Youth Programs

  We're also very lucky to have Aiden Luna join our competitive squad.

Aiden has been diligent in his practice sessions and has been 
splitting his time between advanced competitive soccer and shooting. Aiden's 
father receives a standing ovation for the miles he's driven taking 
Aiden to and from competitive soccer meets as well as getting him to 
the Mamba's practice sessions on Sunday afternoon. And brother, did 
Aiden "show-up" for the tournament! What a great performance!

   And what can we say about the third member of our squad, Dawson 
Peer? Dawson is only 11 years old but we moved him to a higher competitive level 
to shoot with the older boys, Aiden and Jack.
"When Dawson first began with the team in January, he was already shooting
in the 60's. In the last few months, our training program has moved
Dawson from the 60's to the very solid 80's," said Nunez.  "Our bump-up proved to 
be a smart move as Dawson shot HOA in his competitive division at the 
State Championships," reflected Nunez.

HOW DID THEY DO IT....THE TRAINING PLAN

  As you may recall, these young men began their competitive careers 
in January of this year. "We didn't have much time to prepare them for 
the State Championships in June. However, we had "goal set" to have 
them win the State Championships. For us, setting "stretch goals" is as much
a way of shooting as a way of living.  We not only focus on teaching the
athletes how to win, we also provide life lessons along the way," Nunez
stated.  And as everyone who is reading this article knows, setting goals
is a critical stage in achieving the end result.  With these two facts in
mind, "limited time & stretch goal setting," we had to formulate a plan
that would allow us to overcome many obstacles that stood in our way
and allow us to achieve our goals of winning the State Championship.

  The biggest obstacle was "time."  Not only did we have only six 
months to prepare for this tournament we had other interests that were 
competing for the boys time on the weekends. Therefore we only had 
Sunday afternoons to prepare. Coach Nunez devised a training regimen 
that would focus on refining or enhancing the technical skills the 
boys possessed as well as providing them with a mental training 
program that would fully unleash their skills. By utilizing a 
"training to win" approach, the Mambas talents grew by leaps and 
bounds rather than in small increments. "Most shooters can learn
to point and shoot a shotgun, but when crunch time arrives, they
find they are without armaments to deal with the stresses of
competition.  It was my job to provide those weapons to fully
arm the athletes as they pursued their goals," Nunez said.

  The boys worked hard week in and week out digesting the drills that 
were provided and perfecting those drills. Drills were combined with 
pressure situations to simulate the pressure they would feel at the 
State tournament.

Additionally, as these drills were presented, the mental aspects of 
shooting were introduced and driven home time and time again. "I'm 
sure the boys are tired of hearing me say "your conscious mind can 
only focus on one thing at a time," said Nunez.  "It was my job to 
make sure their conscious mind was fed the proper picture to assist 
them with their task at hand, breaking more targets." The results speak 
for themselves ..." they did a very good job of integrating this 
information into there shooting platforms in such a short period of
time," said Nunez.

Ultimately, to create the platform the boys would need to win the State
Championships, the boys were immersed in a true competitor's training regimen.
Such a platform is significantly different from the normal course of "shooting
lessons." Here is how it came to pass...Nunez had goal set for himself, to win the U.S. Championships in his class, and figured he'd kill two birds with one "shot," so to speak. 
"The boys were taking to the English shooting style so well that I decided to
bring them into my training regimen for the U.S. Open Championships.
Why recreate the wheel?" he said.The last few weeks of training consisted
of hand picked stations to drive home two messages...one technical and
one mental.  After a station was completed, a "lesson" on what to take
from that station was held...questions were posed and answered. Shooting
technique was analyzed and critiqued...and the boys even learned a bit
about coaching others as they had to provide advice to their teammates
about a shot. Lastly, the mental aspects of competition were explored
after shooting the station.  What should you do mentally to improve your
chances of hitting the target, where is your focus, how do you focus, how
do you handle nerves, how do you close out the station....these topics were
but a few of the lessons that were carefully presented to the young athletes.

