High schoolers are competing in clay target sport

Talk to just about anyone affiliated with the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League, and you’re likely to hear something along the lines of, “everybody can do it.”  

Trap shooting is the fastest-growing high school extracurricular activity in the nation and is growing about 10 percent every year. In fact, 11,936 students from 349 high schools are participating this spring in Minnesota.

“It was outstanding to see our school board support this new activity for our students,” said Head Coach Nathan Davis during a recent interview.   “We are excited and proud to be the first trap shooting team to represent Springfield High School within the Minnesota State High School League.”

Indeed, part of the league’s explosive growth can be traced to its emphasis on inclusivity. “It’s an equal opportunity for all,” said Davis.  There are no tryouts, for example. Every team member shoots and almost all scores are counted via the True Team Scoring method which takes the top shooters from each week and is based on team size. “There are no benchwarmers,” he added, “everyone’s score matters.”

See complete story in this week's issue of the Springfield Advance-Press.