Friendships worth more than medals in competition

John Ostermann, Online Editor-in-Chief

“POP! POP! POP! POP!” That is all sophomore Brendan Becker hears as he fires off the final rounds in his pistol. Sweat on his brow, finally able to relax the look of focus and determination that had been set on his face.

Becker has experienced this feeling for a long time now, doing an activity that not all high schoolers are familiar with: competition shooting.

“It is target shooting,” Becker said. “So you have one set target and shoot a number of shots at it and they score you based on accuracy and aim.”

Becker has been competing in shooting competitions for around eight years now, starting when he was eight years old. His oldest brother was also a competitor and represented Kansas at the national level, and this and many other things impacted Becker’s decision to start competing.

“My parents have always been very involved in the program so I was pretty much raised into it,” Becker said.

Becker competed in the state shooting competition on March 18 and finished in second place.

“I have had much better days,” Becker said. “It wasn’t my worst though.”

However Becker’s father, Richard Becker, spoke about how he is much harder on himself than others are and he doesn’t give himself much credit.

“There are very good competitors in the state,” Richard said. “Always walking away with a medal is not that easy. He had his second best performance of the year, this match, and had the highest score of our team.”

Not only does competition shooting develop and individual’s gun skills, it also allows for many social interactions that would not happen without it.

“The social interactions, respect they carry for each other, and the friendships they’ve made are priceless,” Richard said.

According to the Becker’s, the best part about being involved in shooting competitions is the friendships you can make throughout all the competitions and in between competing getting to know people.

“We have friends across the country, because of this involvement,” Richard said. “Trying to get him to step back and enjoy these finer things in life is something we want him to be successful at.”

The hardest part about competition is not getting caught up in your wins and losses. You have to be able to enjoy the process as well as wanting to win.

“[Shooting] has made me a more social person and it has made me more likeable as a friend,” Brendan said.