"It is interesting to watch a young shooter's accomplishments come true
right before their eyes.....and it is a wonderment to watch the achievements
that walk hand-in-hand with those very accomplishments, rise to the
surface without the athlete even knowing that he has both accomplished
his goal, and more importantly, what he has become in that accomplishment," said Nunez.

"I am so proud of what these young men have done, both as shooter's
and as young men training for competition, the sacrifice, the heartbreaks
they faced, the pressure they felt...the achievements they have earned and
the accomplishment of becoming Etowah Valley's first Silver Medalists
at the State Championships. My hat is off to them, they have won my
respect as competitors," beamed Coach Nunez.

MAN IN THE ARENA  -  APROPOS FOR THE MAMBAS

Man in the Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the 
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them 
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, 
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives 
valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is 
no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive 
to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who 
spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the 
triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at 
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be 
with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt

Our Head Coach has been certified as a "Double Goals" Coach, whose focus is both on winning and providing life lessons along the way.  This Certification is awarded to those dedicated Coaches who have passed a course of study and have passed a rigorous background evaluation. 

Youth Programs: (all programs are Co-Ed, Male and Female)

Parents: Please understand that the safety of your child, and the safety of others around him/her are paramount to all other shooting matters.  As such, the instructors/coaches reserve the right to ask any student who is acting in a disruptive or unsafe manner, to immediately leave the shooting area. If this occurs, the instructor/coach and Head Coach must meet with the child’s parents to determine a course going forward. Please keep in mind that unsafe behaviors, even one, can cause your child to be released from any program below, permanently.

Confidence/Self-Image Building: A child’s self-image is the most precious thing there is…and we do everything we can to protect it...we also strive to do everything we can to enhance it and to provide structure and encouragement to help it grow. In life, as in Sporting Clays, not everyone stands atop the leader board, but it is in the effort that your child’s self –image grows. I assure you I will do everything I can to facilitate this growth in a healthy, competitive environment.

Eyes & Ears: No child will be allowed to participate in any event unless he/she has proper hearing and eye protection.

Prohibited Weapons: Absolutely no hammer guns, riot guns or home defense guns are allowed in any youth program. Bolt guns are not favorable except for the Learn to Shoot Clinics. Bolt guns will severely hamper your athlete’s performance in the “Rattler’s, Cobra’s or Mamba’s” programs and are strongly discouraged.

Program Start Dates: All programs begin the weekend of February 13. Learn to Shoot Clinics are "as announced" on this website.

Program Sign-Up: Please see each section for information regarding course enrollment.

Meet the Instructor/Coach: please click here.

Learn to Shoot Clinics:

Our emphasis in this program, as with all programs, is gun safety, and secondarily having fun.  Students will learn the basics of American shooting techniques. We cover eye dominance issues, and the basics of shooting such as stance and basic target presentations. We want to break as many targets as possible during these sessions to give the students confidence and let them experience the joy of shooting a shotgun.

Pre-requisites: Sufficient upper body strength to hold a 7lb shotgun on target. This upper body strength seems to appear once the student attains a body weight of 80 lbs. Students need not have fired a weapon prior to this class. 

Cost: $30/student

Days and Time: This class lasts approximately 2 hours.  Dates and times are as announced on the Home page of this website. In general, these clinics are held twice per month during the months of October - May. During the summer months, classes are generally held once per month.  Please check the Home page prior to signing up below.

Maximum Class Size: 8

To Enroll, please scroll down to the Form at the Bottom of Page

Youth Shooting Program 1 (Rattlers): Training to Learn

Again, we emphasize gun safety in all our programs…however, our focus in the Rattler’s Program is on the student who desires to Learn more about the “Process” of shooting Sporting Clays.  Our “coach” will take a different approach to these students than the “instructor” who teaches the Learn to Shoot Clinic in that more technique is emphasized in this program than found in the Learn To Shoot Clinics. Our student athletes are taught to be task rather than outcome focused. That is to say, breaking the clay (outcome focus), is secondary to the proper execution of shooting technique (performing your given tasks).

