Hitting the target
When walking through the JROTC building after school, there’s a chance that you might hear the loud bang of a pellet hitting a dartboard. These are the sounds of the Cedar Shoals Rifle team, sponsored by Major Carlie Williams and Sgt. Ricky Keller, at practice.
Members of the rifle team consist of JROTC members as well as non-members. The team is full of people with different hobbies and interests and has been a contributing factor to the success of the team. This creates a sense of unity and diversity to the team.
“As a team we are very close together,” freshman Al La Trace said. “Because rifle is a team sport we have to be there for each other,”
This is the best year for the team since its creation, with the team placing fifth in the region. Despite losing 1063 points to 1119 points at the Sectional competitions, they have won many other competitions against Elbert County High School, Apalachee High School and Lucy Laney High School.
“They (the team) did a great job, they made a huge leap and we took a big step forward as far as being competitive in the field,” Williams said.
One contributing factor to their success is the new equipment the team has recently
received. The new rifles perform better than the previous equipment by shooting with more accuracy, being more durable and being lighter.
“Prior years we did not have the up to date equipment, unlike now,” senior Alondra Sanchez said.
While it may look simple at first glance, the sport involves serious technique. When aiming the pellet rifles, members have to focus on controlling their breathing and body movement to optimize their shots.
“The main difficulty was trying to find our natural point of aim and the stamina to hold the aim,” sophomore Gabriel Demesa said.
“A big thing is breathing, we have to hold our breath and we watch how our whole body moves,” La Trace said.
The team hopes to improve in the coming years and reach new heights. They hope to achieve this outcome by continuing to exercise and practice aim, breathing and shooting.
“I expect that we will rank within the top three in the area next year,” Williams said.
