Success StoryOutdoor Youth Sports



Outdoor Youth Sports

Author: Lindsey Dunn

Planning Unit: Daviess County CES

Major Program: 4-H Youth Development Programming

Plan of Work: Building Life Skills in Youth

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

The Kids Outdoor Adventures Committee formed in Daviess County in 2015 with a mission to encourage a break from technology while engaging families in fun, educational, safe, and healthy outdoor activities.  The committee is made up of a number of individuals representing local businesses, youth organizations, law enforcement, youth organizations, outdoor sporting organizations and facilities, and volunteers interested in the outdoors.  From the three annual programs the committee hosts, over 150 youth were reached in the current program year.  Beyond the safety and skills learned by these youth, their families were also engaged in quality time while becoming educated on how to participate safely in a variety of outdoor activities, how to safely handle and store firearms and ATVs at their homes, and ways to get their youth more involved in outdoor shooting sports activities, including 4-H Shooting Sports.

Daviess County 4-H Shooting Sports programs additionally promote outdoor involvement in safe and educational firearm techniques.  The Daviess County 4-H Shooting Sports program currently has two very active clubs; Marksmen Club, practicing rifle, bb, and black powder disciplines, and the Crushers Club, practicing shotgun and trap discipline.  Though the Marksmen Club continues to thrive each year, being established in the county in 2008 and sending over 25 youth to the State 4-H Shooting Sports Competition each fall and bringing home multiple top three team and individual finishes yearly, the Crushers Club has had a slower growth.   In 2017, due to the former coach stepping down at the end of the season, a parent volunteer with a 4-H’er interested in trap shooting stepped up to attend the 4-H Shooting Sports Certification training in order to keep the program going.  In his first year as head coach in 2017, the team was small with 5 participants attending the State Shoot.  Since then, the team continues to grow each year, drawing in new youth to the 4-H program and retaining a number of returning members.  In 2019, 13 4-H’ers attended the State Shoot representing the Daviess County Crushers.  Though this can be an expensive sport, the coach works diligently to source local funding, personal donations, NRA grants, and community partnerships with his work that cover a large chunk of the expenses incurred throughout the year allowing the youth interested in the program to participate without such a large financial strain on the families that could hinder them from taking part in the program.  Additionally, the coach recruited a coworker to become involved with assisting the team and that individual has since attended the training to also become an official Certified 4-H Shooting Sports coach, allowing the team to be more efficient and reach more youth.






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