Sports had always been a fundamental part of my growing up. I played soccer and baseball, but no sports ever had an impact on my life as much as participating in my high school’s rifle team had. As a freshman in high school, I already felt detached from the actual high school because in Massapequa, the 9th grade was in their own separate school, designed to help student adjust to the older school. As with many high schools of other counties, there is always this upheld ritual of freshman hazing, and Massapequa wanted to prevent this, most likely because there are bigger issues that would need addressing.
I began my career with the team as an intramural participant, knowing well that I was a sure shot to make the team as my brother, Brian, had previously gone through the unbending regime in his high school career. Rifle, to most is considered a taboo sport because of the recent gun violence issues that have arisen in America. In the last four years alone there have been over 170 school shootings, most attributed to mental instability. The rifle program that I participated in was held with strict rules and guidelines; deviation most likely resulted in your dismissal from the team, but embracing it led to success and greater things.
There were two different types of competition that I had participated in, small bore, which is .22 caliber rounds, or air. Air was similar to the .22, though it only used pellets are the ammunition rather than a live round. The High School, housed the rifle range in its basement, behind locked doors. Most people that first hear of the rifle range are initially surprised and then usually appalled that that type of activity is condoned by the school. What many people don’t realize though is that by participating in this sport, I was able to join a community of people that did not have the physical ability to participate in the more exhausting sports such as soccer or football. By participating in this sport, I was able to learn how to effectively control my breath, having it slow to the point that my body no longer moves. This helped to control the shot because while the body stops moving, the gun stops swaying, ensuring a more precise shot. In addition it helped to build a more focused mental state for myself. “If You Don’t Mind, It Don’t Matter” was the mantra that was always spoken down in that basement. The saying always worked both in the range and outside of the sport. As with anything, if you do not care about what you are doing then it’s not going to matter in the long run because you will never be putting your full heart and dedication into that activity.
The actual matches were always fun, each team mate had their own process to get their mind in the zone. Mine: listening to Ke$ha’s "Tik Tok" on replay. Don’t ask me why, but “waking up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy” had me feeling some type of way, I was as accurate and precise in my game every time I listened to it. My career on the team spanned four years. I finished off my senior year as the Captain of Team, which I was deeply proud of. Ever since I could remember I always had a leadership quality about me, or so my parents always said. I wanted to be the role model that the incoming freshman could look up to, to be the example of how they are going to be able to succeed with the sport rather than have to fear the unknown. I had not been able to lead the team to Victory at the states, but that was something I never regretted. From my coaching I was able to create the best team that I could’ve sculpted and left them there for the subsequent season, to which they took home the Gold.
When all was said and done, I walked back down the corridor that I had so nervously walked four years prior, recounting how I had managed during my stay with the team to accomplish so many awards. I became a Scholar Athlete, took First Place in All-Conference and All-County (which landed me in Newsday), earned a few other first place and third place awards, and helped secure a better resume to help with my college applications.
