Is there an age requirement?

The Trap Team is open to students in grades six (6) through 12(12) who have completed their MnDNR Youth Firearms Safety Certificate.

The Sporting Clays Team is a High School Team open to students in grades nine (9) through twelve (12); the team will occasionally take younger students if they can pass a proficiency test. 

Are there any prerequisites?

You must have a MnDNR Youth Firearms Safety Certificate by the start of the shooting season for which you are registering. The certification is hunting-centric but the most widely recognized youth certification.  There are traditional classroom, hybrid, and online courses dependent on your student's age.  You typically must start this process several months ahead of your first registration. The student must be age eleven (11) years old to start the certification

Is any experience required?

Outside the Youth Firearms Safety Certification listed above no experience is required to be on the Trap Team.  We have literally taught hundreds of youth how to shoot.

The Sporting Clays Team requires 2 years on the Trap Team first or you must pass a proficiency test.

How does school athletic eligibility work?

If you are a Jordan Public Schools' student living in the district, a student of the district through open enrollment, home-schooled living in the district, or an online student (not associated with a physical school that has a League team)) living in the district you are eligible for our teams.  If you are living in the district but are open enrolled in a school outside the district you must compete for that school if they have a team; if they do not have a team your eligibility reverts back to your district of residence. 

How do I register?

Registration is completed in two parts.  You register through Jordan Community Ed & Rec, not the High School Activities Office.  Once registration opens, February for Spring and August for Fall, you can register online, by calling 952-492-6211 or in person at the CERC (attached to the Middle School).

Once registered through Community Ed you will be sent a link to the second part of registration through the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League (MSHSCTL).  Both registrations must be completed by the deadline.  No late registrations are taken.

How much does it cost?

Community Ed & Rec registration is approximately $300 for Spring Season and $200 for Fall Season.  This is inclusive of ammunition, targets and uniforms (Spring only).  The MSHSCTL registration is currently $35 and must be paid online through their registration system.  There are additional fees for tournaments. 

Why does it cost so much?

Shooting is high in expendables, ammunition, and targets are one-time-use items.  

What is the difference between Spring and Fall League?

Spring is our competitive season and Fall has a more intramural feel.  Spring season is longer and has actual competitive tournaments; Fall season is shorter, has more of an intermural feel and only has a virtual conference competition.

Is one season better than the other?

Fall season is a great season to try out the sport with less commitment and cost. If your student thinks this will be their sport, we encourage you to register as soon as you are eligible regardless of season.   

How long are the seasons?

Spring season is currently 12-15 weeks (March into June) 
Spring season can extend into July if you are eligible and pursue Nationals.
Fall season is 6 - 7 weeks (September through October) depending upon how much preseason practice is scheduled. 

When and where do you shoot?

The Trap Team shoots Sunday and Monday evenings (you choose one time per week) at the Montgomery Sportsmen's Club Trap Range.  The Sporting Clays team shoots Thursday evenings at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club.  The school does not run an activities bus for clay target; parents must provide or arrange transportation. 

What level of commitment is expected?

Trap lasts approximately 1 hour, 1-2 days per week.  You will shoot with the team at least one day a week and you are expected to do some other type of practice at least one other day per week on your own.  Sporting Clays lasts approximately 1-1/2 hours, 1 day per week and you are expected to do some other type of practice at least one other day per week on your own.  If you shoot on both teams you will be expected to shoot at least 3 days a week during the season (twice with us and once on your own). Shooting is like any other sport in that you get out what you put in, if you don't practice on your own we may begin and end the season working on the same basic concept with your student. 

What is the competition like?

Everyone on the team shoots each week.  Both Spring and Fall league have a virtual conference competition which lasts 5 weeks.  We shoot at our home clubs and upload the scores to a website.  Scores are published each week of the conference. 

How does the scoring work?

High school clay target scoring works on True Team Scoring; it is difficult to understand at first but is an inclusive way to score the whole team and not just our top students.  Everyone is shooting each week to contribute to a team score.  It challenges us to have a good team across the entire age spectrum of our students and to really take ownership of our middle school program.  The average middle schooler on our trap team gets more face time with the Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach than our varsity shooters. 

Do you offer High School Lettering?
Yes, Jordan High School offers a combined letter in the Clay Target Sports for both the spring Trap and Sporting Clays.

What are your lettering requirements?
We have an attendance and shooting competency component to our lettering as well as all applicable school requirements. You must have 75% attendance at team events as scheduled. You must attend the Alexandria Championship. You must have a season average of 19.0 out of 25, as calculated by the League at the end of the regular season, any 25 straight at trap team events adds 0.5 to your average,
any optional tournaments and the Championship are added to the average if higher than 19.

When and where are the Spring tournaments?

