Pistol Prodigies ’23 team: Front Row (left to right): Noah, Ashley, Drey, Coach Lisa, Hunter, CJ, Spencer. Middle Row (left to right): Bodi, Gary, Bill, Connor, Wesley. Back Row (left to right): Coach Jeff, Coach Scott, Ryan.

submitted by Scott & Lisa Poet, Head Coaches – Pistol Prodigies Youth Pistol and Rifle Team

The Pistol Prodigies just completed a great 2022-2023 season. Some of the highlights included: participating in the Manchester Fair Parade and the MHS Homecoming Parade, hosting a successful fundraising banquet, certifying two SSSF Action Shooting Program Junior Coaches, adding more adult volunteers, competing in Great Lakes Regional, Ohio State Shoot, Michigan State Championships, and the SASP National Championships.

Our season began September 1st of 2022. We started with 20 athletes that were raring to go. Beyond our regular weekly practices, our first activity of the season was our Fundraising Banquet. It was held at UA190/IBEW 252 Hall in Ann Arbor. 175 people attended and had a great time playing games of chance, raffles, a great dinner, and winning awesome guns and other fabulous prizes! Everyone had a great time, and really helped us with the finances we need for a successful season. Due to the generosity of our friends and guests, the team was able to cover a large portion of our competition entry fees and ammo costs for our athletes. THANK YOU to everyone that supported our event!

Winter can be a slow time for the team. Cold temperatures and snow make it hard to get a lot of practicing done. But our friends and long time team sponsor Ann Arbor Arms helped us as they always do. For many years A3 has opened their ranges up so that we can practice in their 5-Star facility, while staying nice and warm. Over the winter we like to keep the team together and polish our skills. A3 helps us achieve these goals.

When the weather broke in the Spring, our outside weekly practices began again. The kids were all anxious to get more trigger-time in and get ready for our upcoming matches. The first match was the Great Lakes Regional (GLR) at the Brooklyn Sportsman Club (BSC) in Brooklyn, MI, May 19-21. This was the 4th year that BSC has hosted the GLR. Thank you to all the volunteers for your help and support of SASP! As in years past, the Pistol Prodigies did great! Great Lakes Regional Results: Rimfire Pistol – 1st place Senior, 3rd place Open. Optic Rifle – 2nd place Rookie, 1st place Senior, 2nd place Open. Iron Rifle – 3rd place Rookie, 1st place Senior, 2nd place Open. 1911 Pistol – 2nd place Senior. Pistol Caliber Carbine – 1st place Senior, 2nd place Open.

Our second match of the season was the Ohio State Shoot June 3-4 at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, OH. Six of our athletes were able to make the trip. However, only our seniors had a full squad and were eligible to earn squad awards, but our younger kids competed and supported the seniors. Ohio State Shoot Results: Rimfire Pistol – 3rd place Senior. Optic Rifle – 2nd place Senior. Iron Rifle – 1st place – Senior. 1911 Pistol – 2nd place Senior. Pistol Caliber Carbine – 1st place Senior.

June 24-25 brought the Michigan SASP State Championships at the St. Joseph County Conservation and Sportsman Club in Sturgis, MI. This is one of the bigger state matches in the country with 315 entries, from 11 teams, traveling from 5 states. SJCCSC has hosted this match for 8 years and they do a great job for the kids. Thanks to all the volunteers. State Championship Results: Rimfire Pistol – 2nd place Senior. Optic Rifle – 2nd place Rookie, 1st place Senior, 2nd place Open. Iron Rifle – 2nd place Rookie, 1st place Senior, 3rd place Open. 1911 Pistol – 1st place Senior. Pistol Caliber Carbine – 1st place Senior, 3rd place Open. At each State Championship match around the country, an All-State Rifle Team and All-State Pistol Team are chosen, based on scoring. The 4 fastest rifle shooters, 2 in Rimfire Rifle and 2 in Pistol Caliber Carbine, and the 4 fastest pistol shooters, 2 in Rimfire Pistol and 2 in Centerfire Pistol, combine to form the All-State Teams. These teams then compete at Nationals, against other state’s All-State Teams, for additional awards. (Unfortunately, there were no Centerfire Pistol Team members from Michigan this year, so our Pistol Team was ineligible for awards.) We are proud to say that The Pistol Prodigies earned 3 of the 6 All-State spots. Drey shot great and earned one of the Rifle slots. Bodi was able to team up with his brother for rifle and also earned one of the Pistol slots. Congratulations!

The highlight of our season was the SASP National Championships at the Cardinal Shooting Center July 8-15. Nationals is where the best of the best come out with their A-Game. 2023 SASP Nationals broke the World Record for largest “action shooting match” in history. There were over 2,230 entries shot over 8 days. Being part of that was awesome. But the best part of Nationals was how well our team shot. Every member of the Pistol Prodigies broke personal bests. Many set new team records. And while we didn’t bring home any awards, all the kids had a great time and held their own against great teams from around the country.

As coaches, we like to challenge each of the athletes. This allows them to learn new skills and improve on their existing skill sets. This year Bodi stepped up his game and challenged himself. At the beginning of the season, he told the coaches that he was “going for HOA” (high overall) at every match. HOA are the fastest athletes in any given discipline. He didn’t disappoint. Over the course of the season, he earned 5 HOA awards. The best thing is that when one athlete strives to be at the top of the leader board, it brings out the best in others. Wesley also earned an HOA. Congratulations to both of you!

Bodi and Wesley also stepped up for the team. Both of them completed the training for, and are now certified SSSF Action Shooting Program Jr. Coaches. This entailed extensive online training as well as a hands-on “field day”. The field day is where they prove that they have the skills to be coaches in our program. There are only a handful of Jr. Coaches in the country, and we are proud to include Wesley and Bodi among them.

We could not do what we do without the support of our community. Our team has many local sponsors that help us offset competition and practice costs. Those local businesses are: Ann Arbor Arms, Fletcher Inspections, Hit-Em-Back Tracking Service, Huron Gun Collectors, J. Proctor Co., L&B Excavating, Linda’s Diner, Rare Tool, Sidearm Defense Training LLC, T&N Service Inc., and Worth Repeating.

CMR MECHANICAL had also stepped up in a big way. They became our first Platinum Sponsor! While all of our sponsors are Amazing, CMR took it to the next level! Thank you!

Thank you to ALL of our outstanding sponsors!

2023 also continued our trend of some of our athletes earning their MHS varsity letters. Thank you MCS School Board, and Superintendent Bezeau for your continued support!

2023 was bittersweet in one aspect. We had to say goodbye to one of our long-time athletes. Connor has been with the team for 6 years and has become an integral part of the Pistol Prodigies. He graduated this year and is ready to move on to bigger and better things. We wish him all the best!

To get ready for the upcoming ’24 season, we will be set up at Manchester Junior/High School and Riverside School this coming Wednesday August 23rd for the school open houses. We have a few spots available on the team and hope to talk to families that are interested in joining us. There will also be two team information meetings, Wednesdays August 30th and September 6th, at the Manchester Sportsman Club. Both meetings are at 6pm. We invite you to attend if you are interested in your 3rd grader through high school senior joining the team.

There will also be a hands-on team open house on Tuesday September 12th, 6pm, at the Brooklyn Sportsman Club. Those attending will get to try their hands at shooting our program.

If you have any questions, and would like to learn more about the Pistol Prodigies, please attend one of the informational meetings August 30th or September 6th, visit http://www.pistolprodigies.org, email us at thepoets@yahoo.com, or call us at 734-323-5293