Local high school offers unique club sport

The one and only school-affiliated shooting sports team in Scioto County exists at Northwest High School in McDermott, Ohio, just 20 minutes from Portsmouth. The Northwest shooting sports team gives students the unique opportunity to participate in both trap shooting and sporting clay competitions. These athletes compete with specialized shotguns to shoot at clay targets, known as birds, that are deployed from a housing, known as a trap house. Trap involves shooting one clay at a time, while sporting clays involve shooting multiple targets at once. Graham Jenkins, 15, of Lucasville, joined the team during his freshman year. 

“We are the only club in Scioto County that is school-affiliated,” Jenkins said. “We shoot 50 clays every Sunday to either practice or put in scores for the state.”

When asked about his favorite part of the sport, he mentioned being able to shoot and watch the clays break when he hits them. He also named his interest in guns and encouragement from his friends as reasons why he joined. Before he joined, Jenkins had to take an extensive full-day course on gun safety and complete and pass a 100-question quiz to obtain his shotgun license. The team takes gun safety extremely seriously, and all athletes must be certified and follow strict rules when participating.  

In the almost two years since Jenkins joined, he and his team have participated in different competitions on the state and national levels. They recently placed first in their regional conference. A member of the team who graduated last year was awarded a scholarship to shoot for Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida.  

While guns and school events have certainly gained a negative connotation over recent years, the introduction of shooting sports at Northwest High School has proven a unique opportunity for students to learn gun safety, personal responsibility and teamwork.