By Kip Young
The 2017 Bulldog Clay Target team is Vicksburg’s newest club sport. With registration now officially closed, the team will embark on the 2017 Michigan High School Clay Target League season with 50 kids in grades 6-12. The team will be led by 10 very experienced volunteer coaches.
Needless to say, there will be no shortage of flying clays this spring.
The team members have been working on completing safety training and honing their shooting skills since February. Since then, the team has already shot over 5,000 clay targets and 20 cases of ammunition.
The Bulldog Clay Target team home range is St. Joe County Conservation Club located between Centreville and Sturgis. The club has been very supportive and offers a fantastic facility including four newly renovated trap fields. The club is also currently installing a new five-stand course. This new course will offer kids additional clay shooting opportunities in the future. On March 18th, the team participated in the club’s spring cleanup day to help prepare for the 2017 clay target and archery shooting seasons.
The 2017 spring season kicks off April 2 and ends June 17 with a state tournament in Mason, Michigan.
The Clay Target team will compete against 25 other schools in Michigan High School Clay Target League.
The USA Clay Target League is the national governing body and will be offered in 26 states for the 2017 spring season.
Other local teams are Hackett Catholic Prep, Delton Kellogg, and Olivet.
Each trap round consists of 25 targets shot from five different stations.
The season lasts nine weeks with kids shooting two rounds of trap per week.
The team will shoot over 25,000 clay targets during the season.
Kids will shoot over 100 cases of 20-gauge and 12-gauge ammunition.
For more information on the Bulldog Clay Target Team, including shooting times to come and watch, or if you would like to make a donation, please contact head coach Kip Young at (269) 998-3020 or kip.young@kalblue.com. For more information on the Michigan High School Clay Target League go to miclaytarget.com.