[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or the second year in a row, high marks in proficiency led the Hays High Rifle Team to secure the Governor’s Cup. The team will now advance to the National Air Rifle Championship in Ohio in 2018.
For Lt. Col. Donald Wimp, Ret. United States Marine Corps, instructor for the rifle team, the secret to success is dedication to the sport of precision shooting and the Zen-like atmosphere it inspires.
“It takes a lot of discipline,” Wimp said.
Since 1995, Hays High School has fielded a United States Marine Corps (USMC) JROTC rifle team. When Wimp arrived at Hays five years ago, the program started to steadily place in shooting competitions.
Wimp said the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) sanctions the sport. The CMP oversees shooting events in the Junior Olympics JROTC competitions.
Wimp said there are two different styles of shooting sanctioned by the CMP.
One style is Precision, which requires a leather suit, specific gloves and a specific rifle. The second is the Sporter class, where shooters only have to wear basic protective gear, street clothes and have a rifle.
Wimp said his shooters all participate in the Sporter competitions. They only have to worry about the rifle and gloves, which Wimp said cost about $500 and are provided by the JROTC. Wimp said a Precision setup can cost upwards of $7,000.
Cadets on the Hays High rifle team must dedicate at least three days a week to practice.
Wimp said he prefers that his shooters practice seven times during the week.
Wimp said for a shooter to be able to hit a target no bigger than the head of a pin 10 meters away, they need constant practice, as well as a 90 percent meditation strategy.
“I tell them and I believe that really, really high-level shooting is not a competition, it’s a meditation,” Wimp said.
Wimp said when his cadets enter the air rifle range they immediately begin the mental preparation for the task at hand; there is no chatter while they set up their gear.
“Their pre-shot routine is their meditation,” Wimp said. “When you execute a shot, you want to be as relaxed as possible, but prior to that 90 percent of it is mental and the fundamentals only count for 10 percent.”
Wimp said currently there are about 2,500 to 2,800 JROTC air rifle teams across the country in all branches of the military that shoot in the Sporter division. Last year, the Hays High rifle team placed 21st. Wimp hopes that they will break the top 10 this year.
Wimp said his rifle team cadets posted the highest scores in Texas at the Governor’s Cup last year and this year which will hopefully lead them to nationals again this next year in Ohio in 2018.
“It (shooting) allows them and forces them to be in the moment despite all the distractions of today’s world like phones and texting and social media ... The ability to focus and compartmentalize all the things that are going on at home or with their grades or their friends and excel at the highest level is almost like yoga or meditation, the pressure is so high for these kids and they block it all by slowing their breathing and their heart rate and performing.”
Lt. Col. Donald Wimp, Ret. United States Marine Corps, rifle team instructor
Not only does the notoriety for being the best come with benefits, but Wimp said he also sees how being involved in the sport can enhance the lives of the shooters in other areas of life as well.
“It (shooting) allows them and forces them to be in the moment despite all the distractions of today’s world like phones and texting and social media,” Wimp said. “The ability to focus and compartmentalize all the things that are going on at home or with their grades or their friends and excel at the highest level is almost like yoga or meditation, the pressure is so high for these kids and they block it all by slowing their breathing and their heart rate and performing.”
Wimp said after the shooters excel at a competition, where the pressure is really high, they can often deal with other situations better than they would have before.
“If they go to competition with all the loud cheering and all the distraction and they still post a solid score then they can go into anything else knowing they can handle it because they have faced pressure before,” Wimp said.
