After 10 years, things haven’t changed much for the 杰克逊维尔大学 Sporting 粘土，双向飞碟和陷阱(just)射击队. 他们从一开始就没有被打败过 and winning the national championship the first time they attended the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Nationals in 2011. 他们继续赢得全国冠军 今天的锦标赛. 21个，目前为止.
And founding Coach David Dobson keeps teaching team members the business and life 在竞争中取得成功的技能.
“Being a part of this team is so much more than I expected,” says Gabe Nackashi, a junior business information systems major, whom Dobson recruited for the team. “你 期望成为一个领导者. 你被期望成为一名教练.”
Co呵多布森 holds master instructor certifications from the three top certifying organizations in the US, making him unique as the highest certified master instructor 在乡下. He also holds an MBA and expects his athletes to actively participate 在团队的管理和方向上 事务.
“孩子们管理这个项目. 他们’re the stockholders that run the company,” says Co呵多布森. “他们拥有营销和品牌. 他们跑 团队练习. 他们’re learning to be independent rather than co-dependent. 他们
像家人一样互相帮助和支持.”
Co呵多布森 serves as a mentor to all of the team members, including his assistant 教练和队长. The team holds a weekly business meeting to deal with the details of team practices, competitions and other team 事务. 另外，因为 the program is designed to develop 射击游戏 into instructors, at least eight current team members are certified shooting instructors. 他们帮助指导他们的同伴 during practices, which are held at Jacksonville Clay Target Sports on New Berlin 路.
“Growing as a teacher is expected in this program,” says current assistant coach and 2019 graduate Kelby Seanor, who is a former team captain and current member of Team 美国运动队.
All the mentoring, coaching and practice continues to pay off in competitive performance. At their most recent competition last summer at the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) national championships in Morengo, Ohio, the team won team National Championships in two major events across all divisions and finished in second and third place in 两个. Additionally, team members Matt DeBord won two individual national championship 扎克·阿博特赢得了一项赛事冠军.
“We’re the Alabama football of shooting,” says Dobson. “全球网络赌博平台的团队成员非常出色 professional, and we have a number of national and world champions on this team currently.”
Which is one of the reasons why the team grew from a club sport to full varsity sport status just a year and a half after its founding in 2009. 球队的平均水平是 每年有40名成员，男女都有. 今年的球队，其中持有累积 3.1 grade point average, includes members who also compete in cross country, football, 帆船和长曲棍球.
Some team members, including Gabe, came to the team with little shooting experience.
“在遇到多布森教练之前，我开了两枪. 这是我做过的最痛苦的事。” 加布说. “After that first lesson, the next time I picked up a shotgun, it was completely 不同的.”
Other members, including D’Ayn Sayre, a senior English major, joined the team as veteran 射击游戏.
“At the time I came here, it was basically me and three other girls on the team,” said Sayre, who spent several years shooting for a 4-H team in her Lake County, Florida, 在去上大学之前的家乡. Two of her older teammates attended Jacksonville University, which made becoming a Dolphin an appealing alternative. 但是她的选择 ultimately came down to the beauty of the campus and Co呵多布森’s sale pitch.
“Even though I really wanted to get out of Florida for college, this was my favorite 塞尔说. “大卫·多布森是一股不可忽视的力量. 他做出了巨大的贡献。 努力招募我.”
The team works hard to support itself financially. 团队成员每人支付550美元的会费 year to aid in covering targets, shells, equipment, and travel costs for practices 和竞赛. Co呵多布森, who teaches wing-shooting classes in the Department of Kinesiology in the School of Applied Health Sciences, also solicits private and corporate donations, as well as writes several grants in order to keep the shooting team fully funded and able to attend and host competitions, including the Jacksonville Southeast Invitational Collegiate Regionals hosted by JU and SCTP which occur in the 秋天和春天. The Fall Southeastern Regional Invitational Shoot is scheduled for 10月. 20 at Jacksonville Clay Target Sports, and according to Co呵多布森, JU is expected to dominate this shoot as they have for many years. 15个大学代表队将参加 participate, showcasing some of the best competitive 射击游戏 在乡下.
And after 10 years, Co呵多布森 thinks he just might have gotten more out of coaching his hundreds of competitors than that they got from him.
“Working with these kids is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” Co呵多布森 says. “这些孩子都很棒. I love this amazing university, our gifted faculty and staff, 最重要的是，这些了不起的学生. 能参与其中，我感到很幸运 他们的人生旅程.”
