Nashville, Tenn.—The Henry County No Fly Zone is “flying high” now after they were named 2019 State Champions earlier this week. The team competed in the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program competition held June 18-23 in Nashville.
The team will go on to compete in the national championships in mid-July in Columbus, Ohio.
Coach Drew Williams said, “We are one of the top three shooting programs in the state, This is the most awards we have won in the history of the program.” A press conference and meet-and-greet with the team was held Friday night at the Holly Fork Shooting Complex in Paris.
The contest spanned six full days of co-ed competition in three shotgun shooting sports disciplines: trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as doubles competitions. Individuals and teams from all corners of the state competed for titles in more than 70 categories.
Around 227,000 targets were shot at the Nashville gun club during the competition. Henry County No Fly Zone Head Coach Drew Williams said that 54 kids from the team took part in the competition in the five various age groups that ranged from 4th-12th grade kids.
“It’s a great sport for kids to try,” said Williams. “Not every kids will be able to play basketball or another sport, but we can always teach any kid how to shoot. This is a sport that every kid can come out and play.”
The 2019 Henry County No Fly Zone team had 59 kids participate in this year’s program. Williams said that many of the kids who graduate high school and leave the program oftentimes go on to compete at the collegiate level.
Williams said that he wanted to get the word out to kids who might be interested in joining the Henry County No Fly Zone, while also getting more sponsors for the program.
He said that kids who want to sign up for the shooting team can sign-up in February for the next season. The exact dates for the next sign-ups for the HC No Fly Zone will be announced in February 2020. The only things kids need to do in order to join the shooting team is to take a hunter safety course and pay a fee.
Williams said that the fee normally runs around $200 and it covers, state and national fees and other things like uniforms. He said that after kids have signed up, practices will be held once a week beginning in March. He said that the shooting season runs from March to the end of July.
“Half of the trophies we won this year came from shooting skeet,” said Williams. “Our shooting program is known nationwide for its skeet program. Most of the trophies we’ve won since 2012 have been from skeet. Bill Neese who was an assistant coach really got skeet going in our program and from then on that’s when our skeet program really stated to excel.”
Williams began working as a coach on the shooting team around nine years ago and this year will mark his sixth and final year as the head coach of the shooting program. Dustin Mackey is set to take over the head coaching position after this season.
The Henry County No Fly Zone coaching staff includes, head coach Drew Williams, Dustin Mackey, Doug Overton, Marty Visser, Jamie Orr, Caleb Orr and Steve Thomas. Funds from Helping Hand, the NRA and the MidwayUSA Endowment Fund are all used to help fund the shooting program.
For anyone who wants to follow the Henry County No Fly Zone team, please visit www.sssfonline.org to see their rankings.
Cassie Walsh photo.
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