Interviews and Articles
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2004 12:07 am
Subject: Great article, except for one killer paragraph
Also in mind is the responsibility involved with using a real, loaded weapon. The bullets fired can be lethal. Each athlete is trained not to harm themselves or anyone else.
*************************************************************
Let this be a lesson to us all. Before you do an interview, think... Write down possible questions and your answers. Plan a theme and stay on message. You must direct the interview, even when you are asked difficult questions. If one of your young athletes is being interviewed, prepare them, and don't let them get "miss quoted."
Never refer to our sports equipment in terms of weapons! Never allow photos looking directly down the bore or project an unsafe situation / image. Overall, this is a very positive article, but...I'm hesitant to use it or to forward it (especially to new school administrators, parents, and impressionable writers) to anyone who might misunderstand this paragraph. I'm afraid it's a wasted effort...
Roy McClain
Vice President
Georgia Sport Shooting Association
(678) 772-8185 cell / (770) 412-6604 home
"If your plan is for one year, plant rice.
If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
If your plan is for one hundred years,
educate children." -- Confucius
*************************************************************
Article Last Updated: Friday, March 05, 2004 - 6:58:33 AM EST
http://www.connpost.com/Stories/0,1413, ... 08,00.html
Hitting bullseyes at Bunnell
By TARA DRISCOLL tdriscoll@ctpost.com
STRATFORD
One by one they arrive at a one-story unmarked concrete building in an industrial area just off Lordship Boulevard. They trickle through an orange door with bags holding their sporting equipment. What's in those bags separates them from their golfer and hockey player counterparts.
On Wednesday, once inside the Bridgeport Rifle Club, some members of the Bunnell High School rifle team opened their bags to reveal rifles and canvas clothing, staples for the only rifle team in Fairfield County.
The team's season ended in late February, with an 11-point loss to North Haven in the state championship, but these athletes came to showcase their sport, which has a tiny alliance of 14 teams in all of Connecticut.
They are girls and boys of varied shapes and sizes whose allegiance is based more on concentration than brawn.
"It's completely different than a lot of sports," said coach Michael Fernandes, a lieutenant with the Stratford police department. "It's something where people don't have to be the heavily athletic individuals. Myself, when I was growing up, I loved basketball. Couldn't play it to save my life."
But take one look at Nick Hogberg and you see this Bunnell team has its share of athletes. The 6-foot-1, lean co-captain, who averaged a team-high 194.83 of a possible 200 this year, has been recruited to compete at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. For Hogberg, who grew up playing soccer and basketball, shooting is no hobby. Last year he represented Connecticut at the U.S. Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"As much as you need athletic ability
and it does take a lot of leg strength and back strength
a lot of it is just being able to focus and concentrate on what you're doing and not get distracted," Hogberg said.
Such prerequisites might explain why most of Bunnell's 15 members are on the honor roll. The program, just six years old, is among the best in the state. Bunnell, which finished the season 5-1, won the first two state titles in 1999 and 2000. North Haven, its closest competition, has won the last four.
Like other sports, there are rules to rifling. In competition, shooters must get off a total of 20 shots, five in four positions
standing, kneeling, sitting and prone
all within 30 minutes. Each shooter stands 50 feet away, wearing shooting glasses and earplugs that drain out the serious echo. Hitting the bull's-eye for a maximum 10 points is like shooting the center of a half-dollar. All the while, the shooter hoists a 14- to 17-pound rifle.
Also in mind is the responsibility involved with using a real, loaded weapon. The bullets fired can be lethal. Each athlete is trained not to harm themselves or anyone else.
"I wasn't afraid," said senior co-captain Sarah Livingstone, whose 5-2 petite frame underlines the team's diverse look. "It's a lot of responsibility since you're handling a firearm. You know what you have in your hands and you have to be that much more careful."
For Fernandes, a cop nearly 24 years, safety always is paramount. He and assistant coach Al Metzger, who coached Fairfield Prep's now-defunct rifle team from 1986 to 1998, limit the number of members to 15 each season to be able to supervise them all. There is no tolerance for recklessness.
"They'd be out of here," Fernandes said. "I tell everybody that comes in. I don't tolerate any unsafe behavior. If you want to play, you play somewhere else. I'll throw them out and there's no appeal process."
Fernandes receives no compensation to coach the team, so he would just as quickly disband it if there were a problem. Although he has never had a safety issue, parents of new shooters understandably pose the questions.
