Behind the Line - Community

As we step into the 2026 High School Trap Spring Season, I want to take a moment to recognize something important.

First—thank you to Tim Hein for his recent post. That kind of dialog is exactly what brings this community to life. It sparked conversation, perspective, and reminded me why this group matters. We need more of that.

Now here we are.

All the off-season planning, organizing, recruiting, fundraising, and preparation has led to this moment - 9+ weeks of student athletes stepping onto the line, representing their teams, their schools, and something bigger than themselves.

This is where I hope it all shows up: Discipline. Commitment. Attitude. Accountability.

And with that… I want to open up a conversation on something I'm sure every coach deals with, but not everyone talks about openly:

We start developing the foundations of QE from day one, long before shooters even know the term.

1. Rookie Phase — Both Eyes Open

The first priority is getting athletes comfortable shooting with both eyes open. This sets the stage for everything that comes later:

• Wider field of view

• Faster target recognition

• Better depth perception

Following up on our conversation about practice formats - I’ve been thinking a lot about team leadership and how other programs use their captains throughout the season.

This year, each of our teams (Crivitz, Coleman, and Wausaukee) now has a coach-selected Team Captain. All of them are solid shooters, great examples on the line, and natural leaders. Beyond the basic expectations (sportsmanship, squad management, setting the tone), I want to start bringing them deeper into the planning side of the program.

Here’s why:

We’ve got a core group of athletes with real potential — the kind of potential that could put us in the running for a National Championship next summer.But I’m careful not to project that ambition onto them. I want that fire to come from them, not from me. When the athletes decide what they want, that’s when you can build a plan they’ll actually buy into.

So I’m curious how other coaches…

Hey everyone — I’m really curious to hear how your teams run practice.

With our program growing across Crivitz, Coleman, and Wausaukee - and only two trap fields to work with - our practices tend to look the same every week: squad up, shoot a couple rounds of trap, and coach specific fundamentals during those rounds. It works, but I feel like we're leaving a lot of potential development on the table.

I’ve been wanting to incorporate more station work, specific drills, and maybe even small-group fundamental sessions… but with our numbers, time, and two fields, it’s tough to experiment without breaking the flow.

So I’d love to hear from coaches who run larger or fast-growing teams:

• Do you run dedicated drill stations or skill circuits?

(footwork, hold points, breakpoints, gun mount, eye exercises, etc.)