Are you an experienced shooter and/or instructor looking to share your skills with others? Are you looking to participate in something challenging, yet rewarding? If so, a Coach School may be a great fit for you.

NRA's Coach Education Program provides discipline-specific Coach Schools to help develop new coaches capable of helping shooters realize their full potential as competitive athletes. Taught by members of the National Coach Development Staff, Coach Schools cover a variety of topics including the fundamentals of shooting, shooting positions, sports psychology, training planning, and much more.

Below is a list of upcoming Coach Schools that you can attend to become an NRA Certified Coach. Keep checking the Coach Education Program website as more schools are added frequently. For more information about the Coach Education Program or to have a Coach School held in your area, contact Samantha Olsen at (703) 267-1504 or solsen@nrahq.org.

NRA Certified Instructor and Range Safety Officer Connie Elliot volunteered at the recent Boy Scout Jamboree, where thousands of scouts participated in the shooting sports. Read on for Elliot's story on running the OK Corral air gun range and how introducing young people to shooting became a rewarding experience.

Attending the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) National Jamboree as staff is a different experience than participating as an adult Troop leader. Both have their own merits, however, attending as a staff member and seeing Jamboree emerge from bare land to a city for thousands is exhilarating.

As an NRA Certified Instructor and NRA Range Safety Officer, you see and hear many things while helping on a range. There are those that ask why we would want to give up two weeks of vacation to spend it with scouters and scouts we have never met before. I had the good fortune of being selected as staff for the Venturing Exhibit’s OK Corral and there are Jamboree scouts that have helped change the way I look at our youth today.

The OK Corral consisted of 12 stations where scouts competed against each other by shooting air rifles at five targets. The first scout to knock down all five of their targets won that round and progressed to the darkened indoor range where they experienced shooting the Night Stalker air rifles with lighted scopes. Needless to say, this was a highlight and the scouts that did not win their round scurried back in line to try their shooting skills again and again.

More...

Inside the Albuquerque Convention Center, there is no sound of compressed air leaving the barrel of rifles, but instead the quiet and focus of competitors learning in the classroom. Today the shooters get a break from competition to participate in the Training Summit, which is half a day of classroom lecture. 

The Training Summit covers a variety of topics geared towards young competitors. Up first was Marcus Raab, NRA National Coach Trainer (Rifle), who spoke about proper nutrition for athletes (pictured above).

"How many of you ate a proper breakfast this morning?" asked Raab as just a few hands shot up in the crowd.

Next, National Coach Development Staff member and well-known rifle coach John Crossman addressed the mental aspects of shooting to increase focus and discipline. Sheri Judd with NRA's Youth Programs Department took to the podium next to fill competitors in on all of the shooting programs NRA offers for young people, as well as scholarship programs such as the Outstanding Achievement Youth Award.   

Finally, Tori Croft, Manager of NRA's Collegiate Shooting Program, talked to competitors about the opportunities to shoot on a college team and earn college scholarships for shooting. 

Shooters then have the afternoon off to sightsee in Albuquerque and rest up for the final day of shooting tomorrow. Check back with NRAblog as we provide live coverage of the competition and update scores from the 2010 NRA National Junior Air Gun Championship.  

150 of the country’s best junior air rifle competitors are on their way to the Albuquerque Convention Center next week for the 2010 NRA National Junior Air Gun Championships and Training Summit.

Held June 23-26, these young shooters from 15 states will compete in the Sporter and/or Precision Class based on the type of equipment used. Competitors are then ranked in age groups according to their birth year: Sub-Junior – born 1996 or later; Intermediate Junior – born 1993-1995; Junior – born 1990-1992. Shooters may choose to shoot as individuals or as part of a four-person team.

NRAblog will be in Albuquerque to bring you live coverage and photos from the event, so check back to see which shooters and teams take top honors in 2010.

“We’re excited to bring this year’s National Junior Air Gun Championship and Training Summit to Albuquerque,” said Jessica McClain, NRA Air Gun Coordinator. “We have competitors traveling from all across the country to see how they measure up to other air gun shooters on a national level.”

The Training Summit is an important part of this annual event where attendees attend lectures from special guest speakers. Open to shooters, coaches, and parents, the Training Summit offers informational seminars on a variety of topics including mental and physical aspects of competition, nutrition for shooters, collegiate shooting opportunities, and information on other programs for youth offered by the NRA.

Check-in, equipment inspection, and practice will be held on Wednesday, June 23rd, with formal competition held on Thursday, June 24th and Saturday, June 26th. The Awards Ceremony will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Shooters will have a break from competing in order to attend the Training Summit held on Friday, June 25th. On Thursday night, competitors can attend the Barter Bar, where shooters can swap and trade collectible items such as hats, pins, patches, or fun items that represent their home states.

