BJ McDaniel Collegiate Shotgun Development Camp at USA Shooting Training Center
OutdoorHub 05.30.14
Thirty-nine students from 22 colleges and universities will be spending the weekend at the USA Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. with a rigorous and diverse schedule fit for Olympic athletes. ACUI’s proud to be involved with the first BJ McDaniel Collegiate Shotgun Development Camp where athletes chose Bunker Trap or International Skeet for a focus of the weekend’s activities.
The camp occurs two years after McDaniel’s passing and pays tribute to the work he did for shotgun shooting as a competitor and as a valued leader and coach of many young athletes.
As McDaniel wrote in a 2003 article for USA Shooting News, “Shooting is a sport for life. The mental and emotional skills learned while shooting transfer directly into your life skills and can improve your successes throughout your entire life. Focus your efforts on improving your mental skills.” This is key to ACUI’s development of college students who participate in the 11 programs hosted throughout the academic year.
McDaniel helped shape the ACUI program into the elite competition it is today. It is only fitting that this camp is filled with the best of the student athletes who attended the 2014 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships held in San Antonio at the National Shooting Complex; more than 600 students participate annually. After medaling in the International Shoot Out at the annual ACUI event, participants were approved by the USAS national shotgun coach and the assistant national shotgun coaches. Additional spots were filled by a competitive application process in which a minimum qualifying score of 98 for men or 95 for women was shot in at least one of the six disciplines in the competition.
Applicants received inspiration as part of the process. “I have had the pleasure of being involved in several of these camps, and I can tell you it is an awesome experience that you will never forget,” said ACUI National Development Director Russ Arnold, who worked with USA Shooting staff to organize the camp.
At the conclusion of the camp not only will participants have a tighter grasp on shooting skills through drills and matches, but also nutrition, hydration, and conditioning tips will be shared. The expectation is that these students will be better in the classroom, on the field, and in their respective communities—someone McDaniel would have been proud to coach.
ACUI has organized the Collegiate Clay Target Championships for 46 years. The CTC Shotgun Bowl Series was created to provide additional opportunities for competition closer to participating campuses, thereby allowing full team roster participation. To learn more about ACUI, call 4422.ACUI.CT (442.222.8428) or visit www.acui.org/claytargets.
