Katie Gibson is a self-described “total nerd” on Woodcreek High School’s speech and debate team, with a keen interest in politics. The 16-year-old junior skews liberal in her political views.
Yet just about every Wednesday and Sunday this time of year, she’s got a box of shotgun shells in a pouch on her waist, her Browning shotgun pressed to her shoulder, and she’s shooting spinning clay discs out of the sky.
“You see that?” she said one recent evening to a coach after blasting a flying disc into powder. A huge grin split her face under the brim of her cap. Minutes earlier, the coach, Roger Martin, had critiqued her shooting stance, offering tips on foot placement and follow-through, not unlike what a coach might say to a student athlete at batting practice or on the driving range.
Indeed, students and coaches at the Woodcreek High School Sportsmen’s Club say the shotgun shooting team isn’t all that different from traditional school sports programs, where the best athletes might aspire to compete in college or the Olympics (skeet and trap shooting are Olympic and collegiate sports).