Spring Trap has at least one tournament open to all students each season; the Trap Shooting Championship is held the second full week of June at Alexandria Shooting Park which has the largest trap range in the state.  Each school is assigned a day based on team classification.  It starts with Class 1A on Monday and goes through Class 9A the following Tuesday.  Jordan is usually classified between 4A and 6A so we usually shoot later in that second full week of the June.  The Championship acts as sectionals in the traditional high school sports tournament series but everyone is invited and will shoot.  Within each day there are classifications for Novice, Junior Varsity and Varsity based on your individual season average.  There are awards in each classification.

​The top 40 teams from the Championship (by top 5 scores) are invited to the State Tournament.  This tournament is restricted to the top 5 students and 2 alternates from each school.  It also has an individual tournament for the top male and female students in the state based on season average.  Based on the level of competition in our state, this is an elite, best of the best, tournament.  It is at Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake around the third full weekend in June each year.

​The Trap Shooting National Championship is a team and individual invite tournament held in Mason, Michigan around the second weekend in July.  Teams and individuals are invited based on season averages by a tiered registration system.  Since the start of this tournament, Jordan has always brought at least one team of 5 and is sometimes allowed to register a second team of 5.  The Jordan coaches invite the team participants.  There is no restriction on the amount of Jordan students who can attend the individual tournament; if you are invited by the league you can go.

​In Sporting Clays the highest level tournament is the Championship held the weekend before the Trap Championship in June.  It doesn't have a dedicated home club and could be anywhere in the state.

There are other individual and team tournaments that are not associated with the league that have open and invite registration that do happen most springs and summers.  All tournaments are optional but the most fun part of our season .  All tournaments come with some additional expenses that must be covered by the families.

How do you choose your squad of 5 and 2 alternates for the State Tournament if we earn a spot?

The top 5 individual score from the Trap Shoot Championship will fill the squad of 5.  The two alternates will be filled by individuals with the highest season average that are not included in the above who respond immediately with availability.  Up to the time of submittal of the squad names replacements will be filled by individual(s) with the highest season average who respond immediately with availability.  Ultimately it is the Head Coach's responsibility to select and invite the players. 

How do you choose the team for the National Championship?

The coaches will actively recruit the top 7 individuals by highest season average who register for the individual championship in Tier I registration to make up the team of 5 and 2 alternates.  The team squad will be submitted at the end of Tier I registration.  If we do not have 5 individuals registered at the end of Tier I registration the squad will be submitted as soon as we have 5 individuals registered in Tier II.   Your name has to appear on the team management system as being individually registered to have a team spot.  The coaches will evaluate our competitiveness as a team at the end of Tier II registration if a team squad is worth the expense to the program.  If registration goes into Tier III where a 2nd squad is possible, once 10 individuals are registered we will register a 2nd squad.  Ultimately it is the Head Coach's responsibility to select and invite the players. 

What equipment is required?

Students must have access to a pump, semi-automatic or break open action 12 gauge (preferred) or 20 gauge shotgun in good working order.  It is recommended students have their own eye and ear protection and their own shell pouch.  Further, we recommend a light and dark pair of eye protection and in-ear hearing protection as muffs on youth shooters consistently gets in the way of proper cheek weld on the shotgun and often leads to compromised shooting.  The coaches carry extra eye and ear protection and shell pouches to each event.  We actually recommend you make these purchases after your first practice with us as we will give cost effective examples of products that have worked well for many youth families. 

Why is a 12 gauge preferred?

We recommend 12 gauge for all but the smallest 6th and 7th graders.  We have found through many years of youth shooting students will progress to a 12 gauge within several weeks.  Initial success in clay target is paramount as in any sport and we don't want your student held back by their shotgun.  Many families have an aversion to spending several hundred dollars on a 20 gauge and spending several hundred dollar more on a 12 gauge in a few weeks or months later to keep their student progressing.  This aversion holds the student back so we suggest starting out where they will end up in most cases. 

But doesn't a 20 gauge kick less?

Yes and no, kick or recoil is a factor of the shells and weight of the shotgun.  20 gauge shotguns often weight less than 12 gauge shotguns and can quite often kick just as hard or harder than a 12 gauge.  We would rather work on proper gun mount, stance, body positioning and physical conditioning to control and take the kick of the shotgun rather than compromise the initial success which is paramount.  

Can you help us select a shotgun to purchase?

Yes, but there is a lot to this process, more than can be answered here.  Please contact us and we will put you in contact with a coach with many years of youth shooting experience. 

Our shotgun has changeable chokes. Do you suggest a certain one?

We recommend all youth shooters start trap with a modified choke.  Initial success is huge in clay target as in any sport, a chipped or target broken in half counts the same as a target crushed into dust.  Our program is taking competitive scores while the students are learning, a modified choke allows some wiggle room for pointing errors which is part of learning and best in a competitive environment.  With time we'll work with you to setup your shotgun to pattern the best for your shooting style. 

Is there a place to get more info?

Contact us! We are happy to answer all your questions the best we can. 

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