PULL USA Magazine: Shaping Generational Impact In The Outdoors

We'd like to thank the USA Clay Target League for asking us to collaborate with them for their October PULL USA Magazine! We are proud to work closely with another organization that is also shaping generational impact in the outdoors!

The future of conservation is in our hands! As individuals blessed by the opportunity to experience the outdoors, we have the distinct privilege, honor, and responsibility of stewarding that blessing by passing it on to future generations, as we strive to continue to fuel a movement focused on enhancing the national R3 landscape.

As the CEO of Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors, I have the privilege of going into the field alongside youth and leading a team of professionals dedicated to creating thousands of youth hunting opportunities a year. I see the generational impact the outdoors can and will have on shaping the future of conservation. This impact inspires motivation for continuing to provide outdoor opportunities for all.

Safety, discipline, responsibility, self-confidence and respect are all characteristics that were instilled in us from a young age. Now, it is our responsibility and opportunity to pass that on to the generations that come behind us. The USA Clay Target League is leading by example by creating a space for over 49,000 student athletes in a single school year to learn the various disciplines of clay shooting. Rooted in safety, fun, and marksmanship, the league continues to grow year after year equipping the next generation to continue building the legacy of its impact.

Shooting sports create a space for youth to rise and learn new outdoor skills. There is a young lady that I have mentored on the trap field who came from a non-traditional outdoors family. No one in her family had shooting experience or any other outdoor experience like hunting. While timid at first, this young lady leaned into what this sport could offer her. While going from barely breaking one target to breaking over 75% in a practice, she learned the importance of safety on and off the trap field, developed discipline, and learned the responsibility that comes with possessing a firearm. She built self-confidence, and learned respect for the sport, her coaches, and teammates. Shooting sports created a space for this young lady to be shaped and empowered as a first time target shooter. This is the story of so many of the youth we serve through Outdoor Mentors, and our ability to get our youth out hunting hinges on these foundational skills cultivated by shooting sports.

For the 49,000 shooting sports athletes that competed this school year and the considerable more in years past and to come, the USA Clay Target League is creating and building the foundational skills required to experience the outdoors through hunting, and cultivating the confidence to embrace and live out that opportunity.