Franklin Regional approves sporting clays student club sport
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Tony Bucciero was at a sporting clay fundraiser when his shooting foursome included the coach of a youth clay-shooting team.
“He was telling me they had 80 kids, more than the football team, and that they had to cut it off at 80,” the Murrysville resident said.
Over at the West Penn Sportsmen’s Club on Saltsburg Road in Murrysville, Terry Ventorini was watching his daughter shoot when a mutual friend of Bucciero’s approached him about starting a similar team at Franklin Regional.
“Kiski has about 45 kids on their team, Connellsville actually has tryouts for theirs, and Norwin has one with a big following, so I thought why not have one at FR?” said Ventorini, who is now the coach for the Franklin Regional Sporting Clays Team.
It is a club sport, using the district’s name but otherwise unconnected to Franklin Regional.
“There’s the PA State High School Clay Target League. They work within the high school system,” Bucciero said. “That’s why you have to go to the school board and say, ‘Hey, we don’t need anything from you, but we’d like to be authorized to represent FR in this club sport.’ ”
Bucciero said the district was supportive throughout the process, and with Ventorini’s help, was able to gain its approval.
“This year, we have six kids,” Ventorini said. “We had some more interested initially, but we’re also competing with baseball, lacrosse and other spring sports.”
The team will shoot at West Penn Sportsmen’s Club, where they will benefit from the expertise of National Rifle Association-certified shotgun instructor Maureen Zang, who has been working with Kiski Area’s Kiski Clay Breakers team since its inception two years ago.
“There are a lot of shooting clubs in our region, which is still rural,” Zang said. “There’s always been a lot of support for hunting and shooting in local families, and once it was presented at the school level, a lot of kids were really excited about it.”
Kiski Area’s team is affiliated with the USA Clay Target League, which claims that clay shooting is “America’s Fastest Growing School Sport” on its website.
“Spring is the main season, and there’s a shorter season in the fall,” Zang said. “Girls and boys can compete on equal footing. I think that’s part of the appeal, and it’s something anyone can do without any experience.”
Ventorini said several students on the new FR team have not shot sporting clays before, which simulates the experience of hunting live quarry.
“They’ve hunted, but they haven’t done any kind of competitive shooting,” he said. “I don’t care if we win or lose. I want to see the kids continually improving.”
Ventorini and Bucciero said they would have liked to see more students sign up, but they’re hopeful.
“The first year is sort of a frustrating formation year,” Bucciero said. “We know it’s going to grow.”
For more about the team, email tventorini1@gmail.com.