On Friday September 26, 2014 West High Rifle Team faced off with the district’s most formidable team Dimond on the Eagle’s home range.

They are still in the process of training the new team members and shaking the rust off of the returning shooters. The team trains the new team members several ways “We use a variety of techniques to teach new shooters how to shoot we go through to make sure they understand the fundamentals of each position. We also use peer teaching and coaching where we use our more experienced team members that have been with us a couple of years to help with the new

Shooters that works very well“ exclaimed Assistant Coach Powell.

The team has many new shooters who show a lot of potential all of the Eagle shooters shot within the 210-point range.

The average score for the Eagles were undetermined considering this match was the first match of the year and it was difficult for the coaches to determine the average scores for the shooters. Fortunately for the Eagles the returning shooters were shooting in their average scores from last year, which is where the coaches want the returning shooters scores to be.

During the matches the second relay shooters are free to socialize and snack on non-sugary foods. Rifelry takes precision, low heart rates and concentration. For those objectives to be in effect the second relay must be no louder than a rifle shot and be calm no rough horseplay. Playing card games is perfectly fine just as long as they don’t disturb the first relay shooters.

The rifles the teams shoot with are much heavier than the average person that is unfamiliar with the sport would think. These rifles weigh at the average weight of 6 to 15 pounds.

The team is fortunate to have supportive parents that bring snacks for the shooters to consume. “Personally I like the sweets that are brought for consuming after the meet is over” joked Assistant Coach Powell.

For Assistant Coach Powell these are his perspectives on the West Rifle Team. For West RIfle Team Captain Erin BrayField her thoughts are a little more to the point. For the captain of the team her ways of training new shooters are to share her own experiences and do a little show and tell session. “I basically tell them my experiences and show them the techniques,” explained Captain BrayField.

For the very professional team Captain the reason why they only use 12 members from the team instead of each and every one of them is that it’s the rules. This is a very respectable answer for anyone especially the coaches and her teammates.

For Captain BrayField the sport of Riflery is a hobby not a way of life. For Head Coach Pickel this is a part of his duties as a teacher. The ways he trains are bookwork, down to show and tell, than to practice and corrections.

Unfortunately the well-respected head coach cannot identify the team’s average score.

Coach Pickel has explained why he has chosen to have 2-3 hours of practice. He has explained that with just six words. “More time, more practice, better results,” said Head Coach Pickel.

The Coach has told us who are the biggest competition are the school teams of Dimond and Eagle River.

So if you are interested, a hard concentrator, and very focused on what you are doing then the sport of Riflery might be for you. If you have questions you can ask Mr. Pickel or Mr. Powell.