On Fridays, the hubs usually heads to town in the early afternoon to get everything ready for Friday Night Shoot. From September to April he runs the Coeur d'Alene Rifle and Pistol Range's Friday night youth small bore shooting program. For $5 kids aged ten and up can come in and learn to shoot competitive marksmanship. They get to use the club's rifles, the club provides the ammunition and targets, and oh yes, they get the finest safety training and coaching ever from the hubs and his volunteers.
Now, I am the least useful with firearms in my family. That said, I am also super supportive of the hub's endeavors, but I tend to stay out of his way and don't go to a lot of his weekly events. I do most of my work for him in the background via logistical and IT support. However, as his rifle team advances in the world of competition, mental health and mindset development has become even more of a focus as like in most competitive sports, mental fitness is key.
Well, mental fitness is my jam. In fact, I am in training to become a certified mental behavioral professional, but to be honest, I have been coaching people in that realm for most of my life, especially when it comes to developing goals while combatting anxiety.
So, with that theme in mind, I more than readily agreed to head to town with the hubs yesterday. That and I really needed a bit of a break from school and paperwork. It's tax season, so I have spent more time on the computer than is Christian. Okay, and I wanted to go have a date afternoon with the hubs before getting down to work, hamburgers and making fun of each other in a public place is the best.
So, after some public mocking that began with the hubs spilling his entire cherry Coke on the table and floor at Killer Burger (HE BLAMED ME!), me getting revenge in Home Depot by breaking into a spontaneous song and dance revue to Come Sail Away by Styx in the nuts and bolts aisle (It seemed fitting), and seeing one of the best car sticker applications of all time (See below), we finally made it to the gun range.
I then got to watch the hubs in action.
His program is an amazing dance of choreographed, organized chaos. He is averaging between 30-40 kids a week in attendance on Friday nights. His volunteer Range Safety Officer's run the firing line, his rifle team kids mentor the new shooters, the hubs flits about between doing safety meetings and instructing kids on refining techniques, the parents sit in the waiting area of the range, chattering amongst the people in their ideological factions, and the head RSO sits at a table welcoming people and taking their money.
It was quite the happening to behold!
Part of the reason I don't go a lot, aside from not wanting to intrude on the hub's parade, is that I take in all the emotional states of all in attendance, and let me tell you, there's a lot of noise,.
People seek me out and talk to me, and by talk to me, they let it all go. I end of doing a ton of active listening any time I attend anything, but especially range things.
There's a lot of political activism in the firearms community, and rightly so, the right is always under assault. It's just when there is an intersection between Libertarian-minded folks and more Neo-Con authoritarian folks there tends to be a bit of tension and fireworks. Combine that with teenage hormones, little kids running around, highly competitive American parents who think little Billy who just started prone position is ready for the Jr. Olympics, and a whole passel of people who need anxiety and mindset coaching, and well, you get one depleted Kat after several hours in attendance.
Not that I am complaining. I love all the people that make up the hub's program, most especially him. What he has built is an incredible testament to the power of one person just getting started with the goal of serving and empowering others.
Which is why, when he asked me to coach his rifle team in the art of mindset reframing, I wholeheartedly agreed. He has a fantastic group of kids who compete, and more than a few of them are having troubles focusing due to a myriad of reasons, but most revolving around anxiety. Well, I am a professional at dealing with that phenomenon and have a whole bunch of methods for dealing with it, so I am more than happy to help the kids in whatever way that I can. It should definitely be interesting.
Because there is nothing more rewarding than watching a young person excel, regardless of what is thrown their way. This week the hubs and I have had the privilege of being a part of this amazing girl's journey through the morass that is societal recognition. I have incredibly high hopes for her and not just because of her awesome ability to shoot, it's her strength of character that truly awes me daily.
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's good at adding up target scores on it's handy dandy calculator iPhone.