submitted by James Lee
MA: Maspenock Junior rifle league first match of the season
December First not only marked the first snow of the season but also the first match in the Maspenock Junior rifle league. The league consists of teams from Harvard Sportsman Association, Holliston Sportsmen’s Association, Marlborough Fish and Game, Maspenock Rod and Gun Club, Maynard Rod and Gun and Southborough Rod and Gun Club. The match was hosted at Southborough Rod and Gun Club and consisted of 7 relays of seven shooters on the line each relay. Each relay was a mix of shooters from at least 3 clubs so the juniors all got a chance to shoot against other clubs.
The clubs Maspenock league stress safety, fun and marksmanship (in that order) to allow the participants to grow their skills in a safe and fun environment. Past participants in the league have gone on to shoot national matches, participate in the Junior Olympics and / or shoot for college teams.
This match marked the first match where Maynard Rod and Gun joined the league. We welcome them to the league.
The league is made possible by a dedicated group of over a dozen coaches and volunteers. All the volunteers are dedicated to helping all junior rifle competitors succeed and this could be seen at the match with the assistance given to all competitors by all coaches regardless of club affiliation. Additionally the seasoned coaches and team organizers offered guidance to the Maynard team and Southborough lent Harvard equipment when a problem arose.
Each of the teams in the league is funded by a combination of their program fees which range from free to nominal chargers to partially cover expenses, funding from the host clubs, various fund raisers and grants from the NRA foundation. Please consider making a donation to the junior rifle program at your local club.
There will be three additional matches all to be hosted at Southborough followed by an awards banquet to be hosted at Marlborough. Spectators and guests are welcome at the events.
This first match was the first ever competition for some of the juniors and was a refresher for some of the competitors who had not participated in a match for several months. There were three concurrent matches; A prone only match for the newest competitors and a three-position individual and team match. In the team match, the scores for the 4 best competitors are used, so competitors can only help their team with their score.
For the prone only competitors it was their first taste of competition and we hope the progress to shooting the three-position match by the end of the season. Marcus Mojica (Maspenock) took first in prone with a score of 257, Noah White (Marlborough) second with 237 and Ryan Moore (Marlborough) third with 234.
For the beginner three position match Alex Biehl (Maynard) took first with a 193. In the intermediate match Gianna Ferrecchia (Marlborough) took first with a 206 and Ryan Darrow took first for the advanced competitors with a 266.
In the team match, The Maspenock team had an aggregate of 1023 based on the scores of Dan Reynolds, Chris Rooney, Ryan Darrow and Tyler Lefebvre. Harvard is currently in second with an aggregate of 909 based on the scores of Mark Vicik, Anne Donaldson, Dana Cochrane, Griffen Milette and Coleen O’Shea. Marlborough Currently has Third with an aggregate of 864 based on the scores of AJ Carmody, Colton Valchuis, Adam Amatucci and Gianna Ferrecchia. With three more matches in the season it’s still up for any team to take it.
Now that the competitors have all had a taste of competition, many of them will get more serious about practice to either improve their score over their teammates or to help their team win the league.
Many thanks go out to the head coaches of the teams, the assistant coaches and volunteers and especially the Southborough kitchen crew who kept coaches, competitors parents and other volunteers well feed with breakfast and lunch.
James Lee is a volunteer assistant coach in the league and is the publicist for the league.