Students will progress from the Process of Shooting, to hopefully, a desire to begin a new training regimen…Training to Compete.

Pre-requisites: A desire to Train to Learn. Fun is still a huge part of this program, so our students are asked to have this in mind…you will need both the desire to learn AND have some fun along the way. Familiarity with the athlete’s shotgun is a must.  This student has participated in sporting clays prior to entering this class.

Cost: $30/student/session…Sessions are ongoing thus allowing students to enroll at any time of the year.

Day and Time: Saturday mornings at 9, and Saturday Afternoon at 1:30p. Sessions are one hour thirty minutes (1.5)  in length. Instructor will determine when student is ready to move to next level if desired.

Maximum Class size: 4 students (there are multiple classes to facilitate all participants). Classes may be combined as needed.

To Enroll, please scroll down to the Form at the Bottom of the Page.

Youth Shooting Program 2 (Cobras): Training to Compete

Again, emphasizing safety and fun, we now introduce our student athletes to another level of participation in the Sporting Clays discipline, Training to Compete. Physical techniques are emphasized and honed as well as an introduction into the mental aspects of competition. Every session will introduce various levels of pressure encountered along the competitive trail of Sporting Clays (don’t worry folks, it will be good for them and I promise, no one will have a problem with the minute levels of pressure introduced).  Face it, if you want to advance your shooting, you need competition. This program prepares our young shooting athletes for the next stage, Training to Win!

A 50 shot tournament will be held periodically to test performance under pressure and of course, to have some fun!

Pre-requisites: Instructor approval/recommendation. Students will posses a desire to improve the sub-conscious skill set to take them to a higher level…the desire to Train to Win.

Cost: $30/session/student…classes are ongoing and students can enter at any time of the year. Tournament cost is $10 and are held periodically throughout the program.  

Maximum Number of Participants: 4/class …multiple classes will be available to accommodate all participants. Classes may be combined as needed. All participants will shoot in the same tournament.

Days and Time: Saturday @ 11a and Saturday at 3:30. Duration is 1.5 hours. Tournaments may take 2.5 hours…please plan accordingly.

To Enroll, scroll down to Form at Bottom of Page

Youth Shooting Program 3 (Mambas): Training to Win

This program is designed for the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program – Competitive Team). In this program, there is a heavy emphasis on shooting techniques, both American and British. The mental aspects of the game are explored in depth in this program. Participants will learn to apply a specific technique to a specific presentation. Training is more intense as these participants are Training to Win. Thus, this program is competitive in nature and participants will compete across the State at various venues with other similarly situated students. There is a State Tournament for these participants as well as a National Tournament for participants of the Georgia State Tournament.

Participation in periodic tournaments will be determined by “shoot offs” held between athletes prior to any tournament. Thus, participation is not guaranteed in a large tournament. Even if your athlete does not make the cut for the tournament, he/she is encouraged to accompany his/her team to provide support.  It may be the other way around at the next tournament.

Parents: A child’s self-image is the most precious thing there is…and we do everything we can to not only protect it, but to enhance and provide structure and encouragement to help it grow. In life, as in Sporting Clays, not everyone stands atop the leader board, but it is in the effort that your child’s self –image grows. I assure you I will do everything I can to facilitate this growth in a healthy, competitive environment.

Cost: $40/session/student…SCTP is a program that runs “year-around” so your child may enter at any time.  Squads consist of three (3) participants and are separated into Divisions (Rookies, Intermediates and Seniors). Categories (Jr. Varsity and Varsity) only exist at the Senior Division.

Rookies are grades 5 and under.

Intermediates are grades 6,7,and 8

Seniors are grades 9-12….

Open…any grade

Days and Time: Sundays as follows:

Rookies 1p-2:30

Intermediates/Seniors: 3:00 – 5:00

Parent Coaches will be needed to keep the costs down. Parents wishing to coach must take the SCTP online coaching course. 

 To enroll your child, please print all of the forms found at this link  and bring all forms with you to the next practice.  ALSO, please complete the brief form below for our EVSC data base...to actually enroll your child, follow the highlighted link.