"I say come down to the range and see what goes on," Fernandes said. "We watch everything and these kids are all responsible."
What parents who attend see amounts to shields around their kids. The athletes don what look like tighter space suits: canvas pants and jackets that keep the body stiff for positioning. They wear shoes with abnormally flat soles to provide balance. They take practice rounds before Fernandes and Metzger, who serve as "sighters" with scopes to indicate a shooter's accuracy, tell them to "start shooting for record."
They see a sport of precision. As Hogberg put it, you have to "see the bull's-eye through the center of the tunnel through the center of the rear iris."
So who are these athletes and how did they become involved with a sport few know about? All become members of the Bridgeport Rifle Club; others also belong to the Stratford PAL. Many give up traditional Friday night social options to meet at the range for an impromptu practice.
Some, like Hogberg, learned the sport from a grandparent, or started at summer camp, as Livingstone did when she was 11. Sophomore Dave Lanz caught the bug from an immediate family member.
"My dad's been doing it for a long time," he said.
Senior Lauren Calgreen hesitantly followed a boyfriend to practice as a sophomore and became one of the team's best this year.
"At first, it was like, 'Wow, I have a lot of power,' " said Calgreen, one of four girls on the squad. "It was scary. You see the bullets and you think they'd be smaller than that, but they were much bigger than I expected. It took me two practices before I got used to it."
Behind Hogberg, sophomore Tim Calzone (192) and Livingstone (191.17), Calgreen averaged 190.5. Senior Chris Catalano rounded out the top five with 188.17.
Bunnell graduates five standout seniors this year, including Livingstone, who is awaiting word on admission to the Naval Academy, where she hopes to continue shooting.
Fernandes said the Bunnell rifle program will continue in capable hands.
"We function as a team," he said. "There's a lot of talent. They're very strong. They know when you're on the line, it's just you, your rifle and your target."
About the team
WHO
Bunnell is one of 14 rifle teams in Connecticut and the only one in Fairfield County.
RESUME
Lost to North Haven 962-951 in the state championship at Blue Trail Range in Wallingford on Feb. 25. Won state titles in 1999 and 2000.
MEMBERSHIP
All members belong to the Bridgeport Rifle Club. Graduate five of its 15 members this year.
Also in mind is the responsibility involved with using a real, loaded weapon. The bullets fired can be lethal. Each athlete is trained not to harm themselves or anyone else.
*************************************************************
Let this be a lesson to us all. Before you do an interview, think... Write down possible questions and your answers. Plan a theme and stay on message. You must direct the interview, even when you are asked difficult questions. If one of your young athletes is being interviewed, prepare them, and don't let them get "miss quoted."
Never refer to our sports equipment in terms of weapons! Never allow photos looking directly down the bore or project an unsafe situation / image. Overall, this is a very positive article, but...I'm hesitant to use it or to forward it (especially to new school administrators, parents, and impressionable writers) to anyone who might misunderstand this paragraph. I'm afraid it's a wasted effort...
Roy McClain
Vice President
Georgia Sport Shooting Association
(678) 772-8185 cell / (770) 412-6604 home
"If your plan is for one year, plant rice.
If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
If your plan is for one hundred years,
educate children." -- Confucius
*************************************************************
Article Last Updated: Friday, March 05, 2004 - 6:58:33 AM EST
http://www.connpost.com/Stories/0,1413, ... 08,00.html
Hitting bullseyes at Bunnell
By TARA DRISCOLL tdriscoll@ctpost.com
STRATFORD
One by one they arrive at a one-story unmarked concrete building in an industrial area just off Lordship Boulevard. They trickle through an orange door with bags holding their sporting equipment. What's in those bags separates them from their golfer and hockey player counterparts.
On Wednesday, once inside the Bridgeport Rifle Club, some members of the Bunnell High School rifle team opened their bags to reveal rifles and canvas clothing, staples for the only rifle team in Fairfield County.
The team's season ended in late February, with an 11-point loss to North Haven in the state championship, but these athletes came to showcase their sport, which has a tiny alliance of 14 teams in all of Connecticut.
They are girls and boys of varied shapes and sizes whose allegiance is based more on concentration than brawn.
"It's completely different than a lot of sports," said coach Michael Fernandes, a lieutenant with the Stratford police department. "It's something where people don't have to be the heavily athletic individuals. Myself, when I was growing up, I loved basketball. Couldn't play it to save my life."
