Shooters
GET ON THE PATHWAY
British Shooting’s Christian Schofield tells Rhys Plum how the Talent Pathway could help you rise to the top of the game
Rhys Plum is a 17-year-old English Sporting junior shooter from Hertfordshire. You can find him on Instagram @cartridges_ bullets_hooks
C hristian Schofield sums up his role, and his passion, in simple terms: “It’s about helping people to advance and enjoy themselves through the shooting sports.” As British Shooting’s Talent Pathway Coordinator, that’s exactly what he does, by working with athletes and matching them with British Shooting coaches. Christian began coaching in the Army, as captain of the Army Shotgun Team, and his motivation to inspire the next generation of shooters stayed with him after he left the Army.
Christian explains that the Pathway was formed in 2014 to provide athletes across all shooting disciplines the chance to develop over the long-term. “At this time we already had a World Class Programme for shooters who competed and won medals on the world stage, and the Podium Potential Programme for people who have consistently finished very high up in competitions and are soon to go on and achieve at a higher level. What we were missing was a layer of athletes underneath this level – and what has now come together is the British Shooting Talent Academy Programme.”
The Talent Academy offers a greater level of support for those aspiring to reach the Olympics. It focuses on young people who are going to shoot for GB as a junior athlete. “When we set out to find people to put onto the programme, one of the shooters that came along was Georgina Roberts, who also writes in this magazine,” Christian says.
“It was clear that Georgie and many other shooters like her had a great deal of raw talent. We continued to watch over them for a while, looking not just at their skill but also their psychological behaviour – their approach to coaching,setbacks, or how invested they were with their background supporters. What we’re looking for is people who are curious and demonstrate a willingness to want to learn and develop.”