Thanks to Steve Hoback with NRA’s Training Department for the following report and photos from Team NRA’s recent win at a sporting clays shoot to benefit the Patriot’s Path Foundation, which supports our nation's veterans:

On, May 29th 2010, Prospect Hall Shooting Club in Kearneysville, West Virginia, hosted the Inaugural Memorial Day Sporting Clays Shoot to support The Patriots Path Foundation. The NRA team of Bill Poole (Director of Education and Training), Kristin Stoner (Office of Advancement Events Manager), Samantha Olsen (National Assistant Coach Trainer) and Andy Lander (Instructor Program Coordinator) took 1st place in the team competition, followed by Team Remington: Paul Miller, Josh Miller, Steve Good and Steve Good Jr.

Sponsors included “Medal of Honor” Sponsor, the National Rifle Association of America, Remington Firearms, who donated caps that were custom embroidered and given to each of the 42 participants, Valley Guns of Inwood, West Virginia, and Shep’s Sporting Goods located in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

The individual winners were:

• High Male: Britton Condon- Score of 99
• High Female: Vicki Smith- Score of 91
• High Youth (18 and under): Teal Hinga- Score of 70

Colt’s Manufacturing Company CEO Lieutenant General (RET) William M. Keyes was gracious enough to donate a Colt Gold Cup Trophy pistol to raffle off to support the Patriot’s Path Foundation. The winner of the raffle drawing was Raymond Alt, of Inwood, West Virginia. The 2nd Place raffle winner of the Starkey Magnum Ear Protection was Eric Peterson and 3rd place raffle winner Josh Miller won the $50 gift certificate to Valley Guns.

Thanks, Steve, and congratulations to Team NRA!

If you’re a junior shooter looking to get a little more bang for your buck this summer, NRA’s Training Department has an exciting opportunity you won't want to miss.

Registration for the NRA National Junior Pistol and Smallbore Rifle Camps is now open. Held at historic Camp Perry near Port Clinton, Ohio, attendees will develop their competitive shooting skills while competing on the same grounds where world-champion shooters have competed in the National Matches for more than 100 years.

From beginners looking to learn the ropes to advanced competitors hoping to refine their skills, these National Junior Camps provides comprehensive training for shooters of all skill levels. A team of experienced NRA Certified Coaches will guide attendees through the history of marksmanship, the development of the sport, equipment selection, rules, fundamentals of shooting, position development, mental training, and tournament operations. A balance between classroom and live-fire exercises allows camp participants to focus on various aspects of shooting to become a well-rounded competitor. Here's what you need to know:

NRA National Junior Pistol Camp

When: July 13-17, 2010
Where: Camp Perry, OH
Who: Pistol shooters ages 10-18
How much: $175.00 before June 15/$200.00 after June 15

NRA National Junior Smallbore Rifle Camp

When: July 24-29, 2010
Where: Camp Perry, OH
Who: Smallbore rifle shooters ages 12-18
How much: $175.00 before June 15/$200.00 after June 15

Space for each camp is limited, so don’t delay! Download your registration paperwork, check out the equipment list and send in your application. Questions? Call 703-267-1411 for more information.

NRAblog checked in with NRA National Instructor Trainer John Howard for this week’s Trainer’s Tip. According to John, one of the best ways to increase your effectiveness as an NRA Certified Instructor is to expand your training repertoire.

Trainers with experience and interest in the competitive shooting sports can attend a Coach School to help shooters develop and hone their skills. Other ways to increase your opportunities as a trainer is to seek certification in additional disciplines such as Personal Protection Inside or Outside the Home, Reloading, or even Refuse To Be A Victim®. If you’re an experienced hunter, you may want to consider becoming a Hunter Clinic Instructor.

Finally, take steps to educate yourself on the latest techniques. “It’s really important to keep current on new training information,” said Howard.

Here is the first of three profiles on the winners of the 2009 Outstanding Achievement Youth Award. Let's kick things off with our first place winner: 

Eighteen-year-old Collin Wietfeldt of Hemlock, Michigan, took first place in the 2009 Outstanding Achievement Youth Award and will receive $5,000 scholarship. Wietfeldt’s impressive shotgun skills earned him spots on the 2009 U.S. World Championship Shotgun Team, the U.S. National Development Team, and on the 2009 ATA All-American Junior Trapshooting Team.

Wietfeldt recently returned from the Shotgun World Championships, held August 7-16 in Maribor, Slovenia, where he earned a silver medal as a member of the Men’s Junior Trap Team and finished in 7th place as an individual. Earlier this month, Wietfeldt took first place in the Trap Championships at the 2009 Shotgun Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In addition to his shooting skills, Wietfeldt is also very active in his school and community. At Hemlock High School, Wietfeldt is a member of the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA), the CPR Team, and is a regular name on the Honor Roll. Wietfeldt’s community involvement includes being an active member, volunteer, and coach with the Saginaw Field and Stream Club, serving as a coach for the Scholastic Clay Target Program, and as a frequent blood donor, being presented with the Donor For Life Award in 2008. In addition, Wietfeldt has participated in the Michigan State Youth Hunter Education Challenge and NRA Advanced Shotgun Camps.

