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Local teens qualify for Junior Olympics

JANELLE PATTERSON The Marietta Times From left to right, Garrett Shipley, Frank Steyn, Morgan Tucker and Ali Leach prepare for a simulated match during practice at the Fort Harmar Rifle Club Thursday.

Two local teenagers are headed again to the Junior Olympics this spring.

They’re focused.

They’re putting in 12 to 14 hours of practice a week at minimum.

And they’re setting the example for the three younger members on their team–the Fort Harmar Rifle Club Junior Rifle Team– to work hard, adjust in increments and aim for their goals.

“Only here, natural point of aim is literally everything,” said the team’s coach, Scott Steinel, of Lowell. “There are very few sports where size does not matter at all. And not all kids are born into that mindset. I never thought that my son would be playing sports at a Division I, Big 10 school and yet through this team he has reached that at Ohio State.”

Photo courtesy of Scott Steinel The Fort Harmar Rifle Club Junior Rifle Team, from left to right, is Frank Steyn, Morgan Tucker, Ali Leach, Derek Keiser and Garrett Shipley.

The team is sponsored by the Fort Harmar Rifle Club, they compete nationally with Olympic Air Rifles and Olympic .22-Caliber Rifles and Frank Steyn, 17, of Marietta, is the most experienced member of the junior rifle team.

“You have to adjust and focus constantly,” he explained as he donned his gear at practice Thursday night. “You’re not fighting with the gun and even when bad shots happen you have to approach the next shot individually.”

Steyn and Derek Keiser, 17, of Vienna, will both qualified for the Junior Olympics for the third time and will make the trip to Colorado in April for the competition.

When in the indoor range in Oak Grove Thursday, Steyn constantly readjusted, swaying back and forth on his feet, closing his eyes, refocused between each practice shot.

“It’s all in your posture, breath and focus,” he said. “That starts at the base with the mind, then my feet are set. I make sure I’m not over or under tense–that I’m not shaking– and then the cheek goes on the cheek plate, and I aim for the target.”

JANELLE PATTERSON The Marietta Times Frank Steyn aims down range at the Fort Harmar Rifle Club Thursday.

In practice his teammates emulate that style and focus, a discipline which Joe Tucker said has benefited his daughter Morgan, 16, who has struggled with attention deficiency and hyperactivity.

“All of them are careful with their diet especially close to a match,” explained Tucker. “They do not have sugar or caffeine, but that’s a choice they make.”

He said he’s proud of his daughter and how the team dynamic and sport as a whole is such an equal playing field for his daughter and women in college.

“Very few sports allow a truly co-ed competition,” added Steinel. “But there are colleges and universities which only recruit women for their rifle teams and those women are incredible.”

Ali Leach, 16, of Waterford, said she got into the sport through the mentorship of a member of her church, Bob Hopkins.

“He shot for Ohio State and got me interested in it,” she smiled. “Now he’ll travel all over the country to come and watch me and Morgan compete, and sometimes compete in the opens, too.”

The youngest member of the team, Garrett Shipley, 13, of Williamstown, said he was introduced to the sport through 4-H, after hunting with family since he was 5 years old.

And in the indoor range, he could be spotted making adjustments as he watched Steyn, from small shifts in his hips to his pattern of breath and checking his sight.

“We’re very analytical, and I repeat often that it’s the little changes that make a big difference,” explained Steinel. “But this cross-applies to so much outside of the sport–to IT or engineering–and I hope that these kids are learning sportsmanship and teamwork and focus that will help them be successful in anything they chose to do.”

Steinel said the cost to participate initially in the club is covered by sponsorships and support of Whitetails Unlimited, Friends of the NRA and the Fort Harmar Rifle Club and no experience is necessary to try the sport.

“We begin with safety, and stress that always, but then we go over positioning and the club supplies the basic rifles for you to practice,” he said.

He accepts students between the ages of 12 and 16 from both public and private education sectors of the Mid-Ohio Valley.

For more information on the program or to learn how to get a teenager involved, contact the Fort Harmar Rifle Club president Russ Tuten at 740-984-2842 or via email: rt2598@hotmail.com.

About the Fort Harmar Rifle Club Junior Rifle Team:

• Frank Steyn, 17, of Marietta, first in Ohio for Olympic Air Rifle, five years experience.

• Derek Keiser, 17, of Vienna, first in West Virginia for Olympic Air Rifle and Small Bore, four years experience.

• Morgan Tucker, 16, of Vincent, two years experience.

• Ali Leach, 16, of Waterford, two years experience.

• Garrett Shipley, 13, of Williamstown, one year of experience.

• For more information or to get involved contact Russ Tuten at 740-984-2842 or via email: rt2598@hotmail.com.

Sources: Joe Tucker and Scott Steinel.

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