WEST RANCH STUDENT GETTING A NEW SHOT TRAPSHOOTING HELPS WALLACE FIND SOLACE.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer STEVENSON RANCH Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. - Jake Wallace is just 15 years old, but what a remarkable comeback he has made after being confined to a wheelchair for more than two years. He broke his hip while playing hockey when he was 11, then took up trapshooting trapshooting: see shooting. trapshooting Shooting sport with moving targets. A shotgun (usually 12-gauge) is used. The targets are clay disks (called pigeons) that are sprung into the air from a trap. A later variant is skeet shooting. as a diversion while still confined to a wheelchair. Once he began walking again at 13, he kept on shooting, and today he is among the world's top trapshooters in his age division. He placed fifth in the Junior Olympics in Colorado in August, then finished first among 6,000 participants at a competitive Olympic training camp in Colorado two weeks ago. Wallace has won about 20 tournaments over the past few years, and his long-term goal is to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. . ``Trapshooting is a tough sport. It wouldn't be an Olympic sport if it wasn't,'' Wallace said during a break at West Ranch High on Friday. ``It takes a certain bit of natural talent, and when you're out there live with people watching People watching or crowd watching is a hobby of some people to watch those around them and their interactions. This differs from voyeurism in that it does not relate to sex or sexual gratification. you during a competition, the adrenaline is really flowing.'' Trapshooters use 12-gauge shotguns to hit a moving clay target Clay targets also known as clay pigeons or skeet, are discs, made of pitch used in clay pigeon shooting including skeet shooting or trapshooting as moving targets. They are brightly coloured (usually orange or yellow) so as to be as visible as possible. that is about the size of a tea saucer. Each round includes 25 shots, and Wallace often finishes a perfect 25 for 25. ``Everybody probably says they want to compete in the Olympics, but I'm going to take it one day at a time One Day at a Time is a long-running American situation comedy that portrayed a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) and their building superintendent (Pat Harrington, Jr.). and win one big match at a time and see where it takes me,'' he said. Bill Dunn Bill Dunn (born July 3, 1961 in Panama Canal Zone) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He has served as a state representative since being elected to the 99th Tennessee General Assembly. , a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation The National Shooting Sports Foundation, or NSSF, is a non-profit trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry. Based in Newtown, Connecticut, NSSF's membership includes manufacturers, distributors, retailers, sportsmen's organizations and media. , said Wallace will soon begin training with Joe Bernolfo, one of the nation's top coaches who has tutored many U.S. Olympians. ``Jake is a really promising young gun,'' Dunn said. ``I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the Olympics one day. He can hold his own with some of the best young shooters in the country.'' A natural athlete, Wallace was good hockey player before the hip injury changed his life. ``At that age, when you're in a wheelchair for such a long time, you get a little insecure,'' he said. ``I would just sit around all day with nothing to do, and one day my dad came home and said, 'Hey, let's go Let's Go may refer to: Television
Wallace found he wasn't bad - especially considering he couldn't stand up. ``I was all right, but when I got out of the wheelchair I really took off,'' he said. Among the nation's other top young trapshooters are Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, residents Destry Hunt and Mara Desso. The three often train together at Oak Tree Gun Club Newhall and another site in El Monte. Wallace is aware of a negative stigma attached to guns, but for him trapshooting is a pure sport - and the first thing he learned was to be very careful. ``It's totally different than you'd think, and very safe. There are never accidents at all,'' Wallace said. ``We treat our guns as tools, and we never point the guns where we're not supposed to.'' These days, hockey - and the broken hip - are distant memories. ``The people I've shot with have really made me feel like I belonged. This is so fun and so cool,'' Wallace said. ``I was one of the top hockey goalies around but I'll never go back to hockey.'' Gerry Gittelson, (661) 257-5218 gerry.gittelson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) West Ranch High's Jake Wallace has excelled at trapshooting, which he took up after a hockey injury at age 11 confined him to a wheelchair. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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