When asked how he would describe the Emmanuel College Clay Target team, Coach John Shealy didn’t hesitate.
“They’re the definition of team,” he said. “We had Mitchell Clark come in and shoot for us as a brand-new freshman, Colton (Evans) was strong in sporting-clays, everyone contributed.”
That team effort led Emmanuel to victories against the likes of Florida State University and the University of Alabama on their way to two NationalChampionship titles in the 2018-19 season.
The Lions took home the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) Title during the fall semester and the Association of College Union International Championship this spring.
Although this year’s group was made up several underclassmen and two seniors, Coach Shealy had a quiet confidence going into the season that the Lions could do something special.
“We have a lot of great talent on this team,” he said. “It really doesn’t surprise me that the team has done well. They’re focused and I’m pleased with how well they’ve done.”
Now with nine freshmen entering the program, Coach has set his expectations high for next season.
“We have a really good class coming in,” he said. “Three of our shooters coming in are considered very good shooters at the national level. We’re going to miss our seniors, they’ve contributed greatly to the team but looking ahead we have a lot of interest because of the success they’ve had.”
Although Clay Target Shooting is an individual sport with each shooter specializing in different events such as Sporting Clays, American Skeet and Trap, at Emmanuel, each shooter complements the others.
Another thing that has complemented the Clay Target team’s recruiting efforts is Emmanuel’s fast-growing Diversified Agriculture program.
“In the state of Georgia, there are some clubs around Atlanta but the majority of shooting in the Clay Target world is south of here, which is rural area,” Coach Shealy said. “A lot of us shoot the SCTP and there are a lot of young shooters there that start around the age of 8 and they’re always looking for schools where they can shoot. This in my mind is one of the best schools for that.”
Because of their success, the team is also gaining out-of-state interest.
“It’s been interesting the number of people we’ve met at events who have shown interest in visiting,” Gina Shealy said. “We were in Tucson, Arizona and John was approached by a dad and son from California who want to come for a tour. We also have a shooter from Wyoming interested in visiting. Our prayer is if they should choose Emmanuel that while they’re here on campus they’ll continue to develop in their relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Because of the large incoming class and continued interest, Emmanuel will more than likely move up to the Division II level next season which will be even more competitive.
“This was a great year,” Coach Shealy said. “But we’ll have to shoot even better next year to have the success we did this year. Clay Target is not an NCAA sport officially – so these competitions we attend are based on team size not school size or roster size. If you take 10 or less people to a competition, you are classified as Division III. If you have 11-20 athletes, that’s Division II, with 20 and above considered Division I”
The Lions had eight team members this season, which placed them automatically in Division III.
As the Lions look forward to next season, they do so with team-centered goals in mind.
“We want to be a better team,” freshman, Wyatt Hargrove said. “We hope to better each other and work together to make this program even better than we found it.”
“They’re the definition of team,” he said. “We had Mitchell Clark come in and shoot for us as a brand-new freshman, Colton (Evans) was strong in sporting-clays, everyone contributed.”
That team effort led Emmanuel to victories against the likes of Florida State University and the University of Alabama on their way to two NationalChampionship titles in the 2018-19 season.
The Lions took home the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) Title during the fall semester and the Association of College Union International Championship this spring.
Although this year’s group was made up several underclassmen and two seniors, Coach Shealy had a quiet confidence going into the season that the Lions could do something special.
“We have a lot of great talent on this team,” he said. “It really doesn’t surprise me that the team has done well. They’re focused and I’m pleased with how well they’ve done.”
Now with nine freshmen entering the program, Coach has set his expectations high for next season.
“We have a really good class coming in,” he said. “Three of our shooters coming in are considered very good shooters at the national level. We’re going to miss our seniors, they’ve contributed greatly to the team but looking ahead we have a lot of interest because of the success they’ve had.”
Although Clay Target Shooting is an individual sport with each shooter specializing in different events such as Sporting Clays, American Skeet and Trap, at Emmanuel, each shooter complements the others.
Another thing that has complemented the Clay Target team’s recruiting efforts is Emmanuel’s fast-growing Diversified Agriculture program.
“In the state of Georgia, there are some clubs around Atlanta but the majority of shooting in the Clay Target world is south of here, which is rural area,” Coach Shealy said. “A lot of us shoot the SCTP and there are a lot of young shooters there that start around the age of 8 and they’re always looking for schools where they can shoot. This in my mind is one of the best schools for that.”
Because of their success, the team is also gaining out-of-state interest.
“It’s been interesting the number of people we’ve met at events who have shown interest in visiting,” Gina Shealy said. “We were in Tucson, Arizona and John was approached by a dad and son from California who want to come for a tour. We also have a shooter from Wyoming interested in visiting. Our prayer is if they should choose Emmanuel that while they’re here on campus they’ll continue to develop in their relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Because of the large incoming class and continued interest, Emmanuel will more than likely move up to the Division II level next season which will be even more competitive.
“This was a great year,” Coach Shealy said. “But we’ll have to shoot even better next year to have the success we did this year. Clay Target is not an NCAA sport officially – so these competitions we attend are based on team size not school size or roster size. If you take 10 or less people to a competition, you are classified as Division III. If you have 11-20 athletes, that’s Division II, with 20 and above considered Division I”
The Lions had eight team members this season, which placed them automatically in Division III.
As the Lions look forward to next season, they do so with team-centered goals in mind.
“We want to be a better team,” freshman, Wyatt Hargrove said. “We hope to better each other and work together to make this program even better than we found it.”