Interest in clay target continuing to grow in Pellston

PELLSTON – There’s a lot of sporting activities that people will get on board with quickly.

Both there's also certain activities where it's a challenge to sell people on.

For Kathleen Blust, currently a teacher at Pellston Middle School/High School, she knows all about the latter.

Since arriving in Pellston just a couple years ago, Blust’s objective has been to sell the sporting activity of clay target, which is rare in Northern Michigan.

So far, things are looking quite good for Blust, who has brought clay target to Pellston and made it an exciting event for those involved.

“It is very special to see something like this take off in my school and know that I was the one who initiated it,” said Blust. “With so much support from parents and administration and the community, it has been fabulous and it's thrilling. We are the only team in the tip of the mitt that has a team. The next closest team to us is either Escanaba or (Maple City) Glen Lake, so it is really special to be the only ones in the area with such a different and special team. Offering shooting sports helps those who may not feel a connection with traditional sports like football, volleyball, basketball, etc. It gives them something to feel a part of, to show off and support their school and their skills. I am so excited to continue this program and hopefully grow it into something that makes other local schools and athletes join in.”

Growing up downstate, shooting archery, rifle and shotguns with family and friends was an enjoyable hobby for Blust, who eventually earned a scholarship to attend the American Wilderness Leadership School in Jackson Hole, Wyo. During her time at AWLS, Blust was certified to coach and teach archery in schools, shotgun and rifle and outdoor education curriculum.

However, when Blust came back to Michigan, she couldn’t get others on board with what she loved doing.

“I tried proposing these programs to the school I worked in downstate, but it was a hard sell,” Blust said.

Determined to sell her program to someone, Blust made her way up to Northern Michigan and took a job at Pellston as a math and science teacher. Thanks to the full backing of those involved at the school, Blust’s dream became a reality when the first clay target season in Pellston history started last fall, then was followed by archery in the winter and the second season of clay target this past spring.

Not even a year in, Blust’s program has grown in a big way.

“We just wrapped up our first full year of clay target,” Blust said. “In the fall we started with a small pilot group of 10 athletes ranging anywhere from sixth to 12th grade. This spring we were up to 13 athletes from sixth to 12th grade, which was spectacular. Many of the fall athletes returned for the spring and then we added a few more. I have many kids who find out about it and have been inquiring throughout the school year. I am hopeful they will join this fall.

“We advertised it on social media and through emails and on our school communication platform. I was relatively new at the school still and didn't know all of the kids who liked hunting and such, so I relied on other students, parents and staff to refer me to kids to talk about their interests.”

In order to be successful at clay target, Blust said it comes down to a combination of things.

“The three guiding principles of clay target are No. 1, safety, No. 2, fun, and No. 3, marksmanship,” Blust said. “I think if you follow those principles, you can be very successful. Having fun and being dedicated to something you enjoy really helps to be successful. Also making great friendships and relationships with people who have things in common with you that you never thought you could be friends with is awesome as well.”

While the sport hasn’t been at Pellston for too long, Blust said her competitors had plenty of shooting experience even before joining the team.

“I would say 90 percent of the kids on the team and in the archery club had experience with guns and bows and just needed some critique on their skills,” Blust said. “There were kids who had never held a gun or a bow, too, and now those kids are some of the best competitors we have on the team. The game of trap was new to every person on the team, though. Many of them picked it up really fast and it became something they got good at.”

Blust also noted the improvement of several of her players, who earned spots in the state finals recently.

“Each round is out of 25 clay targets,” Blust said. “Many of our athletes are averaging over 17 birds per round, which is impressive. We have a couple averaging over 21 birds per round and a few that are less than 17 birds per round, but that is a huge improvement from when they started averaging 4-5 birds per round. We had eight kids qualify for states this year, which is fabulous for the first year of our program.”

As clay target continues to grow at Pellston, Blust said she has goals now and for the long-term future of the program.

"The goals for the athletes are to get their varsity letter or a scholarship to compete in college or to compete at states or nationals. It is also a big deal to shoot a consecutive 25, 50, 75 or 100 birds in a row, so that is goal for all of the athletes to achieve,” Blust said. “For the shooting sports program, our goal is to add more games for the athletes to compete and play in over the next few years. We also hope to have the team grow in numbers as well. Eventually, I would like to add a rifle category to our shooting sports program, but it will take some time to put that together after a few successful clay target seasons.”

Pellston's two state runners up this past season were Jack Schmalzried in the varsity group and Brayden LaPeet in the novice group.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Clay target a rousing success so far at Pellston