Volume I, Issue 2 Spring 2015

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1 GATEWAY CLAYBUSTERS Breaking Volume I, Issue 2 Spring 2015 B E S A F E... H AV E F U N... W I N! The 2015 Shooting Season is off to a Great Start! The weather is more accommodating and we are fast approaching the High School shoot at the MTA grounds, which is our first big competition. Our mouse race fundraiser raised more money than ever. Our head coach had to step down due to work obligations, and we ve been dealing with holding split practices at multiple locations. The mouse race fundraiser was a huge success due to the efforts of all and especially the mouse race committee: Lori and James Browne, Ken Shields, Stacy Tubbs, Jeannie Clausner, and chairperson Melissa Stecker. This event has gone from a fundraiser that earned about $7,000 the first year to this year s event which netted around three times that. This has opened everyone s eyes as to how big this one evening has become and we will be looking for a bigger venue to make it more enjoyable for all. I know that some were, to put it mildly, inconvenienced by this year s event and I apologize for this. clays In November, the terms of two board of director seats, Todd Hampson s and mine, will expire and we are looking for two qualified candidates to fill those positions. If you are interested in being a board member, please let me or any current board member know. The term requires a three-year commitment with monthly meetings lasting approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Since Todd s position entailed keeping our web site up-todate and postings current, anyone who can fill that position would be most desirable. I d like to give a special shout out to Evan Clausner and Will Nelgner who stepped up and helped one of our longtime supporters, Safari Club International s Gateway Chapter. I received a call from them on short notice looking for our help and these two responded to their requests. Thanks guys! The 2015 season continues to present us with new challenges, but with the support we receive from all of those involved with the Gateway Claybusters we collectively continue to meet, overcome, and move forward to make this one of the premier teams in youth shooting. I m looking forward to a great year! I hope you enjoy this second issue of the Gateway Claybusters Breaking Clays. Special thanks to Jeanne Hampson for putting together our newsletters. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Mark Bockerstett is president of the team board, assistant coach, and one of the founding coaches of the Gateway Claybusters.

2 COACHING CHANGES A few days after the mouse races, I received a phone call from Head Coach Jim Spruill telling me that other obligations would prevent him from performing the duties of head coach at the commitment level he considered necessary and he felt it was best to resign as head coach. I know this was an extremely difficult decision for Jim as his service to the club has been exemplary. Previously, he served as a coach and team president. Jim brought a level of professionalism to the club while it was experiencing rapid growth and his attention to detail helped manage this growth. If this club were to have a hall of fame, Jim Spruill would certainly be a member. Head Coach Jeff Stecker Coach Jim Spruill My thanks to Jeff Stecker for his willingness to step up to the challenge of assuming the role of head coach of the Gateway Claybusters! While I was having conversations with the board and just about anyone I was seeking advice from, one name kept getting mentioned and it was Coach Stecker s name. What a relief it was when I finally put in the call to Jeff and he agreed to take on this important position. Please be patient and cooperative while Jeff molds his identity into this team and please be willing to step up and help when he asks. Within the past nine seasons of the Claybusters, we ve been fortunate to have two great head coaches in John Stokes and Jim Spruill, and I expect that Jeff will carry on this tradition. Written by Mark Bockerstett WELCOME ALL TEAM MEMBERS! This year, the Gateway Claybusters are pleased to welcome all new and returning athletes. Currently, we have 50 athletes. Of those, 35 are returning and 15 are new to the club. We are looking forward to a fun and successful season! ACAPULCO WORLD CUP (LADIES INTERNATIONAL TRAP) Emily Hampson was invited to shoot for MQS (Minimum qualifying score) at the World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico in March A World Cup MQS is a requirement in order to qualify and shoot in the Olympics, regardless of team standings. She traveled and shot with US National and Junior Team Members. The MQS required a score of 58 minimum, and Emily shot 68/75 making the MQS and tying Miranda Wilder s Record set back in 2008 for highest score by a junior woman in an OPEN World Cup Match for Women s Trap 75.

