2024-2025 High School Rifle Season

[Aragorn243]

Many of you know I coach a High School Rifle Team. It is a Winter sport, and it has just concluded last weekend with our Individuals Tournament. This was my 13th year as head coach, I was an assistant coach for 1 year and the official scorer for 10 years prior to that.

My kids did pretty well this year. Our season record was not the best at 8-6 in the League and 11-6 overall but they always come on strong at the end of the season. We were one of only two teams to defeat the eventual League Championship team and finished 4th.

The weekend prior to that was the Pairs Tournament and my number 2 team finished 3rd overall in the A-division (experienced shooters). Had they paired up the way I wanted them too, "my" pair would have won the tournament, but I let them make their own choices. This is usually how it is in the Pairs Tournament. I'm happy with the 3rd place. My number 1 team finished 7th. And oddly enough, my fill the van kid partnered up with an extra girl from another school, and they finished 4th. This tournament is completely unpredictable. They always want to partner with their best bud whether they are the best shooter or not. My only B-division pair finished 7th.





In the Individuals tournament, my kids finished 2nd, 4th and 6th with a 200 1 center, 199 2 centers and a 199 1 center respectively. My fourth shooter shot a 198 and fifth shooter a 196 for a combined score of 992 which was better than last year's Team winning score of 990. We were the defending champions, so they did well again but finished 2nd this year to a 994. Third was a 987. Only the top five are scored unless there is a tie at five.



I had two that made League All Stars. All Stars count the top 12 of 14 League targets for the season. The girl on the left finished 9th with an average of 99.17. The girl on the right finished 1st with an average of 100. Now this is notable in that it has never been done before since they went to air rifles. Her 13th and 14th targets were both 99's so on 14 targets, she only missed twice. Her chief competitor, also a girl, shot 11 100's, 2 99's and a 98.



All these kids are seniors, I have seven total so out of 17, 11 varsity, I'm losing all but 4 of the varsity and I have my doubts any of the remaining 6 will be ready for matches early next year. We will be rebuilding for sure.

[Bob Womack]

Got some big smiles there. Congrats!

Bob

[Sapper740]

Well done Aragorn and thank you for taking the time to bring new shooters into the fold. I doubt any of them will vote anti-2nd Amendment.

[42rocker]

Way to go Coach!!!!

Good Feeling!!

Good Job!!

Later 42rocker

[30Three]

Looks like you have a couple of future Olympic shooter's there!
A great result, congratulations to you and your students!

[jond41403]

Great job! Also really great to see that many women interested and involved in shooting sports. I have always heard that women can naturally shoot better than men. Have you seen any differences or easier teaching of the girls? I've always heard that women are easier to teach how to shoot because they will actually listen to instructions and they don't necessarily bring in a built-in macho attitude about I already know what I'm doing. Just curious of your observations. Ask because I know several women who are very good shots and the few I have taught to shoot seem to listen very well and learn quickly. Some of my guy friends in the past kind of had a macho attitude of I already know what I'm doing even though they didn't haha. Thanks. Also, thank you for your service to the kids in your community

[Aragorn243]

Yes, there is a definite difference between the boys and girls. I always take surveys before the season starts of the kids joining the team. Most of the boys have shot rifles before, most of the girls have not. But that is not set in stone. I have at least two girls this year that hunt deer and have been successful hunting deer and this has been consistent during my 13 years. Always one or two out of the 10 or so on the team that hunt.

The boys have a higher percentage of hunters but they still are a minority of the boys. That has changed a lot. My first year, all the boys were hunters. I live in an area that used to give the first few days of deer season off before they started to a Saturday opener but I believe Monday and Tuesday is still off.

The girls also want to do well, they are very competitive, sometimes want to be better than the boys, etc. They also tend to feel bad when they don't do well. A lot of the boys just don't seem to care. I've seen crying in rifle. I don't like to see it but with a mixed team it happens. We talk, they stop and move on. The dancer was also quick to anger and in all my 13 years she was the only one that shot better when she was angry. Somehow it just focused her.

The boys can sometimes be jerks too but in general, they all get along fairly well. One thing I haven't seen is the boys freaking out because the girls are better than them. I wouldn't allow that in any case if I did see it.

The type of shooting we do is strictly prone, with slings, gloves, jackets so it is completely unlike other forms of shooting. So the more shooting experience they have, the harder it is for them to adjust to this. They have to unlearn everything they were taught to learn this style. The girls just do it better. They are generally more mature, they listen, they want to learn and they seem to handle the pain better. It is painful to shoot this way. Their wrists get strained, their non-trigger hands and arms go numb from lack of circulation.

One of my best shooters was a girl, a dancer who had never shot before in her life. She was shooting in the 90's almost immediately. And the odd thing is, her mom came in during family nights and shot in the 90's on her first attempt.

My best boy shooters in recent years were computer geeks that were on the robotics team.

The redneck hunters are the worst. They don't want to give up their old habits no matter what and until they do, they will be 96-97 shooters at best, those last couple or points require full attention to the new form of shooting. They can take four years to finally figure it out.

11 earned varsity letters this year. 9 of them were girls. Only the two boys in the above photo lettered They were number 4 and 7 on the team.

Politics was mentioned earlier. I live in a conservative district to most of the kids are from conservative families. I make it a point to not discuss politics in practice or out of school but I hear them talking on the van when we travel sometimes. Two were very eager to vote for the first time this year. Not all are conservative which is why I don't discuss it. They need to be a team and they mostly succeed at that.