Calvin Nodsle will be competing in the Spring Grand Trapshoot in Tucson, Ariz., this coming spring.
"I'll be going there and competing against a bunch of kids my age," Nodsle, 15, said. "I'm excited to do this."
Although any trap shooter can compete in the Spring Grand, only a select few get chosen to be on the 2010 MTA (Minnesota Trapshooting Association) Men's First Team. Nodsle is one of them.
This isn't surprising though, considering that he started shooting when he was 9 and has since found enormous success in the sport.
Nodsle has won tournaments in Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Grand Forks, Bismarck, and more significantly, the Grand American in Sparta, Ill.
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"It's the largest trap shoot in the world," said Perry Nodsle, Calvin's dad.
In the Minnesota State Handicap Championship Shoot, Calvin shot 99 out of 100 traps. This made him the winner of the entire competition, which hosted, according to the senior Nodsle, between 400 and 500 participants.
While some might take a break after such success, or quit entirely, Calvin has much to look forward to in the coming months in the trapshooting world.
Besides a variety of shoots in Detroit Lakes and beyond, Nodsle will notably be graduating, on the Minnesota team, from Sub-Junior to Junior status next season. Shooters graduate when they turn 15, which means that Nodsle will be up against tougher competition than he has faced in the past. Considering he recently beat hundreds of competitors of all ages at the Minnesota Shoot, though, this should not be a problem.
Despite an already-long career in the sport, Nodsle continues to have a genuine interest in trapshooting and does it out of sheer enjoyment. After all, he has little left to prove.
"It's really fun," he said. "You get to meet a lot of new people."
Area students Jona Friesen and Kyle Hanson were also successful in area competitions and will be competing in the Spring Grand Trapshoot in Tucson.
