Katie Mitchell preparing to shoot
Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons explaining proper shooting technique to Kodie Shepherd
ADA, Okla. – More than a dozen Chickasaw students from across the state recently received personal instruction on gun safety and target shooting technique from Olympic gold medalist Matt Emmons and silver medalist Bob Foth.
Organizers and instructors of the gun safety and target shooting clinic agreed the two-day event conducted March 21 and 22 at the Community Center Gymnasium had been very successful.
Emmons, who many consider to be the best rifle shooter in the world, won gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is expected to win as many as three gold medals in Beijing in 2008.
"Seeing these kids smile really puts a big smile on my face," said Emmons, who added that it was obvious the kids were enjoying the experience of learning Olympic-style shooting techniques.
Two of the students, Katie Mitchell and Kodie Shepherd, have a great uncle who set numerous world records in military rifle competitions in the 1950s.
Gunnery Sgt. V.D. Mitchell (U.S.M.C., ret.) won the National Service Rifle Championship in 1955 and 1958, as well as the Daniel Boone trophy, Dupont trophy and other awards too numerous to mention.
Katie, a 17-year-old junior at Ringling high School, said she had never frired a gun before attending the clinic.
"I just came because my mom brought me," she said. "But when I started shooting and started getting better, I thought ‘hey, this is fun.’"
She also thought it was great that Emmons and Foth took the time to teach the students at the camp.
"It’s not many times that you get to meet someone who has proven that they are the best in the world at something," she said of Emmons. "Bob Foth was really nice. He helped me out a lot."
Kodie, a 14-year-old student at Ringling, has been shooting a 22 rifle for some time. He said that Emmons had treated him like one of his friends and that he had learned some valuable techniques.
Emmons said while he enjoys teaching youngsters about the sport, he seldom gets the opportunity because he shoots in about 30 competitive events around the world each year.
Foth, who won silver in the 1992 Olympics, started shooting at age 14 as part of a summer recreation program. He continued shooting competitively and earned college scholarships for his skills as a competitive shooter in NCAA events.
Currently, Foth is director of youth development programs at USA Shooting. The organization was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of shooting in 1995.
He said that involvement in competitive shooting has helped many young people improve their grade point averages and develop important life skills.
"Targets provide immediate feedback on your performance," he said. "If you focus and concentrate you get tens. If not, you get something less," said Foth. He added that target shooting can help young people improve focus, concentration and develop problem solving and analytical skills.
Emmons agreed. "It teaches you so much that you can apply in your life," he said.
Steve Scott, host of Steve Scott’s Outdoor Guide, and Safari Hunter’s Journal, helped organize the clinic and plans to feature it as part of an upcoming broadcast.
"Some of these kids have a lot of talent," said Scott, who added it is "really interesting" to watch the students interact with the coaches and learn the fundamentals of the sport.
Scott and Foth brought several highly qualified instructors to teach Chickasaw employees how to coach students.
Several Chickasaw Lighthorse Police officers as well as employees of the Youth and Family Services Division received instruction in coaching competitive target shooting.
"This clinic is a once-in-a lifetime experience for these students to learn from Olympic medalists," said Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation. "It is also a great opportunity to begin building a competitive target shooting program for the future."
Foth said he was "very impressed" with the students who attended the clinic.
"These kids have been incredible," he said. "Every single one of them has been on task for a solid four hours.
"They are really excited. One of the kids was actually running to get to the classroom to learn. I used to teach math and physics, and I never saw kids running to the classroom," he added with a chuckle.
Foth said he was also very impressed with the group of coaches who were trained Tuesday prior to the clinic.
"They were able to develop a rapport with the kids and dig right in on the technical stuff," said Foth. "You really have the seeds of a great program here.
Emmons, Foth, Scott and other coaches worked closely with students throughout that first day of the clinic.
Emmons also took the opportunity to talk to the students about his Olympic experiences.
He began shooting an air rifle in his backyard at an early age and later learned about competitive shooting from a friend of his father.
Learning about competitive shooting "changed his life," he said. "I have had lots of great experiences. I have friends scattered all over the world.
"It takes a lot of work, but I love it. I wake up in the morning and think ‘I get to go to the (shooting) range.
Emmons attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he won multiple individual NCAA Championships and was captain of University national championship team. He also earned academic All-American honors four times.
Emmons said a college a coach explained the steps necessary to prepare and earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team.
"He laid it all out and I thought, ‘I can do that."
Katie seemed to have a similar thought during the clinic.
"When I saw the poster of the girl who won gold in the 2000 Olympics, I thought ‘I want to do this. I want to be a gold medalist."
Mitchell Lauded as Legendary Marksman
While few outside the armed forces have heard of Gunnery Sgt. V.D. Mitchell (U.S.M.C., ret.), he is something of a legend among Marine Corps snipers and special forces personnel in other branches of the armed services.
Sgt. Mitchell, a Chickasaw citizen born in Madill, Okla. in 1926, served with distinction as a World War II rifleman and sniper. He fought his way through the Japanese islands of Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa, and later served in China and on the frozen fields of Korea. He also set several world records in shooting competitions, winning the National Service Rifle Championship in 1955 and 1958, as well as the Daniel Boone trophy, Dupont trophy and other awards too numerous to mention.
After retirement, he was called back into service to share the secrets of his shooting skills with young recruits in Vietnam.
"He was the only guy in the history of the Marine Corps ever to shoot a perfect score on the 250-point competition qualification course," said John Culbertson, a former Marine and author of several books chronicling the exploits of Marine snipers in Vietnam. "All Marines have to shoot that. I shot a 232 on it, and that’s pretty good. Mitchell shoots a 250 out of 250. He’s done it several times."
At Mr. Culbertson’s urging, Sgt. Mitchell donated trophies, photos, memorabilia, his uniform complete with medals and numerous other items to the Oklahoma Historical Society. These generous gifts, which will be displayed at the Oklahoma History Center currently under construction east of the state capitol, will give thousands of future visitors to the center some insight into the life and service of Sgt. Mitchell.
Mitchell Marksmanship Awards
Below is a partial listing of V.D. Mitchell’s marksmanship accomplishments.
1954: Intramural Smallbore Match Winner (USMC Schools)
1955: Camp Lejune - Southeastern Regional High Power Matches. Mitchell fired new world record (496 of 500) and qualified for national matches
1956: Camp Perry - Mitchell scored 246 of 250 with 19 hits in small "v" inside bull’s-eye to win Individual National Rifle Championship.
1957: Marksmanship Training Unit Match - Mitchell scored a possible 250 of 250 at Camp Matthews. That same year, Mitchell fired a 300 of 300 with 40 hits in the small "v" inside the bull’s-eye Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, Calif. He also won the Arizona State Rifle Association match that year.
1958: Coast Guard Trophy at the National Rifle and Pistol Match with a perfect 100 with 15 hits in the small "v" at 1,000 meters at Camp Perry National Matches. Mitchell was also part of the winning "Blue Team" which won the enlisted men’s national trophy at Camp Perry with 882 of 900.
1962: Member of Marine Corps Smallbore Rifle team which won "Virginia Winner’s Gallery League" winning 10 of 12 matches.
