Post date: Feb 28, 2014 1:35:40 PM
Jeff Bushke/For the News-Miner
FAIRBANKS — One of the main functions of the Tanana Valley Sportsmen’s Association in Fairbanks is teaching competitive shooting to youth. It’s something the nonprofit club has been doing for decades and continues doing today at its new clubhouse and shooting range on Boat Street.
“I don’t think you can find an organization that has taught more young people to be safe around firearms.” said Cathie Harms, regional program coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks. “Bud and Sally Burris have taught literally thousands of kids to shoot safely.”
Shooters as young as 8 years old begin learning the sport at the TVSA ranges. Rifles are furnished at no charge to the youth. The organization has a cadre of dedicated volunteers to instruct and coach the youth teams from beginners, through middle school and high school.
Every Saturday morning the Boat Street clubhouse is buzzing with activity. Youngsters start out shooting Daisy or Crosman rifles that cost $400 to $500 each. Once a shooter begins to show proficiency they are moved up to one of 20 Anschutz rifles that cost $2,000 or more each, furnished at no charge by the club.
Athletes do not have to be the tallest, fastest or strongest in their age group to become a competitive shooter. What is needed, and taught at TVSA, is a combination of determination, organization, patience, and emotional and physical control.
Having the desire to be a world class shooter goes a long way when it is combined with the instruction available in Fairbanks, home to one of the country’s top collegiate rifle programs at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as well as robust high school and middle school programs that produce high-caliber shooters.
Layne Lewis, now a TVSA youth coach, came up through the TVSA ranks and shot for Monroe Catholic High School, earning a scholarship to UAF, where he was a member of national championship rifle teams in 2006, 2007 and 2008. These days, Lewis is passing on his knowledge to young shooters who, like he did, dream of shooting on a national stage.
“If we continue growing we will be one of the top clubs in the country and produce some of the best shooters in the country,” said Lewis. “I see five or six collegiate candidates and several that can go on to national championships or the Olympics.”
There are currently approximately 60 youths participating in TVSA’s shooting program, he said.
“Currently we have close to a 50-50 mix of girls and boys in the youth leagues,” said Grant Lewis, father of Layne and TVSA president. “Our youngest member is 8-years-old.”
Throughout the years, many members of the Nanooks rifle team began their shooting with TVSA youth shooting programs.
One former TVSA shooting graduate, Matthew Wallace, was a shooter for Lathrop High School and went on to become a member of the UAF rifle team that won four straight NCAA championships between 2000-2004. Wallace went on to become part of the United States national development team, a stepping stone to the Olympics.
Of his time at UAF Wallace said, “The biggest thing I learned is the mental toughness. I learned so much in sports psychology and that had the biggest influence on my performance.”
He said that he was instilled with endless optimism and that he was a walk-on athlete and received a partial scholarship through shooting. Wallace was a technology major at UAF and is currently working in the IT department at Tanana Chiefs Conference.
The relationship between TVSA and UAF is an integral one to the Fairbanks shooting community. TVSA and UAF work together twice a year to host the Interior’s largest gun show at the UAF Patty Center, which raises $3,500 a year for the UAF rifle team.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association will host the 2015 NCAA Rifle Championships in Fairbanks and TVSA will make their ranges available for smallbore competition, if needed, at its new clubhouse on Boat Street, which houses 16 shooting lanes in two separate bays. TVSA is still completing the air handling system in one of the shooting bays but it is expected to be completed in time for the national meet.
Jeff Bushke is a University of Alaska Fairbanks journalism student who recently completed an internship at the News-Miner.
Open Shooting
The Tanana Valley Sportsmen’s Association hosts open shooting from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday evenings and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays Most standard non-magnum calibers can be used and fees are $10 per session for members and $20 per session for non-members.
The club also offers a variety of safety and training courses to choose from. A 16-hour personal protection course will qualify a participant for a state-issued concealed carry permit. Also offered are basic rifle and basic pistol courses for anyone interested in the shooting sports.
For more information on TVSA’s shooting programs, contact club president Grant Lewis by phone at 488-2884 or email at tananavalleysportsmensassoc@gmail.com. You can also go to the club’s web site at www.tvsa.us.