By Satyne Doner, Arts and Culture Editor
“One of our main goals is actually to send a Saint Leo student to the Olympics,” says Scott Schludt, assistant coach of the Saint Leo sporting clays team. As a recent business graduate from Saint Leo University, Schludt received the prestigious award of Outstanding Representation of the Benedict of Excellence 2021-2022.
While the Olympics is certainly a daunting goal, Schludt is confident that his sporting clays team will make it happen.
“We have a lot of potentials that needs to be out there,” says Schludt, and he might be onto something. On Oct. 6, the team left for the 2022 ACUI & SCTP International National Championship in Ohio and came home victorious. Schludt took 1st place in the men’s division, and fellow teammate Abbey Wigh took 2nd in the women’s division. Abbey is currently on the USA team, and with Olympic trials being this year, they have big goals in their sights.
According to the National Sporting Clays Association, sporting clays is often referred to as “golf with a shotgun.” Clay targets are thrown into the air, and the shooter must shoot them down. Sporting clays is played usually in a group of two to six people, with shooting stations laid out on a course outside (usually on a large plot of land). The objective is to accurately shoot the most clays!
The sport has become a staple in Florida, with different groups like Tampa Bay Sporting Clays and FishHawk Sporting Clays becoming extremely popular in the Tampa area alone. Being the serious competitor that he is, Scott Schludt wanted to expand the sport to the Saint Leo community in the form of a team.
However, the team is still relatively in its infancy and is always looking for new members. While the team was founded in 2019 by Schludt, it was not until November 2021 that the team really started to kick off. For Schludt, starting the Sporting Clays team was always more than just a hobby.
“It was just one of those things that just happened, and I just took off with it,” says Schludt. “Now it’s kind of like my ‘kid’. The way I look at it, I have a responsibility for the people on the team. If they fail, I fail.”
The team is funded by the Division of Student Affairs, and for members, mostly everything is free. The only thing that students can expect to pay for themselves is the gun and little items like glasses- but vests, practices, food, travel, and tournament fees are all paid for. When searching for the right equipment, Schludt and head coach Mike D’Ambrosio will guide students every step of the way.
Speaking of Mike D’Ambrosio, any student interested in joining the Sporting Clays Team is encouraged to stop by the Student Activities Building on campus. As the Director of University Safety, his office is located directly inside, and he is always open to chat.
As of right now, the team’s home range is located off-campus at the Tampa Bay Sporting Clays in Land O’ Lakes, FL. They are working towards holding practices three days a week, with Fridays being the most important for meeting up with coaches and practicing.
One thing that Scott Schludt could not stress enough is the opportunities that sporting clay has brought into his life. He has met new friends from all over the United States, senators, and governors, just to name a few.
“There is ample opportunity for anybody that joins,” he says. “You meet a lot of different people.”
To conclude, the Saint Leo sporting clays team has proved themselves to be quite the trailblazers within the sport. They are setting their sights high on the Olympics and continue to compete year-round across the United States with a slew of talented shooters. The team is still new and growing but has an incredible wealth of untapped potential. For any additional inquiries, students can message Scott Schludt through his email: scott.schludt@saintleo.edu.
