Sheldon, Iowa – The NCC Thunder Sports Shooting Team was formally introduced during a media event on Friday, September 27th, held at the LLRC during NCC’s Annual Family Day.
The sports shooting team was formed last year, about halfway through the season. While NCC had started the ball rolling to form a team, having already filed most of the paperwork required, it was NCC student Levi Henrichs of Sibley who pushed it through in order to participate in last year’s competition circuit.
KIWA had the opportunity to speak with Henrichs after the ceremony about his passion for shooting. He shared that he’s been heavily involved in competitive sports shooting since his Freshman year of high school and has been hunting and trapping most of his life. Henrichs stated that he didn’t want that experience to end, so when he came to NCC he advocated to get it going there as well. The team was able to participate in enough meets to qualify for and attend the state tournament, where 13 college across Iowa come together to compete.
Not every member of the team, comprised of 18 males and 2 females, along with their head and assistant coaches, has been shooting their whole life. Member Kaleb David from Lennox told KIWA that he has only been shooting for about 3 years. His high school did not have a team, but local retired farmers took the time to work with him and show him the ropes of shooting.
At each competition two teams face off against each other and the winner of the event is the team with the highest total score. Participants shoot 2 rounds of 25 trap targets each at four separate trap houses. At last week’s meet against Hawkeye, Henrichs walked away with a perfect 100 score but it wasn’t quite enough to take home a win; they currently have a 1-1 record. The team is hosting a meet on Saturday, September 28th in Rock Valley against Central.
Head coach Brian Lauck is very familiar with the shooting sports. While he attends NCC online, he is also a certified NRA coach and has been coaching sports shooting team at the high in his hometown of Cherokee for the past 5 years. Lauck says when an email from NCC came out last year gauging interest and looking for participants he jumped at the opportunity to be involved. He shared that the experience has been a fun one, and that the time the team has spent together has unified them and their commitment to excelling. This weekend’s meet will prove to be a tough one though, as Lauck says they are facing off against last year’s National Champs from Central Community College. That match-up will be hosted by the Thunder, and will be held at their home range, the Rock Valley Gun Club, 2378 310th Street, Rock Valley, Iowa. The match starts at 10:00 am.
