Warm N Fuzzy......

[Dave McCracken]

If WW gets a day off, it's almost always Saturday. And, while I like to help out with the Junior Shooters program at PGC, our time together comes first.

However, today she had to cover at the hospital for someone, and when she went in, I headed to PGC to assist with the kids.

The program is designed to give kids the basics. A reasonable fee buys 50 shells, two rounds of trap, skeet or wobble, a rental shotgun if needed and experienced instruction. All the instruction is voluntary, and the main guy, a nice fellow named Bobby, has been handling things for about a year.

Shotguns provided are Berettas, mostly 391s and some O/Us in both 20 and 12 gauge. Some have shortened stocks.

The kids are an assortment, usually from 13 to 17 years old and mixed as to gender and size. Occasionally a pre adolescent joins in, usually to accompany an older sib. Parents are encouraged to watch, but often the kids get dropped off and left for the 90 minutes or so the program takes.

One kid, who I'll call J, has been coming for a year or so. Both Bobby and myself despaired of him ever hitting well.

We couldn't ID the problem. His form seemed OK, he worked on the usual problems like stopping the swing, head lifting etc. Nothing seemed to help.

Eye/ hand dominance was as near as we could determine, was RE/RH.

Anyway,J greeted me warmly when I got there. Nice kid, about 16,oversized and a little clumsy, and quite intelligent. When I asked how his shooting was coming, he grinned and said "Things had fallen into place". They had.

He also showed me with evident pride his new Mossberg 500. A gift from his folks, he had tried out some shotguns other kids brought and found the Mossie suitable. He shot 20/25 his first round today and about the same for the second.

Six months ago his usual scores were around 10/25. On a good day.

The program ran through its alloted rounds and time, and the kids thanked us and left. J did, and as he walked away I noted he was more confident in his stride and had looked me straight in the eye when we talked.

Here's a kid that will never sparkle on the athletic field. Shooting provides an outlet for him, a way to excel, a means of finding the victories that every kid needs.

Kids need to know they can do things. Make things happen, rather than have things happen to them. Kids need to know that they count.

J knows it now. Maybe it would have happened without shooting, maybe not so soon. Or maybe not in time for an adolescent trying to figure out just who he is.

I can take no credit here. J did it, and Bobby helped. I assisted a little, and have the pleasure of seeing it work.

Take a kid shooting soon.....

 

[Robert Hairless]

Nice. Thanks for posting.

That's one thing about kids. They know the difference between self-esteem that they've earned and the counterfeits that many people try to foist on them. A lot of kids accept the counterfeit because they're led to believe that it's "just as good" as the other or they can't get any other kind.

But most of them know that false self-esteem isn't anything like the genuine article. That kid you've just spotlighted: he earned the real thing, he knows it, and it's his forever.

 

[sm]

Dave,

Excellent, and thanks for sharing.

Good Shooter are made - not born - Misseldine.

J, understands this, and so much more, and in just a year's time with this program and support of his family.

He had a willingness to learn, and learn from mistakes.
He tried various shotguns, before his parents bought him one.
These alone speaks volumes about J.

That program, and others like it, speak volumes and folks would be wise to listen to what is being said.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, folks.

Real victories make confidence. J can tell the difference. Like Edicon's definition of Genius, "Two percent inspiration, 98 per cent perspiration", he knows it takes work to win.

You're right, Robert. He'll carry that to the grave.

Steve, you've been there too....

 

[Robert Hairless]

I like it when adults take the time to help kids grow well. It's not the shooting for me: it's the kids. There's great satisfaction in looking at one of those kids when he or she reaches adulthood and seeing back through the years of becoming sturdy, self-reliant, and reliable.

Your J got a precious gift. He was allowed to fail, which meant that he also could succeed.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Truly, Robert. And knowing that could happen makes the victory all the sweeter.

 

[Fred Fuller]

The most impressive thing J demonstrated IMHO is persistence. He came back again and again in the face of less than stellar performance on his own part, and stuck with it till he made it work.

That to me speaks more loudly in his favor than anything else, given the current culture's emphasis on instant gratification with little or no effort.

Good job, all, and kudos to the club for helping guarantee a future generation of shooters.

lpl/nc

 

[Dave McCracken]

Good point, Lee. Kids need to learn that some things take time and effort. J stuck with it, and that counts lots.