For many, Apr 6. was a restful time, the first opportunity to sleep in again after spring break. For the trap shooting team, it marked the return to the Minneapolis gun club for their weekly Saturday morning practices. Sheltered up with loaded guns, coffee, and donuts, head coach John Rog assigned shooters their stations for the day.
On one station, the experienced shooters of the team practice their shooting rotations. In trap shooting, there are five shooting posts called traps. Everyone shoots 5 times at each trap, resulting in a possible 25 points scored. Co-captain Johnny Rog is among the experienced group of shooters. Johnny has been on the team since seventh grade, initially advised to join by his dad, the head coach.
This year, the team has replaced a large loss of experienced seniors with an influx of new middle schoolers. “We definitely lost a lot of experience,” Johnny said “but we still got a lot of interest”.
For Rog, this means taking on new responsibilities as a captain: “A lot of seniors last year would stand behind the shooters and give them advice” he said “I think I’m going to be doing a lot of that this year”.
Despite stepping up in his role for the team this year, Johnny feels prepared to tackle these new responsibilities, thanks to guidance from his father: “[He’s done] what I’m going to be doing with all the new members,” he said “He’s shared with me his tips and strategies…he’s certainly been a big inspiration for me”
One benefit of the team’s loss of players is having a tighter team dynamic: “It’s really interconnected,” said co-captain Louis Fratzke “The high schoolers all kind of know each other because we’ve been doing this for a few years… it’s a tighter community”
Freshman Axel Pearson feels optimistic about having a smaller, younger team this year. When Pearson first joined the team in 7th grade, he felt it was hard to connect with his much older teammates: “I was like, Wow. those guys are so far ahead, I can’t really talk to them that much”. This year, he feels more connected with his teammates: “It’s certainly nice to actually be able to know the captains”.
Pearson also sees benefits in his own shooting with a smaller roster: “We can split up into groups that need help from the coaches, and people who don’t need help, and the people who don’t need help can just get their rounds done” he said. Pearson views that having to wait for a less experienced shooter to get help can distract him and hinder his performance: “Having a clear mind while shooting is really good for me”.
The trap shooting team’s next tournament is at 10:00 am at the Minneapolis Gun Club on May 4.
