On a sunny Sunday afternoon in May, 70 members of the North Ridgeville H.S. Shooting Sports Team, along with about 75 parents, grandparents and coaches gathered at Sportsmen’s Gun and Reel Club in Amherst, Ohio. They were there, as they are every Sunday in the fall and spring, to compete in trap and skeet as part of the USA Clay Target League (USACTL).
The USACTL has more than 52,000 students shooting in the 2023-2024 school year, making it one of the largest clay target shooting programs in the nation. Offering trap, skeet, sporting clays and five-stand leagues to secondary and postsecondary schools nationwide, there are 1,795 high school, college and homeschool teams on its rolls this year.
It’s obvious these students are having fun, with lots of smiles and encouragement shared between rounds. Shooters show off their 25 straight patches they have earned that day. They talk about how excited they are to be going to an upcoming shoot in Pennsylvania, and how they have sold out all the spots for the invitational shoot they are hosting in June. They are thrilled to receive their new team jerseys and have team photos taken for their high school yearbook.
And, while shooting is the focus of the day for the students and their families, there is much more going on here than just shattering clay targets. It’s enabling the students to broaden their base of friendships and learn valuable life lessons.
Take Zac Batey for example. He is a 15-year-old sophomore from Bellevue, Ohio. His high school doesn’t have a clay target team, so he travels 45 minutes from home to compete as a North Ridgeville Ranger. Batey, a self-described “social butterfly,” said joining the Rangers shooting team enabled him to broaden his friendships beyond his own school.
When asked how shooting benefits him, he said, “It’s a mental game—it really works on your mindset. It makes you focus, gives you something to do and keeps me out of trouble.”
Emily Klepper is 16 and in 10th grade at North Ridgeville. She has been shooting on the Rangers team for three years, competing in trap, skeet and sporting clays. One of her best friends is fellow 10th grader Dakota Hessoun, who is also 16 and a three-year shooter. Although the two high schoolers knew each other previously, they developed a close friendship while competing together in clay target sports. Hessoun and Klepper said that when they first started shooting, they weren’t keen on competing because they didn’t know anyone on the team. However, Klepper recognized Hessoun from preschool, kindling the reconnection.
Shooting on the North Ridgeville Rangers team has benefitted both of them in several ways. “One lesson is how to control your emotions. Because everything is like a mental game,” Klepper said. Hessoun added, “Staying focused and controlling yourself.”
Mark Mencke, a volunteer coach for the Rangers team, emphasizes the focus on teaching more than just shooting skills to team members.
“It’s about the life lessons the kids are learning—responsibility, safety and skills to improve themselves,” he said. “Communicating with each other, as well as with coaches, parents and volunteers is important. This aspect of the shooting sports often gets overlooked.”
Solid Foundation For Success
The North Ridgeville Rangers team is a solid example of what researchers have learned nationally. The National Federation of State High School Associations has found that students who participate in school-sponsored activities have a leg up on students who don’t participate. They have higher test scores and a higher grade point average, a lower drop-out rate and are more likely to attend college. In fact, the USA Clay Target League found that 92% of clay target athletes are considering pursuing further education after high school.
Beyond school, the Federation learned that these students had increased self-esteem, developed longer-lasting friendships and were less likely to use drugs or alcohol.
“Many of the benefits arise from the fact that the USACTL is 100% school approved. In fact, it is the only youth clay target shooting sports program that requires approval from the school for teams to be allowed to participate,” John Nelson, president of the USACTL said. “As a result of that approval, most schools include their teams in the yearbooks, as well as lettering programs for clay target athletes. Those things mean a lot to students, and paired with the memories they’ll have of their time at the range with their peers, it’s really something special.”
While involvement in school sports and other activities is certainly beneficial for students, participation in clay target sports provides distinct advantages over other sports. It’s known as the safest school sport, with USACTL citing a record of zero reported injuries in its 23-year history.
The USACTL is also one league where all athletes can participate together, regardless of gender or abilities. All programs are fully Title IX-compliant and accessible to athletes with physical disabilities.
In fact, the North Ridgeville team welcomed a new team member this year, ninth grader Paityn Schick. Her participation was made possible by the donation of a specially designed shooting chair from Nexcam, which manufactured and supplied the chair. The company asked her and the team to provide feedback on its design.
Jason Kelvie, coach support and education manager for the USACTL, discussed the inclusivity aspects.
“There are many benefits to clay target sports, but a key benefit is inclusion. Everyone gets to participate; nobody is forced to hang back or sit down because a coach thinks they’re not good enough,” he said. “You can participate if you’re a boy or a girl, if you’re in a wheelchair or if you have asthma. We’ve even had a student that was legally blind participate. That opportunity for inclusion creates a special team dynamic—everyone on the team is cheering and supporting each other to do their best, regardless of their abilities.”
Wide-Ranging Benefits
The impact of participation in the USACTL extends well beyond the students and families who participate. Each year, league staff examines the positive outcomes of the program and publishes an Annual Impact Report, which documents the far-reaching benefits.
At a time when some shooting ranges are struggling to survive, hosting a team can be a lifesaver. Income provided by students is only part of the picture. Teams often take an active role at local clubs beyond just shooting. The North Ridgeville team, for example, is repainting the trap houses as it prepares to host an invitational youth shoot this summer. In addition, the USACTL reports that 81% of shooting ranges report an overall increase in non-youth participation as a result of hosting a team.
“I doubt anyone can argue that the USACTL’s efforts to revitalize clay target sports through getting youth involved hasn’t already paid dividends to the clay target shooting sports world overall,” Drew Tri, marketing manager for the USACTL said. “Shooting ranges have been revitalized by the influx of high school participants, and the 50,000-plus athletes buy a ton of gear. But what’s important to note is that most ranges with high school teams have also seen increases in non-youth participation. Grandpas, uncles, moms and dads are also getting into the sport because it’s something they can share with their kids.”
The USACTL estimates that in 2023, participants spent an average $2,450 annually on shooting-related purchases. Overall, league shooters were responsible for $27 million in firearms purchases and $40 million in ammunition sales.
Perhaps the greatest benefit is just raising awareness of the shooting sports as positive, safe activities for people of all ages.
“More participation means broader exposure of clay target shooting sports to folks who may have never heard of it, as well as creating additional opportunities for brands and retailers,” Tri said. “The USACTL has introduced clay target shooting to hundreds of thousands of people at this point, and the sports are no longer the domain of retirees in RVs.”
Before the rise of the USACTL, not many in the shooting sports industry envisioned competitions boasting more spectators than match participants.
“We have events with thousands of high schoolers shooting shotguns, being safe and having fun, being cheered on by thousands of parents, family members and the community,” Tri added. “That’s a great thing for students and for clay target shooting, as well as a tremendous opportunity for the industry.”
Learn more about the USA Clay Target League at usaclaytarget.com.
