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SPRING 2025 PULLUSAMAGAZINE.COM 21 "I've never had thoughts of jumping ship and shooting trap, but I'll tell you what—the skeet crowd right now on the international circuit, there are some tough competitors," he says. " We have some of the toughest competition in the country. I just happen to shoot that game, too. It's fun to see, but it's hard to win." Christian later advanced to the National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA), earn- ing several achievements, including Sub JR. 4- Gun High Average Leader in just his second year. It was in 2013 when he decided to make the jump to international skeet shooting. C h r i s t i a n 's f a t h e r, w h o a l s o s h o t c l a y target sports when he was young, played an important role in encouraging him to pursue the sport on that level. Christian remembers watching YouTube videos with his dad of old International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) com- petitions and the 2008 Beijing Olympic g a m e s , w h e r e V i n c e n t H a n c o c k t o o k home the gold medal for the United States in skeet. This planted the seed, he says, for his future goals. A f t e r j o i n i n g U S A S h o o t i n g , C h r i s - tian earned several spots on the Junior National Team and was part of the team t h a t w o n Te a m G o l d a t t h e 2 0 1 5 I S S F J u n i o r Wo r l d C u p i n S u h l , G e r m a n y. Being a member of those Junior National junior varsity STAFF SERGEANT ELLIOT T WON THE GOLD MEDAL IN MEN'S SKEET IN 2019 AT THE PAN AMERICAN GAMES IN LIMA , PERU. (PAN AMERICAN GAMES COURTESY PHOTO) Coaching is huge. It's easy to create bad habits through just bulk shooting, you can cut down on your trajectory. You can take a shortcut there, essentially, by getting with a good coach. I would source a good coach and then focus on the fundamentals, make sure that's right. Then I would pursue every competition that's around you. If you don't go to competitions and acquire exposure, you're going to lack experience, and experience will help you get through competitions later in your career. 2018 » USA Shooting National Champion, Colorado Springs, Colorado » U.S. Army Airborne School » U.S. Army Basic Leadership Course with Commandant Honors » Qualified MQS in Guadalajara, Mexico 2017 » USA Shooting Spring Selection Silver Medalist » ISSF World Championship Team member » ISSF Junior World Cup, Porpetto, Italy Silver Medal » USA Shooting Summer Selection 4th Open division » USA Shooting Summer Selection Junior Champion » USA Shooting National Championships, Junior Champion » USA Shooting Spring Selection Ft. Benning, GA, Silver Medalist » Dallas Open Fort Worth, TX, Gold Medalist 2015 » Team Gold at ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany » 5th place individual ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany 2014 » Team Bronze at ISSF Junior World cup in Suhl, Germany » Team Silver at ISSF Junior World Cup in Granada, Spain We have some of the toughest competition in the country. I just happen to shoot that game, too. It's fun to see, but it's hard to win."