Headed for nationals with a ‘shot’ at a championship

The academic part may be over for recent Smithville graduate Sam Hoskinson, but he’s got one more high school assignment to fulfill before he can call it a career: win a national championship.

Just as when school was in session, he’s been doing his homework diligently in preparation — and having a great time in the process. This weekend Hoskinson will take his place on the firing line with the best young clay target shooters in America in hopes of bringing home a Scholastic Clay Target Program National Trap Championship.

As a member of the Ohio Claybusters LLC, a youth team that draws athletes from Wayne, Holmes, Summit, Stark and Medina counties, Hoskinson shoots twice a week at the team’s headquarters, the Silver Dollar Sportsman’s Club just east of Wooster.

The team consists of 32 youths age 8-18 and recently brought home 19 medals from the SCTP State Trap Championship at the sprawling Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo. After taking second place overall at the varsity level by hitting 199 out of 200 clay targets — that’s one missed shot in a full day of competition — Hoskinson will be part of an elite squad of five shooters to represent Ohio at the nationals taking place at the same Morrow County range.

Trap shooting, an Olympic sport since 1900, involves hand-eye coordination, concentration, discipline and plenty of practice. In SCTP shoots, the athletes stand at five side-by-side stations facing a bunker from which clay targets are launched at different angles and trajectories traveling away from the shotgunner. Each shooter has an opportunity to shoot at five birds at his or her station. Then the entire group rotates until each has shot 25 times. In a day-long competition, contestants will shoot eight such rotations for 200 shots.

Head coach Don Witner explained that he along with his crew of assistants have been trained and certified through the NRA Level 1 Shotgun Coach’s Course, a program that stresses safety as the overarching theme for the entire program.

“We work to bring home the idea that the gun is a tool, not a toy,” Witner said. “Safety is at the core of everything we do, and we work to make the kids more comfortable and confident (with sporting arms) and help them become better shots along the way.”

Witner, whose own children shot with the team before graduating, has worked diligently alongside a group of volunteers, most of them parents of team members, to grow the Ohio Claybusters club into what may soon be the second largest scholastic team in the state. The club added 13 new members last year alone. Youth teams are where future Olympians get their start. Promising young clay target shooters are recruited by colleges and universities in the same manner as athletes in other sports, and scholarships are awarded.

A typical season would have seen the team visiting other shooting clubs for invitational meets throughout the season. The pandemic has prevented that this year, but the sport, which is by its nature socially distanced in an outdoor setting, has not been affected as severely as others.

A very family-friendly pastime, shooting practice sessions and competitions are an opportunity for parents to gather, and many long-term friendships have resulted among athletes and parents alike.

“We camp together, host fun shoots, and have cookouts and carry-ins,” said team treasurer Angela O’Brien, whose son, Jacob, shoots with the team and husband, Michael, volunteers as a coach. “It’s very much like an extended family.”

Rob Ault, vice president of the Silver Dollar Sportsman’s Club, said he is thrilled to have the Ohio Claybusters call the facility home.

“This is the future of the sport,” said Ault, who noted many sportsman’s clubs have struggled to attract new membership in recent years. “This gets kids away from the (computer) screen and out doing something where they can learn leadership, teamwork and concentration — and they can carry those lessons throughout their lives.”

Kendra Feucht, a recent Fairless High School graduate who finished second among women and 41st out of all 379 varsity shooters at the state trap championships, encourages others to give competition shooting a try — especially young women.

“Give it a chance and don’t let yourself get stressed out. There’s an incredible amount of support in a group like this. It’s a lot of fun, and I get to beat the boys,” she said. “I got started when my aunt saw a flyer and said, ‘Hey, you should try this.’”

Feucht has grown up as a deer hunter and has recently taken to waterfowl hunting as well.

Both Feucht and Hoskinson emphasized their intent to continue with the shooting sports, both as participants and mentors to interested youngsters. Hoskinson, who wrestled and played football throughout high school, recognizes shooting as a “lifetime sport,” one that can be continued long beyond high school or college.

“My immediate goal, however, is to bring home a trophy for the team and for Ohio,” he said.

His teammates, friends and family would agree he’s got a pretty good shot.