3 RECENT RESULTS ATA TRAP The Gateway Claybusters are off to a great start for the Season! We had our first official team shoot at Gateway Gun Club on Saturday, April 11th. This was a MYSSA shoot. With the weather being almost perfect, the scores from the athletes were AWESOME! Congratulations to the Senior Varsity GOLD Team for bringing home the traveling trophy. Tricia Cook, Zach Smith, Will Nelgner, Josh Unland and Cade Benskin shot a 478/500 and tied with Team Henges. After a shoot-off we ended up with a three-bird win to bring home the trophy. LADIES: We had a four-way tie for ladies with Team Henges, Two ladies were from Gateway Claybusters: Tricia Cook and Olivia Stecker had scores of 97/100. After the shoot off with Team Henges, Tricia took first in Ladies and Olivia took fourth place. HIGH OVER ALL: JJ Tubbs took second with a score of 98/100 after a shoot-off. HIGH SCHOOL: Zach Smith took 1 st with a score of 97/100 after he was in a shoot-off. Will Nelgner was also in a shoot-off and took third place with a score of 97/100. JUNIOR HIGH: Kramer Ennis took first with a score of 97/100. Josh Dintleman took second with a score of 97/100. Kramer and Josh participated in a long shoot-off against each other and did an awesome job! Congratulations to: Tricia Cook, Zach Smith, Will Nelgner, Josh Unland, Cade Benskin, Olivia Stecker, JJ Tubbs, Kramer Ennis and Josh Dintleman! After a long beautiful day of shooting, the Gateway Claybusters brought home a lot of hardware! Thanks to everyone who stayed to support their teammates in shoot-offs and watch them receive their awards. I would also like to recognize all our athletes who shot their personal best on Saturday! JJ Tubbs 98/100 Levi Redmon 92/100 Olivia Stecker 97/100 Jonathan Duggan 80/100 Braden Szwargulski 96/100 And a big congratulations to Tricia Cook who shot 100 straight at our squadding shoot and Jared Boyer for shooting his first 25 straight at a practice. written by Melissa Stecker INTERNATIONAL BUNKER TRAP Spring Selection Match: Emily Hampson, Ryan Osborne, and Mike Renfrow participated in the Spring Selection Match in Fort Benning, Georgia the week of April 6-12th. This was a four-day, two-match event. The matches were extremely tough, and conditions varied. The Claybusters are junior-level athletes competing against open-(olympic/ World-Cup quality) athletes and they held their own! Emily Hampson made the open finals (top 6 women in the country) in the first match, but narrowly missed making the finals in the second match. Next up is the Missouri State Bunker shoot in May, and then the USAS Nationals in Colorado Springs in June. The Claybusters have a chance of making the USA Shooting Team by placing high in that match.

4 Upcoming 2015 Events The Gateway Claybusters Board of Directors has approved a budget for this year that will benefit all of our athletes. The budget includes team paid registrations for all team sanctioned events, team lunches at four select matches, underwriting of clinics, and a flat of shells for use at the Grand ATA TRAP SCTP Regionals HS Shoot * ** WSRC - Sparta, IL 4/17-4/19/2015 MO High School Shoot* MTA - Linn Creek, MO 5/02/15 MO State Shoot - HS Event* MTA - Linn Creek, MO 5/17/15 AIM - MO State Shoot* ** MTA - Linn Creek, MO 6/26-6/27/2015 SCTP - MO State Shoot* MTA - Linn Creek, MO 6/20/15 US Open WSRC - Sparta, IL 5/30/15 SCTP Nationals* ** WSRC - Sparta, IL 7/13-7/18/2015 AIM Nationals* ** WSRC - Sparta, IL 8/01-8/04/2015 Grand American WSRC - Sparta, IL 8/05-8/15/2015 MYSSA Fall Classic MTA - Linn Creek, MO 9/12/15 SKEET Mothers Day Open* Prairie Grove 05/09/15 Registered Shoot Midwest Skeet Classic* Sparta Illinois June12-14 Registered Shoot The Bird Skeet Classic* Sparta Illinois July Registered Shoot Missouri Show Me Games* Prairie Grove July Bird State Warm Up* St Louis Skeet & Trap 08/08/ Bird 12 Ga. Missouri State Skeet Shoot* Prairie Grove August Pheasant Warm Up* St Louis Skeet & Trap 09/19/15 Iron Hunter* St Louis Skeet & Trap 10/17/15 INTERNATIONAL BUNKER TRAP Missouri State Shoot * Pacific (SS&T) MO 5/22-5/24/2015 USAS National Championships* Colorado Springs 6/7-6/13/2015 National Junior Olympics* Colorado Springs 7/20-7/27/2015 SCTP Nationals* Colorado Springs 7/27-8/2/2015 Fall Selection* Tucson 10/15-10/25/2015 * Athlete registration fees for these events paid for by the club. Note: Athletes will receive only the ATA Trap fees - OR - Skeet Fees - OR - Bunker Fees paid. Only one discipline set of shoots per athlete will be funded. Athletes competing in multiple disciplines must choose a primary discipline for funding. ** The team will provide lunch at these events ANNUAL TEAMS ANNOUNCED Victoria Metzger Josh Dintleman JJ Tubbs Josh Unland Michael Renfrow Zachary Smith Tom Browne Tricia Cook AIM All state Team - Captain - Senior Division AIM All state Team - Captain - Sub Jr division AIM All state Team - Sub Jr division AIM All state Team - Sub Jr division AIM All Zone Team - Captain Junior division (Southwestern Zone) AIM All Zone Team - Junior division (Southwestern Zone) AIM All Zone Team - Sub Junior division (Southwestern Zone) Captain of the MO State Ladies Team (Highest composite average for all Ladies in the State of MO!)

5 2015 Mouse Race Fundraiser Photos Gateway Claybusters Board of Directors Mark Bockerstett, President Dale Brown, Treasurer James Browne Todd Hampson Bill Nelgner Melissa Stecker Stacey Tubbs Bob Beckmann, ex officio Jeff Stecker, Head Coach