National champions of the Sub-junior D-class at the Grand American National Trap Competition in Sparta, Ill. last August.
From left to right: John Coker, 12, Avery Abercrombie, 15, Micah Corder, 15, Sage Davis, 15 and Nathan Coker, 13.| Submitted

By Lauren Thornton Tobin|Hartselle Enquirer

Extracurricular activities are usually thought of as one of the best way to keep students active, social and learning outside school hours, and while most students spend their free time practicing a team sport and going to games, students who aren’t as athletically inclined may feel left to the wayside.

For most boys and girls, living in the South is synonymous with handling firearms and thanks to Brewer Shooting Sports Team, it’s a hobby they now can call their own sport.

A.P. Brewer High School is base for the Brewer Shooting Sports team, but students ages 9 to 23 can be a part of it no matter where they goes to school, even if they’re homeschooled.

“Brewer is base but we try to accommodate any kid who is not served because we want the program to grow,” said coach Gary Linderman.

Right now Brewer Shooting Sports Team, Danville’s Bama Clay Busters and Decatur Heritage are the only shooting teams in Morgan County, with Brewer being the newest.

Brewer’s 28-member team is on its third year and members seem to be quickly proving themselves.

“Last year was our second year and we won two state division competitions, and last summer we won a national competition,” he said.

In October, Brewer Shooting Sports competed in the “Rebel Yell” competition at Dixie Trap Club in Matthews, Ala., where Noah McMinnis, 16, won the D-classification for the junior category, or had the highest score among his peers with similar shooting abilities.

“We compete in different ways: AIM, which is against kids of like ability and ATA which is against adults,” the coach said, adding that state competitions are only between school-age opponents.

Members of the Shooting Team are taught and encouraged to shoot three disciplines: skeet, trap and sporting clays, though for this particular area, skeet and sporting clay competitions are more difficult to find.

“They have those competitions in Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi; though we haven’t gone to Mississippi yet,” Linderman said. “We want (students) to compete in all three because we want them to be eligible for more scholarship opportunities.”

Since some of the students on the shooting team are not involved in traditional sports, this gives them a way to get noticed and possibly have their college paid for.

“This gives kids the opportunity to do something when they don’t fit in to traditional sports,” Linderman said.

College shooting scholarships are not yet available at schools like Alabama, Auburn or the University of Tennessee, but they are offered at Mississippi State and smaller institutions such as Martin Methodist in Tennessee.

On the downside, since most money for competition expenses comes out of parents’ pockets or through fundraising, it’s more difficult for the team to travel to areas where they could be noticed for a scholarship.

“If we go as a team, I try to pay for registration. Every dollar we spend on registration, parents spend on ammo,” Linderman said.

Although he would like to raise enough money and pay for ammunition that’s used in competitions, Linderman said he thinks it’s a good idea for students to buy their practice ammunition because it forces them to supply something.

“You have to have something invested for it to be important,” he said.

While teammates do have to travel to compete, they don’t have to solely dedicate themselves to the team.

“If they have other commitments, that’s fine. I just want them to tell me ahead of time,” Linderman said. “It’s not a pressure unless they put pressure on themselves.”

Although the program has been in force for three years, Linderman worked for a year gathering information and learning how to start a team prior to recruiting members.

Developing a team from nothing was not an easy task and couldn’t have been done without help from organizations like 4-H and other coaches such as Scott Boyd from Bama Clay Busters, and Cedar Hill’s Wade Willingham, Linderman said.

“We compete in the 4-H program because it helps reach out to a broader base of kids…without 4-H and Auburn, we wouldn’t be supported as coaches and have liability insurance,” he said. “Without (Boyd and Willingham’s) help, we wouldn’t be here.”

The team competes in the last big event of the year on Oct. 30 and 31 in Manchester, Tenn., before hitting the road again in February to go to Savannah, Ga., where they will shoot in front of college scouts.