The Hillsdale College shotgun team is experiencing numerous successes this season, both in and out of the country.
One of the team’s most recent accomplishments includes a Team High Overall at the Association of College Unions International/Scholastic Clay Target Program Upper Midwest Conference Championship in Marengo, Ohio. Similarly, Hillsdale won second highest overall at the ACUI/SCTP regional conference in Sparta, Illinois.
“To me, the most special moment of the semester was breaking 498/500 in trap at the ACUI/SCTP Central Midwest Conference Championship,” said head coach Jordan Hintz. “That is a score that, to my knowledge, has never been achieved by the Hillsdale team. We’ve had a lot of success this season but a number like that puts you in contention for a highest score regardless of division.”
Coach Hintz began coaching the team in 2018 after graduating from Hillsdale that May. He was a member of the shotgun team during all four years of college, earning the National Rifle Association’s All-American title three times.
“I work with athletes within their own style of shooting,” Hintz said. “We are always trying to figure out what is the easiest, most consistent way for someone to break a particular target.”
Senior trap shooter Ida Brown referenced how Hintz’s alumnus status has affected his coaching.
“Traveling with the team is definitely easier to balance than traveling with Team USA,” Brown said. “Because our coach was a Hillsdale student on the shotgun team, he makes a pretty good effort to make sure we avoid missing as much class as possible. We have a lot of quick turnarounds.”
One recent turnaround for Brown happened this summer on the way to the independent tournaments for Team USA Shooting. Brown had qualified at the last minute for the ISSF World Cup, but was missing one key item on her packing list.
“I got a call from my coach of the U.S. team,” Brown said. “He’s like, ‘Yep, we’re going to travel. Do you have a passport?’ ‘No.’ So we worked with the Passport Agency that they have in Detroit to give me a passport early because I wasn’t going to get one in time otherwise.”
Brown grew up in Valley Springs, California, and competed on Calaveras High School’s sportsman club team. She has competed in international trap for 10 years now, and found her start at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Sports Center.
“My parents didn’t understand what they were getting me into,” Brown said. “They thought it was more of a safety program, they didn’t realize it was a competition program.”
Despite this unique start to the sport, Brown is now an Olympic prospect with plans to qualify for the games in Paris in 2024.
One of the rising members of the team is freshman trap shooter Leif Andersen, of Edgar, Nebraska.
“My favorite tournament was the ACUI/SCTP Upper Midwest Conference Championship in Marengo, Ohio,” Andersen said. “It was the first time that I have competed in a national tournament and my first time shooting bunker trap and skeet doubles competitively. I really enjoyed competing while surrounded by the high-octane shooters on the team.”
Andersen mentioned that there are very few adjustments to make when becoming a college athlete.
“Balancing athletics with school has been fairly easy,” Andersen said. “As long as I have a plan for how to manage my time effectively, I have no problem keeping academics and shooting in check.”
Coach Hintz mentioned Andersen’s performance, both on and off the field.
“He had only shot trap before coming to Hillsdale,” Hintz said. “At the Central Midwest Conference Championship, he shot one of our best scores in skeet doubles. He is doing fantastic in his classes, gets along great with the rest of the team, and is making great strides in his shooting.”
The team’s next event will be on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the East Rockwood Sportsman Club in Carleton, Michigan. It will be an Amateur Trapshooting Association tournament.
“Ultimately this is about the college experience, so I’m successful if we have happy team members that are getting through college,” Hintz said.