have to be submitted by midnight Saturday night of that week of shooting.” When the scores are all tallied, medals are awarded to individuals and teams that have the highest scores for the conference. At the end of the conference season, individuals and teams are invited to go to a state competition tournament, which takes place in Rome, Wisconsin.
Trap shooting has had a lot of success in the past. “We have won several team conference awards, which are displayed in our school's glass [trophy] cases. We have also had several team members receive medals, placing individually within the top three in the conference season,” stated Emler.
One veteran of the trap shooting team is Ava White, who has had a lot of success in the program during her four years as a team member of the trap shooting club. “I won the most improved award. I improved my average by maybe five. Last fall season, I won 2nd in the conference,” stated White. White has been interested in trap shooting since her sister encouraged her to start, and she highly recommends it to others.