VSSA Junior Program
We are fortunate in Virginia to have a large
variety of shooting sports and shooting education programs available to our
youth.
2005 marked the 25th
anniversary of the 4-H National Shooting Sports Program and
Another great organization is the
American Legion Virginia Junior Shooting Sports Program headed by Bob Brady.
You can check out this program at http://www.va16thdistrict.org/Jr_shooting_sports.htm.
VSSA encourages all clubs, whether 4-H
clubs, American Legion clubs, or local gun club youth programs, to affiliate
with VSSA and for junior shooters to join VSSA. VSSA affiliation qualifies the
team to benefits when competing in national competitions as the VSSA team and
youth shooters that are VSSA members are qualified to receive assistance when
shooting on VSSA all-star teams in national competitions.
The VSSA is maintaining a list of youth programs and youth
shooting events on the website and we do our best to keep it up to date. If you
would like to have an event or program added, please click here and enter the
information on the web form and we will included the information on the web
site. Have fun and be safe.
2006 VSSA Precision Air Rifle Team
The Virginia State Precision Air Rifle Team, composed
of (L-->R) team Captain Emily Houston, Bailey Bierhauzen, Emma Holman, Brad
Pravlik, Meredith Holman, and Team Coach Chris Holman are awarded third place
by NRA National Coach Trainer HQ Moody (L) and MIT Pistol Coach Will Hart (R).
Team members Emily Houston and Emma Holman, however, took first and second
place in the individual competition - Emily had an impressive 1181, while Emma
totaled an 1177. Way to go
4-H Marksmen Take Aim at State
Silhouette Championships
4-H teams and
individuals from all over the state gathered at the Ridgeway Hunter’s Club,
just outside of
Each year the
The 4-H silhouette championships include seven individual
championships: .22 rifle, air rifle and air pistol silhouette for juniors and
seniors and .22 pistol silhouette for seniors. Blue, red, white and green
ribbons were awarded to every competitor in each event based on their
performance.
4-H Silhouette Championship award
winners. Front Row from left, Wes
Compton (Ridgeway Club President), Logan Sumner, Michael Snider, Phillip Dunn,
Zach Hale and Macey White (4-H Silhouette Coordinator). Back Row, Stephen Snider, Lewis Norton,
Cameron Kolinski, Gage Bennett, and Steven Burgess.
Logan Sumner from
“It was a great event, everything
went smoothly and all the kids shot very well. They were very safe and all were
good sportsmen,” said 4-H Silhouette Coordinator Macey White. “I don’t feel that it is important for our
kids to win championships but I do want them to learn how to handle
competition. Life is full of competition
and we are trying to teach them that improving is winning. Each child was a
winner at this match whether they went home with a trophy or not. They all did
their best and I am proud of everyone of them,” said White.
Shooting sports
education was introduced as a 4-H program 10 years ago this year. According to
Like all 4-H programs, the purpose
of the 4-H shooting education program is youth development and teaching life
skills to young people. According to Baney, “The Program is helping kids
develop self-confidence, personal discipline, responsibility, teamwork,
self-esteem and sportsmanship. I think the discipline and self-control required
for responsible firearms use carries over into many other aspects of life.” White
added, “Firearm safety education is a main focus of our program. With so many
homes having firearms I think exposure to firearm safety training is very
important.” White continued, “Hunting and shooting sports are rich American
traditions. 4-H shooting education programs help continue this tradition
through involvement of the whole family. In addition to the firearm safety
training our kids get I expect some of our kids to earn college scholarships in
the competitive shooting sports.”
The 4-H Shooting Sports Program is
designed for kids from 9 to 19. For information on a 4-H program near you
contact your local 4-H Extension Office or contact the State 4-H Shooting
Education Coordinator, Jinx Baney, at 434-848-2151.
Former Virginia Junior Shooters Excel in NCAA Competition
Nikki LeCompte of
Another former Junior shooter, Kristina Fehlings of Fehlings’
performance in the postseason earned her first-team CRCA and GARC honors in
both disciplines. She was the only Husker to boast such a distinction. During the regular-season,
she notched four match-high scores including two in smallbore and two in
air rifle. You can
read more about Kristina’s NCAA achievements on the NU web site.
Tom Knight is a junior on the Prior to attending NC State, Tom posted season-high scores of
577 in air-rifle and 578 in smallbore, placed first in smallbore and air
rifle at the Virginia NRA Junior Sectionals 3P in 2004 , was second at the
competition in International air rifle and the smallbore indoor
championship, and captured first place at the Maryland 3P smallbore outdoor
championship in 2004. He also placed first in the Maryland International
smallbore prone championship. Tom won two outdoor smallbore championships
in Shannon
Wilson is a junior at the The "I spent the whole year telling myself I am not a
smallbore shooter," said Wilson, who was recently named first team
All-America. "This really gives me a boost of confidence in my
shooting. I think I have a really good chance of qualifying for the World
Championships." Shannon competed for four years at
Cristina Ciarula is a 2006 graduate of the
Additional Resources for Junior Shooters
Virginia Youth Shooting Programs
Contacts
Virginia 4-H
Shooting Sports Information
Virginia Junior Shooting Sports
Would you like to see your VSSA
junior program photos and accomplishments on the VSSA website? All you have to do is email photos and a
description to VSSA and we will
upload them on the Junior web page.