BREAKING THOSE BIRDS

7TH GRADER TREVOR HAGAWALD AT TRAP PRACTICE; PHOTO BY KALLI YORK

Trapshooting at CCA has grown immensely in the past few years. This growth makes sense, as trap shooting is an extremely fast growing sport for both middle school and high school students. Based on the trap meeting that took place in early September, the team is expecting to have 35-40 members. This meeting was to welcome new and returning members and have them formally sign up. This past year the coaches attempted to make practices much more official, as in previous years athletes came and went whenever it was convenient. This was a problem for many reasons, however the much stricter plan wasn’t as effective as the coaches had hoped. This year they plan to let athletes come and go unless notified beforehand. The team has also acquired more coaches and assistants, as before the head coach, Brandon Faulkcon, had an overwhelming amount of responsibilities. This year the coaches hope to build stronger bonds with not just the athletes, but also within the community. They hope to teach athletes to embody responsible and disciplined individuals. 

For those unaware of what trap shooting is, the basics include  shooting at a clay disk that is flung into the air by a machine. This machine is kept under a small cement structure so that it is protected from the risk of being shot at, as well as the elements. Members are split into a group of five, referred to as a squad. Each person takes turns shooting, and after five shots they rotate to the next station. There are a total of five stations, meaning one round in equivalent to twenty-five shots. Competitions require athletes to shoot in increments of 50, 100, or 200. Competitions are held in fall and spring, although the spring meets are normally considered higher importance as they are much closer to the state shoot. State is normally the first week of June, with different divisions shooting on different days. The different divisions or levels consist of intermediate entry, intermediate advanced, JV, and varsity. Intermediate entry is the first year of shooting in middle school, advanced being the second or third year, JV being the first year shooting in high school, and anything beyond that is varsity.

Trap is an incredibly fun yet different type of sport. If you want to know more about trap, or are interested in talking to a coach, you can go to ccatrap.com, or email a coach at cleakcreekamanatrapteam@gmail.com