The Long Shot
By: Kelly Reisdorf, CEO, USA Shooting
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of colonists looked across the Atlantic, saw the most powerful empire on Earth and decided this relationship wasn’t working out. The Declaration of Independence may still hold the record as history’s most consequential breakup letter.
Unlike most breakups, however, this one required an army, a revolution and a willingness to bet everything on an idea that sounded almost ridiculous at the time: that ordinary people could govern themselves — it was a long shot!
As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this Independence Day, another milestone is worth recognizing. Shooting has been part of every modern Olympic Games since 1896. For 130 years, Olympic shooting has tested more than marksmanship. It has tested discipline, patience, accountability, focus and the ability to perform under pressure when every movement matters. Those are athletic virtues but also happen to be civic virtues.
The American experiment has always rested on a pretty demanding premise: that people are capable of governing themselves. Freedom is a wonderful thing, but it has never been free of responsibility. The Founders understood that. Every generation since has had to relearn it.
You can see that lesson every day in the shooting sports. Olympic and Paralympic shooting sit at the pinnacle of our sport. While our community may be small compared to football, basketball or baseball, we take enormous pride in serving as a model for what safe and responsible firearms culture looks like. At every level of competition, safety comes first. From a junior athlete attending their first match to an Olympian representing Team USA on the world stage, safety is taught, reinforced, expected and lived. It is woven into the culture of the sport itself.
Importantly, firearm safety doesn’t end when the time on the range or the competition course is over. It extends all the way to how we store firearms when we’re not using them. Storing firearms safely and securely protects you, your family and your community. It’s our responsibility and it’s something every one of our athletes commits to when they choose to represent their country in this activity. It’s a commitment all of us who call ourselves responsible gun owners should be willing to make.
Likewise, teaching our children firearm safety and properly securing firearms must go hand in hand. There may be a future Olympic shooter reading this right now. The first step on that road — a road capable of taking them all the way to the medal platform — involves learning how to treat firearms with respect.
Long shots rarely succeed because someone got lucky. They succeed because people prepare. They practice. They pay attention to details. They stay consistently committed long after the excitement wears off.
The same is true of Olympic and Paralympic success. Our athletes are proud to represent the best of the shooting sports industry because they understand they represent something much larger than themselves. Behind every Team USA competitor stands a community of clubs, coaches, volunteers, families, manufacturers, retailers and trade groups who invest countless hours and resources into teaching responsibility, building excellence and creating opportunity — opportunity for these activities today and for tomorrow.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Founders took a long shot on liberty. The remarkable thing is that a quarter millennium later, Americans are still proving it can work!
Team USA is on the road to LA28, and we’d love to have you along for the journey. You can follow us online at usashooting.org and on social media: @usashooting.