Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Kansas State High School Clay Target League - information & request for support

I am sharing this as both an informative post and, if you might be so inclined, as a request for support as we are working to set up a high school clay target shooting team in the public school where I teach. Yes, you read that correctly, in a public school. In a day and age where we have seen students suspended in public schools across the country for things like pointing their finger like a gun or chewing their pop-tarts into the shape of a gun, it isn't often you see a picture like this:



There is a movement gaining momentum in Kansas to set up a youth shooting program (http://ksclaytarget.com/) in schools across the state, including the school (Sterling HS) where I have taught for the past 31 years. We are setting up our program with the leadership of Mr. Dennis Vincent, a gentleman who is one of our regular substitute teachers who was named as the 2014 Kansas Hunter Education Instructor of the Year and was also inducted into the International Hunter Education Association's (IHEA-USA) Hall of Fame.

http://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Ne...ATION-INSTRUCTORS-AWARDED-FOR-EXCELLENCE

http://www.ammoland.com/2015/06/two...ructors-make-hall-of-fame/#axzz3sA5gtQfC

I worked with the teacher of our Lifetime Activities class about ten years ago to help set up the National Archery in the Schools Program and secure equipment for use in her classes and now we are working to do the same for students to gain experience shooting shotguns. Through this class students are actually able to complete the requirements for their Hunter Education certification and then take part in a field day where they have the opportunity to shoot clay targets, many for the first time. In fact, Dennis received his Instructor of the Year award during one of these outdoor field days where he was helping our students last year.

We already have 15-20 students, including a number of girls, who want to be part of our team and we have received the support of our school principal and superintendent to begin work to set up our program. We will go before our Board of Education in two weeks to receive final approval to officially set up our school team and will then start practice/competition in the Kansas State High School Clay Target League next spring.

Support is building to help us get all of this set up and, if might be so inclined, we would be grateful for any support you might be able to help provide. We have arrangements made through the Rice County Sportsmen’s Club for students to shoot on a weekly basis starting on March 20, 2016. Students will shoot two rounds of 25 targets each in both practice and competition, so with 15 students the weekly cost for targets and shells will be approximately $250/week. The 12 weeks of shooting planned for the league will give us an annual cost around $3000. The club is going to provide targets to the school at cost and several members have volunteered to assist as mentors for the team. We believe that it is important that students have an investment in the program as it will increase their commitment to be part of it, so there will be a student fee of $50. (With 15 team members this will provide $750/annually for the program.) We have secured a grant of $450 through the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks and our local chapter of Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever has indicated they will provide a total of $2000 for schools in our county, so the total will depend on how many schools decide to set up teams.

The estimated $3000 in annual expenses will cover the targets/shells needed for practice and competition, so we are now working on the extras that will be needed to make this a quality experience for all involved. Some of the students will have their own shotguns, but there will definitely be students who won’t, so we are working to secure funding to purchase 4-5 shotguns that will be used for the program. In addition, we will also need shooting vests, shell pouches, and safety glasses for all team members.

Additional equipment/funding we are needing include:
20 shooting vests X $50/ea. = $1000
20 shell pouches X $20/ea. = $400
20 prs. Shooting glasses X $15/ ea. = $300
5 - 12 Gauge Target Shotguns X $500 ea. = $2500 (CZ 912 or Tristar Viper G2 12 ga. Shotguns)

I am working on an NRA Foundation Grant application right now and we would greatly appreciate any support other individuals and/or groups might be willing to help provide. Thanks for considering.

Dan

We had already received permission from our principal and superintendent, but I am excited to share the news that we received a unanimous 7-0 vote of support from our Board of Education this week to formally approve our school/students taking part in the first year of competition this spring. We had 35 students at a recent meeting for students interested in the league, including 8 girls, so it is great to see things coming together to help make this happen. Pretty unique opportunity for public school students and interest seems to be growing in schools around the state.

I have received several pm's from members here with offers of gear or financial support and your help is greatly appreciated!

We do this in our community. It has over 100 kids in it. It keeps the local Ike's club busy and the kids seem to be doing well in the program. It seems to draw those kids who don't fit into football, basketball and track. Good luck.
kwg

Thanks! Glad to hear it is working well for your community and kids! The diversity of students who attended our meeting would certainly support what you are saying about providing an avenue to reach kids who might not otherwise be involved in school activities.

Fastest growing HS sport in MN. Hopefully it becomes the fastest one in KS soon.

I work for Wal-Mart and can get you some shooting glasses. ANSI approved. Grey tint, brown tint, amber tint, yellow, possibly orange, or clear. Incidently if you're having to pay $15.00 for shooting glasses, you've got less expensive options. Ours are considerably less. Let me know if you're interested and what colors you would want and where to send them.

Thanks, gophergunner. Sending you a pm.

Bucktail, I hope to see the same thing here in Kansas and will be working hard to help make it happen!

PM at you Dan.

PM's returned. Thank you!

Exciting to see the growing support and the pieces coming together from all over to help make this happen for the kids. We will make sure next spring that there is media coverage to show all of the positives that students are gaining from their participation in this league, too. I'm tired of the anti-gun bias that seems to be so prevalent in the media and see this as not just a great way to help get the next generation of shooters started, but a great chance to help give the public a better appreciation for the shooting sports, too.

You might want to reach out to Berettaman. He's got some great connections for stuff like this. He organizes a Youth Outdoors Day event up in Alexandria every year that's a huge succees. I've volunteered for it twice in a row now and really look forward to it. Reach out to him. Seriously.

Looking forward to discussing with you. I have a funding mechanism that should help immensely and the best part is it is permanent!