Columbia, Missouri – Preserving the future of shooting sports means providing a variety of assets to young shooters, including mentors, shooting ranges and funding. Recently, the MidwayUSA Foundation offered all three to air rifle and pistol shooters at an air gun training camp held in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the impressive X Count facility. Young shooting athletes received expert instruction from Olympic shooters and elite coaches. To attend, athletes made a tax-deductible donation to their team’s endowment with the MidwayUSA Foundation, a public charity that works to sustain and grow youth shooting sports. Donations are also matched through a matching program offered by the MidwayUSA Foundation.
The coaches who made this camp possible included recent Tokyo Games silver medalist in mixed team air rifle, lucas kozenisky. This two-time Olympian is also the founder of Team Winning Solutions, a professional organization that provides training and personal guidance to shooting athletes. Another competitor at the Tokyo Olympics, james room, also shared his experience. Hall finished in the top ten at the 2020 Olympics in both men’s and mixed team air pistol and currently works for Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) as Director of Development – International Pistol and Rifle.
Three-time Olympian and US National Pistol Team Coach, Jason Turner, also provided expert instruction. Joining the three Olympians was the highly decorated rifle coach, gregg rice. He is the head coach and president of The X Count and is licensed by the International Shooting Sports Federation, one of only five rifle coaches in the nation. James Hall spoke about the importance of passing knowledge to the future of shooting sports. “Having experience with the rifle as well as the pistol and working with these young athletes at this age of development is a key component of giving back to the sport.”
The MidwayUSA Foundation continues to find new ways to help communities fund their local youth shooting teams. Events, like this airgun boot camp, can not only generate donations, but can also connect the community with the team and athletes it serves. The funding provided by the MidwayUSA Foundation’s endowment of a team ensures that current and future athletes have the funds to cover the critical expenses needed to practice and compete. To view images of this event, visit or learn more about MidwayUSA Foundation events, visit https://www.midwayusafoundation.org/events/.
The MidwayUSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that works to maintain and grow youth shooting sports by providing long-term funding to youth shooting teams. Every donation made is tax deductible and allows the Foundation to help expand and improve the leadership skills, confidence and discipline of today’s youth through shooting sports activities. The Foundation supports all shooting disciplines. MidwayUSA Foundation auctions and some incentives are not valid in California. To learn more about how the MidwayUSA Foundation is changing the future of youth shooting sports, visit MidwayUSAFoundation.org or call 1-877-375-4570.