Jefferson Schools Trap Shooting Club ready for state competition

Jefferson Schools Trap Shooting Club is aiming for success on June 17. The club will be among close to 100 teams competing in the state competition in Mason.

According to Robert Saunders, the team's coach, it has been four years since the schools had a club.

"I had been talking to a few kids for the past few years who were really wanting to restart the team here at Jefferson and with retirement I figured I would have time to give the team the time it takes to start up and develop a team," Saunders said in an email.

After retiring, the former union carpenter took a job teaching construction trades at the high school.

"I was there for three years and really enjoyed it, but it was time to really retire. After the 2021-2022 school year I left and returned as a part-time substitute teacher," he said. "The subbing and the coaching really keep me involved with the kids, which I really enjoy."

This school year, Saunders, with the help of three assistants and students, formed a trap shooting club.

"I also have a parent who works in the board office who has been extremely helpful in developing the team," he said.

Saunders explained trap shooting as a shotgun sport that is more than 100 years old and originally used as training for bird hunters in the off-season.

"We shoot ‘American trap’ which is a squad of five shooters standing in an arc 16 yards behind the trap house which has in it a clay target thrower that oscillates back and forth," he said. "When the shooter calls for a bird, the machine throws a target in a 45-degree arc away from the shooting line. The shooter does not know exactly within that arc the target will go. This is the difficulty of the sport."

He said trap is an Olympic sport and is also a collegiate sport with many colleges offering scholarships for the best shooters. Any district student in sixth through 12th grades is eligible to join.

"They have to have a Michigan hunter's safety certificate or they have to go through the safety training program put on by our league, Michigan High School Clay Target League," he said. "The training is a combination of online and hands on training held at the range."

Club members practice at Brest Bay Sportsman's Club in Newport, down the road from the school.

"Because of the other sports and activities that our kids participate in, we have three different days when they can shoot, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The Sunday and Thursday times are during the Sportsman's club's public shooting hours and the Tuesday time is reserved for our team only," Saunders said. "The members of the club have been very cooperative with us and our schedules and they have also provided some mentors to work with individual shooters to improve their skills."

The spring season runs through April and May with a couple of weeks before the actual season starts for practice. For competition, the league pairs up teams with a similar number of students on the team and with similar shooting abilities based on the scores from the preseason practice.

"Our competition during the season is purely online. We are matched up with teams from our division and the scores are entered into the league's scoring program and posted the week after the competition," he said. "Our only head-to-head shoot will be the state championship which everyone is able to attend, no matter their ability."

Since starting the club, Saunders said community support has been overwhelming including sponsors.

" …They have helped us get shirts, hats and shooting vests with our logo on them. The sponsor money will also help with the cost of ammunition for the state shoot," Saunders added. "These businesses, individuals and organizations, along with all of the very helpful parents, have made this first year a great experience for everyone involved."

Michigan State High School Clay Target League's 2023 Tournament is scheduled June 16-17 at the Michigan Trapshooting Association, 1534 W. Service Road in Mason. Trap shooting is slated for 9 a.m. June 17 (opening ceremony at 8:45 a.m.) For more information, log on to mi.traptournament.com.