Sports preview: Clay target expects to be state contender

The Forest Lake clay targets team comes off a season where the squad ultimately placed second in the Suburban East Conference – and the group hopes for many more positive outcomes this spring. The team returns most of its talent from last year, as head coach David Madison expects his team to wind up as a top 10 shooting team in the state.

“I really think we will be in the top 10 in the state,” Madison said. “We’ve got some extremely talented shooters – our first practice shoot, we had three 25s, which are perfect scores. Our kids are shooting great.”

Top shooters Jacob Williams, Alex Wood, Josh Hayeck, Gabe Foss and Trevor Smith will all look to help carry the load for the Rangers this season.

Madison notes how mental this sport can be and detailed the individual challenges that some of his shooters could experience throughout the year.

“It’s such a mind game, you drop a target and you get inside your head – it’s almost like the wheels come off a bit,” Madison said. “This shooting sport is strictly about focus, and focus, focus, focus. The weather can also be a tough one – it’s been pretty decent so far and we lucked out. But it’s all about keeping your head in the game. Once you get into those high numbers, it can be that one target you drop that separates you.”

The trap and skeet teams aims to capture multiple individual and/or team state berths.