But take one look at Nick Hogberg and you see this Bunnell team has its share of athletes. The 6-foot-1, lean co-captain, who averaged a team-high 194.83 of a possible 200 this year, has been recruited to compete at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. For Hogberg, who grew up playing soccer and basketball, shooting is no hobby. Last year he represented Connecticut at the U.S. Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"As much as you need athletic ability
and it does take a lot of leg strength and back strength
a lot of it is just being able to focus and concentrate on what you're doing and not get distracted," Hogberg said.
Such prerequisites might explain why most of Bunnell's 15 members are on the honor roll. The program, just six years old, is among the best in the state. Bunnell, which finished the season 5-1, won the first two state titles in 1999 and 2000. North Haven, its closest competition, has won the last four.
Like other sports, there are rules to rifling. In competition, shooters must get off a total of 20 shots, five in four positions
standing, kneeling, sitting and prone
all within 30 minutes. Each shooter stands 50 feet away, wearing shooting glasses and earplugs that drain out the serious echo. Hitting the bull's-eye for a maximum 10 points is like shooting the center of a half-dollar. All the while, the shooter hoists a 14- to 17-pound rifle.
Also in mind is the responsibility involved with using a real, loaded weapon. The bullets fired can be lethal. Each athlete is trained not to harm themselves or anyone else.
"I wasn't afraid," said senior co-captain Sarah Livingstone, whose 5-2 petite frame underlines the team's diverse look. "It's a lot of responsibility since you're handling a firearm. You know what you have in your hands and you have to be that much more careful."
For Fernandes, a cop nearly 24 years, safety always is paramount. He and assistant coach Al Metzger, who coached Fairfield Prep's now-defunct rifle team from 1986 to 1998, limit the number of members to 15 each season to be able to supervise them all. There is no tolerance for recklessness.
"They'd be out of here," Fernandes said. "I tell everybody that comes in. I don't tolerate any unsafe behavior. If you want to play, you play somewhere else. I'll throw them out and there's no appeal process."
Fernandes receives no compensation to coach the team, so he would just as quickly disband it if there were a problem. Although he has never had a safety issue, parents of new shooters understandably pose the questions.
"I say come down to the range and see what goes on," Fernandes said. "We watch everything and these kids are all responsible."
What parents who attend see amounts to shields around their kids. The athletes don what look like tighter space suits: canvas pants and jackets that keep the body stiff for positioning. They wear shoes with abnormally flat soles to provide balance. They take practice rounds before Fernandes and Metzger, who serve as "sighters" with scopes to indicate a shooter's accuracy, tell them to "start shooting for record."
They see a sport of precision. As Hogberg put it, you have to "see the bull's-eye through the center of the tunnel through the center of the rear iris."
So who are these athletes and how did they become involved with a sport few know about? All become members of the Bridgeport Rifle Club; others also belong to the Stratford PAL. Many give up traditional Friday night social options to meet at the range for an impromptu practice.
Some, like Hogberg, learned the sport from a grandparent, or started at summer camp, as Livingstone did when she was 11. Sophomore Dave Lanz caught the bug from an immediate family member.
"My dad's been doing it for a long time," he said.
Senior Lauren Calgreen hesitantly followed a boyfriend to practice as a sophomore and became one of the team's best this year.
"At first, it was like, 'Wow, I have a lot of power,' " said Calgreen, one of four girls on the squad. "It was scary. You see the bullets and you think they'd be smaller than that, but they were much bigger than I expected. It took me two practices before I got used to it."
Behind Hogberg, sophomore Tim Calzone (192) and Livingstone (191.17), Calgreen averaged 190.5. Senior Chris Catalano rounded out the top five with 188.17.
Bunnell graduates five standout seniors this year, including Livingstone, who is awaiting word on admission to the Naval Academy, where she hopes to continue shooting.
Fernandes said the Bunnell rifle program will continue in capable hands.
"We function as a team," he said. "There's a lot of talent. They're very strong. They know when you're on the line, it's just you, your rifle and your target."
About the team
WHO
Bunnell is one of 14 rifle teams in Connecticut and the only one in Fairfield County.
RESUME
Lost to North Haven 962-951 in the state championship at Blue Trail Range in Wallingford on Feb. 25. Won state titles in 1999 and 2000.
MEMBERSHIP
All members belong to the Bridgeport Rifle Club. Graduate five of its 15 members this year.
