Life Outdoors Magazine (Jan/Feb 2020)

Building Character
Through Competition
Shooting
BY BRANDI SMITH
Competition
shooting is really
a competition
against yourself.
You’ll never beat
anyone if you
can’t beat your
own personal
best.
Fresh air, quality time with family, and building
strong character – these are just a few of the
benefits of competitive shooting for the Davis
family. Seventeen-year-old Landon Davis started
competitive shooting at age nine and was first
introduced to the sport through Bowie County
4-H. For Landon and his family, trapshooting with
the East Texas Trap Shooters has been invaluable
for teaching lessons about sportsmanship,
commitment, and building relationships.
Sportsmanship
At its most basic, trap shooting is a sport in
which a single shooter, or a team of five, shoots
clay targets that are launched into the air to
simulate the flight of a bird. Though Landon’s
scores are compared with the other shooters
in the competition, he stays focused on his
personal growth as a sportsman. Rather than
concentrating on beating his competitors’ scores,
he tries to outdo his own personal best. As
Landon puts it, “Competition shooting is really
a competition against yourself. You’ll never beat
anyone if you can’t beat your own personal best.”
Not only is striving for self-betterment at
the top of the list of benefits trapshooting
offers Landon and his family. It also provides
opportunities to learn how to win and lose with
grace, an essential characteristic of any athlete
– and a skill that can lead to success beyond the
sports field. Similar to golf, once Landon’s round
is over, he must wait to see how his score holds
up against his opponents. He may shoot his own
personal best one day and not end up with a
winning score, yet shoot with a lower score the
next day and come away with a win. By choosing
to focus on improving his own performance,
Landon is building resilience and determination,
admirable characteristics in any teen.
Commitment
Shooting trap is an accessible sport – all you need to
get started is a shotgun that can fire two shots without
reloading, and the ammunition to go with it. However,
to consistently improve in technique and shooting
skills, a competitive shooter must commit to practicing
regularly. As his family states, “This sport requires a lot
of commitment and fine-tuning to get just a little bit
better, and he has put in a lot of practice, even missing
other ‘social’ opportunities to do so.” To hone his skills,
Landon shoots around one hundred to two hundred
targets a week, for 40 weeks out of the year.
Shooting competitively also requires a commitment
from Landon’s family. Often, shooting events are near
the DFW metro area and require significant travel time.
In addition, once Landon has finished his round, he
must typically wait until the end of the competition to
determine if he has a winning score, or if he needs to
participate in a ‘shoot off’ to break any ties. According
to his family, “What’s tough is to shoot rather well, wait
all day, and by the end of the day after sitting around
hours from home, see your score get beat, and then
get back in the truck and head home empty-handed
with nothing but a lesson learned!” For a teenager to
see such defeat as a learning experience and a chance
to improve, rather than a reason to quit, is proof of the
lessons in commitment, resilience, and determination
that trapshooting can impart.
Relationships
Trapshooting is all about relationships: with
yourself, with your teammates, and with your family.
To be successful, you have to be honest with yourself
about your abilities and what you need to do to
improve – then you have to work for it. You also
have to cultivate relationships with your teammates
and learn to build each other up and support one
another. Most importantly, you have a chance to build
relationships with your family. Whether it be on long
drives to competitions, or through shooting together,
trapshooting offers an opportunity for camaraderie
and passing knowledge from one generation to the
next. Watching Landon coach newcomers to the sport
is a rewarding experience for his family: “The proudest
moments are a result of seeing him coach other
shooters, especially beginning shooters.” For Landon,
competitive shooting has created a special bond
between him and his father. As he states, “I really look
up to my dad, who pushes me to not only focus on the
betterment of my shooting skills as a whole but the
mental aspect that is most important to win.”
From building relationships with family to building
character, trapshooting has a lot to offer families
looking for a way to connect with the outdoors and
with each other. Want to learn more about competition
shooting opportunities near you? Check out the
following organizations: 4-H, FFA Ag Clays, Scholastic
Clay Target Program, Amateur Trapshooting Association,
Youth Target Foundation, and National Skeet Shooting
Association.
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