The West Springfield Rifle team is gearing up for their Regional match on February 14th, and they fully intend to end their season with a big bang.
There are many misconceptions about this sport, such as the cost and the idea that it is dangerous. Senior Ginny Thrasher is a passionate member of the rifle team and wishes that more people knew about the rifle and weren’t so quick to make assumptions about the sport as a whole.
“It’s a really underrated sport, and it’s a lot safer than most people think,” said Ginny Thrasher, “Many people don’t realize that rifle doesn’t cost nearly as much money as other club sports.”
The team holds one mandatory practice each week at a range located in Centreville, but are encouraged to practice there every day.
“The main focus during practices and drills is to have fun and improve scores by working on technique.” said assistant coach Valerie Thrasher.
During practices, they will sometimes hold practice matches, participate in speed drills, or have open practices to work on the individual needs of the members. It is often difficult for the players to get to practice because the range is thirty minutes away, but most members of the team think that the drive is worth the opportunity to improve their skills.
“If you put in the work at practice, you should have confidence and shoot consistently at any match you attend.” said Valerie Thrasher.
Rifle competitions consist of 55 minute blocks of time in which each player must make 30 shots. After time runs out, judges take the top five scores from each team and add them together to make up the team’s final score.
Junior Abdullah Choudhury is new to rifle team as of this year, but has enjoyed his experience so far.
“I definitely felt welcomed,” said Choudhury, “The captain is great and we had a lot of practices before tryouts started which was very helpful.”
The sport is open to anyone who wants to join, and you can put as much time into it as you like. There are no prerequisites to join and the team is supportive and accessible, creating a generally friendly environment while also maintaining a competitive side. While it is often seen as a high stress sport, there are many elements of fun and excitement involved.
“Of course everyone wants to win, but we all do activities together outside of practices and matches,” said Thrasher, “We do a ‘fun shoot’ at the end of the season where we shoot things like bottles and cans just for the fun of it.”
With the season coming to a close, each member of the team has goals they want to achieve, and with the right amount of practice and focus these goals are sure to be reached.
“So far this season, the team has been doing excellent,” said Coach Thrasher, “We are on track for a winning season and to do very well at the end of the year Regional match.”