Nearly 150 Idaho youth shooters gather for state championship in Coeur d’Alene
JACK DEWITT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
The Coeur d’Alene Trap and Skeet club was covered in shot targets as nearly 150 shooters from around Idaho competed in the State Youth Championship.
Hosted by Coeur d’Alene Trap and Skeet club, the event ran for three days, May 14,15 and 16.
Coach Brian Martin of the Coeur d’Alene High School Skeet and Trap club sees competitive shooting as a way of giving back.
“It is my chance to pay it forward,” he said, “When you see a group of girls, and you follow them around and see them improve, it is an amazing thing.”
The event included boys and girls from every corner of the state from Pocatello to Sandpoint. The youngest shooter was 13 years old.
Rhonda Harvitt, coach for the Hayden Longshots, said shooting is key in developing kids into adults.
“These kids learn safety, responsibility and discipline,” she said.
Caden Hess, a senior and competing on the Hayden Longshots team, shot a perfect 25 during the competition. That means Hess shot 25 targets straight, without missing.
Hess was in need of a new shotgun and found one stashed away that had been purchased by his late father.
Hess used that weapon to shoot a 25, an achievement he is more than proud of.
“It's honestly awesome, getting it with my dad’s gun is even more awesome,” he said.
Jack Grant shot 98/100 straight in trap shooting and 47/50 in skeet shooting.
“The bad days are not fun, but today was a pretty good day,” he said.
That kind of precision doesn’t come easy, Grant and Hess both spend their weekends at the club putting hundreds of rounds downrange for practice.
Coeur d’Alene Skeet and Trap Club President Tom Bosenko says precision shooting is all about “mindset, focus and routine.”
Parker Martin, who shot a perfect 100, spoke about the pressure when you get down to those last shots.
“Don’t think, just trust it,” he said, “That last target with everybody watching me, you have to do it.”
Martin enjoys the sport and the company it brings.
“I want to follow in my brother’s and dad’s footsteps,” he said, “I like shooting mostly with my friends and family.”
Martin has big dreams and wants to take his steady hands and good eye as far as he can.
“I would like to do it professionally at the highest level,” he said.
Coeur d'Alene High School's Skeet and Trap club has their turn at shooting.ARTICLES BY JACK DEWITT
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