Just last week, Wietfeldt accepted an offer to become a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has sinced moved to Colorado to begin his training and has enrolled at the University of Colorado. Congratulations, Collin, on all of your recent achievements!

Keep checking back with NRAblog for profiles of more Outstanding Achievement Youth Award winners.

Marcus Raab, NRA's National Coach Trainer, brings us the following news about a training opportunity for coaches at the Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs.

Registration is now open for the 2009 USAS-CMP-NRA Coach College and Conference for the continuing education of our coaches and program leaders October 3-11, 2009 at the U.S. Olympic Training Complex in Colorado Springs. Five opportunities for coach development are outlined below.

Register here. This is a preliminary registration, and no payment is due at this time. Payment instructions, conference details and further instructions will follow preliminary registration. Limited lodging on the Olympic Training Complex is available for $25/night, on a first come, first served basis. Sixty lodging billets are available on Olympic Training Complex for $25/night, on a first come, first served basis; participation beyond the first 60 entrants must stay off-complex in the local area. Specific housing requests will be included in the final registration materials.

• October 3-5: National Coach Development Staff Schools (These schools are by invitation only). If you desire to become a National Coach Development Staff member, please contact Marcus Raab or Don Sipes, NRA National Coach Trainers at 703-267-1589 or 703-267-1401, or email to: mraab@nrahq.org or dsipes@nrahq.org. In order to be considered for this school you must provide a letter of intent, a shooting/coaching experience resume, and proof of a valid shooting coach credential. The school starts mid-afternoon on October 3, so arrival on Saturday morning is preferred. Learn more about the NRA/USAS/CMP Coach Education Program. Only one school/discipline may be taken at a time. More...
  

Marcus Raab, National Rifle Coach Trainer for the NRA, is headed to Vicksburg, Mississippi to conduct a Rifle Coach School this Friday and Saturday.

Nearly 25 people affilitated with the United States Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) will receive training to help coach students in air rifle. JROTC is one of NRA’s Youth Cooperative Organizations.

The NRA’s Coach Education Program helps to train coaches in a variety of disciplines, including rifle, pistol, and shotgun. To date, there are more than 3,200 NRA Certified Coaches, and the number is constantly increasing.

The Shotgun Coach School Instructors are collectively known as the NRA Shotgun National Coach Development Staff and now total 38. The eight new members were trained by National Shotgun Coach Trainer Don Sipes April 3-5 at the Arlington-Fairfax Izaak Walton League in Centreville, Virginia. The newest members are from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Massachuttes, New York, and Virginia.

Most upcoming NRA coach schools are posted online. Clubs and individuals interested in having a coach school conducted in their area may download the Coach School Sponsor’s Guide.

For answers to your questions about the Shotgun Coach Education Program, email dsipes@nrahq.org.

Don Sipes, NRA’s National Shotgun Coach Trainer, bring us news that the Coach Education Program will be conducting the largest Shotgun Coach School in the history of the program. Scheduled for March 14-15, 2009 outside of Little Rock, AR, the Coach School will train over 110 people affiliated with an Arkansas youth clay target shooting program.

The Shotgun Coach School will include 12 hours of classroom instruction and four hours of practical field exercises. Participants will learn how to coach five disciplines of clay target shooting including International and American Skeet, International and American Trap, and Sporting Clays.

Sipes is pleased with the expansion that the Shotgun Coach Program has seen in recent years. “The growth has been phenomenal,” said Sipes. “We had 495 [NRA Certified Shotgun Coaches] as of July 1, 2007, and after this Arkansas school, we’ll have over 1,500 coaches.” Looking to the future, Sipes hopes to have 1,800 NRA Certified Shotgun Coaches by the end of 2009.

Visit the Coach Education Program website to learn more about becoming an NRA Certified Shotgun Coach, and view scheduled Coach Schools open to the public, or call (703) 267-1401 for more information.

With spring fast approaching, high school junior and senior shooters have a lot on their minds. Not the least among their concerns is how to continue the sport in their desired shooting discipline at college.

NRA Collegiate Shooting offers an easy and convenient way to search for universities that offer specific shooting disciplines.

In 2002, the NRA created the Collegiate Shooting Sports Directory as a reference for high school shooters. The Directory lists coach contact information, equipment and range availability, and schools by discipline. Listings of available scholarships are also included on the Directory page.

Collegiate Shooting Sports Manager Tori Croft offered the following advice to high school shooters who wanted to continue their sport in college: “Make sure you contact the schools with programs you are interested in, and use the Collegiate Shooting Sports Directory as a resource. Don’t be afraid to contact me with any questions you have about colleges or programs. Remember, if you are attending a college without a program, it is always possible to start one.”

For questions about NRA's Collegiate Shooting Programs, email collegiate@nrahq.org.