Teens Selected for Olympic Evaluation in Trap, Skeet

U.S. OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER, Colorado Springs, Colo.--The Olympic torch in Beijing has barely cooled but preparation is already underway for the 2012 games in London. Eighteen shooting-sports hopefuls from 11 states have been selected for intensive training and evaluation Oct. 8-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Teen trap and skeet shooters selected for the 2008 Junior Olympic Development Camp include:

Arizona--Adam DiCerbo, 16, Scottsdale (skeet); Nicolas DiCerbo, 13, Scottsdale (skeet); Kyle Johnson, 16, Phoenix (skeet).

Arkansas--Cord Riley, 17, Hindsville (trap).

California--Ashley Carroll, 14, Solvang (trap); Richard Riddle, 15, Bonsall (skeet); Wesley Scoble, 17, Oakland (trap); Tristan Woolacott, 15, Sacramento (trap).

Connecticut--Trevor Harvey, 18, New Canaan (trap).

Idaho--Shawn Cahoon, 15, Pocatello (trap).

Illinois--Brett Bachmann, 16, Highland Park (trap); Kelcey DePatis, 17, Donovan (trap).

Michigan--Nicholas Sage, 15, Saranac (skeet).

New York--Kevin Corser, 18, Holly (skeet).

Pennsylvania--Jacob Gogno, 18, Pottsville (trap).

Tennessee--Cory Smith, 15, Shelbyville (trap); Ryan Stewart, 17, Nashville (trap).

Texas--Shelby White, 15, Littlefield (trap).

"All of these top young talents were selected from the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), the eight-year-old national shooting league that produced two medalists for the U.S. in Beijing," said Zach Snow of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which selected camp attendees in partnership with USA Shooting.

SCTP alumni Vincent Hancock (Eatonton, Ga.) and Corey Cogdell (Eagle River, Alaska) won gold in men's skeet and bronze in women's trap, respectively, in Beijing. Their medals were two of the six won by the U.S. in shooting sports.

In 2008, 9,135 youths competed and 1,562 adults volunteered as coaches and directors--both new records for SCTP. Selection for the Junior Olympic Development Camp involved an application and interview process.

At the camp, athletes will work with U.S. Olympic coaches to hone skills in the international style of skeet and trap shooting. Daily training starts early and goes late. Daytime drills help shooters fine-tune skills and help coaches identify athletes with special aptitude as well as attitude. Evening classroom work teaches goal setting, team structure and preparing physically and mentally for high-level competition.

Attendees will be housed in the Olympic athlete dormitories and fed in the athlete cafeteria alongside scores of other Olympic hopefuls from many different sports.

Seven volunteer SCTP coaches from five states also have been invited to attend the camp to learn advanced skills in coaching shooting sports. Invitees include:

Arizona--Scott Fritz, 42, Mesa (skeet); Thomas Slaughter, 71, Tempe (trap).

Arkansas--Steven Johnson, 37, Mountainburg (trap).

California--Laurence Sifers, 52, Huntington Beach (skeet).

Illinois--Brian Bachmann, 50, Wilmette (trap); William Marquardt, 52, Deerfield (skeet).

Washington--Tom Langley, 64, Bellingham (trap).

The National Shooting Sports Foundation directs a variety of outreach programs to promote greater participation and a better understanding of shooting sports, emphasizing safe and responsible ownership of firearms. For more information, visit www.nssf.org and www.nssf.org/sctp.

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