“Go shoot some tens”

Those are the words with which coach John usually sends his shooters to the line.

A few years ago, Seri had the chance to stay with some friends of ours for a month in Oklahoma.  Yep, you read that right, Oklahoma… where there are not a plethora of things with which to entertain oneself.   The husband showed her how to shoot off the back porch and she really enjoyed it.  Upon coming home she asked if she could continue shooting and me being so great with all my connections and all started asking around and found a team with an amazing coach.

CCJRC- Capitol city Junior rifle club. 

Having been around the world of extracurricular activities and the fees that go along with them for  a few years now I was astounded when coach said dues were $35.00 a year and then we  pay for ammo. Now, that my friends is a deal!

Although, I started to find the attached strings when we were told that indoor shooting would occur for five months of the year at a range down past Olympia, a little more than an hour away.  Still, not that bad of a deal when you figure that the club provides all her equipment, gun and everything.

I agree with the term “It takes a village to raise a child”. I just maintain that I am extremely grateful that I get to choose which village assists me in raising my children, cause I have seen some of those villages, and they scare me to death!  Coach John is someone I am truly glad to allow into our village.  An old fashioned military man, he is not one to skate around the edges. At all times you know exactly what the man is thinking cause he tells ya.  Prone to calling the kids “snodgrass”, he is the kind of guy that the kids will come back to visit when they are home from college and he remembers every single one of them.  Now, when you think that the dues are so low, you realize that this man coaches twice a week for five hours with no pay. In fact, I would hate to hear how much money comes from his pocket out of sheer unselfishness because he loves the sport and he loves those kids.

With this activity things are different though.  My determined and competitive child isn’t so much so when it comes to her shooting.  She doesn’t shoot to be the best, in fact she is pretty much ok with just having done a decent job.  For her, she just truly loves to shoot.

And this is so comforting to me.  She succeeds at so many things she does that one friend has taken to saying that she has the “Midas touch”, everything she does, she does superbly.  There is a certain pressure that is put on children like this and in her being totally comfortable with not being perfect at shooting I see  that she is also comfortable with the idea that she doesn’t have to live up to the pressure.  She succeeds when she is driven to, but also realizes that there is more to life than trying to be the best at everything.  It just seems so “healthy” to me. 

When other mothers are discussing how to improve their child’s score, which shooting camps their child should attend, should they buy another (better) rifle and so on, I can just sit back and listen. I don’t have to jump on the bandwagon and try to do everything possible to ensure that she will succeed.  If she wanted to, I would of course, but there is peace in just letting her enjoy the sport.