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Holliston Teen Has A Shot At Fame
By Michael Morton/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:00 PM
Last update Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:04 PM
HOLLISTON —
Like many suburban students, town resident Kim Coffey spent much of her high school life studying to get into college and playing a closely followed interscholastic sport.
But she definitely raised a few eyebrows among her friends' parents when she mentioned that soccer was not her only after-school activity.
"When you tell people's parents, 'Oh, I shoot,' they just look at you funny," said Coffey. "It's just a redneck thing in a lot of people's minds."
That "redneck thing" could land the recent graduate of Norfolk County Agricultural High School a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It has also allowed Coffey to travel around the country with the state's junior rifle team and to gain local recognition earlier this month for achieving a prestigious mark for young shooters.
Still, when Coffey first encountered riflery at a New Hampshire summer camp five years ago, she, too, was skeptical.
"I always associated it with hunting and violence," she said.
But after the camp director and her mother talked her into at least trying the sport, she picked up one of the old surplus military rifles and gave it a shot. She came home with a new-found love, shocking her mother since the family had no prior connections to riflery.
"She was just hooked," Janet Coffey said. "Absolutely hooked."
After a camp session the following summer, the budding markswoman joined the Holliston Sportsmen's Association and began shooting many Mondays at the club's indoor range, joining a male-dominated world.
Working through four different firing positions - prone, kneeling, sitting and standing - she passed the National Rifle Association's initial certification for young shooters and started on her Distinguished Expert Award, a mark not gained in Holliston since the early 1960s.
For two years, she shot at targets less than 2-inches wide from 50 feet away with a .22-caliber rifle, needing to record consistently high scores in each stance to advance.
"If you even slightly twitch, you're screwed," Coffey said.
After hours and hours of shooting, she finally met the NRA's standard this spring, waiting for her final target to be officially scored before celebrating. When it was finally over, she said she didn't know what to do with herself.
"It was a weird freedom," Coffey said.
While other junior shooters from Holliston have sought the NRA honor, many have failed.
"Most people give up," said Holliston coach Richard Girvin. "She just kept pushing. Not many people have the willpower to complete a task like this."
But Coffey also seems to have a natural affinity for the sport. A year ago, coach Rick Johnson Jr., of the state's junior rifle team, saw her shoot at a Holliston match and recruited her.
"She shot phenomenally given the equipment she had," he said, referring to her club's old rifles. During her time with the team, Coffey has traveled around the country and recently won the state championship for the prone position.
With high school behind her, Coffey is off to Framingham State College this fall. While the school doesn't have a riflery program, she hopes to continue shooting in Holliston if she can squeeze it in her schedule. Should she decide to devote the requisite practice time, Girvin said the London Olympics could be a possibility.
"It's within her reach," he said.
(Michael Morton can be reached at [email protected] or 508-626-4338.)
Check out the cute video.
Holliston Teen Has A Shot At Fame
By Michael Morton/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:00 PM
Last update Jun 29, 2008 @ 11:04 PM
HOLLISTON —
Like many suburban students, town resident Kim Coffey spent much of her high school life studying to get into college and playing a closely followed interscholastic sport.
But she definitely raised a few eyebrows among her friends' parents when she mentioned that soccer was not her only after-school activity.
"When you tell people's parents, 'Oh, I shoot,' they just look at you funny," said Coffey. "It's just a redneck thing in a lot of people's minds."
That "redneck thing" could land the recent graduate of Norfolk County Agricultural High School a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It has also allowed Coffey to travel around the country with the state's junior rifle team and to gain local recognition earlier this month for achieving a prestigious mark for young shooters.
Still, when Coffey first encountered riflery at a New Hampshire summer camp five years ago, she, too, was skeptical.
"I always associated it with hunting and violence," she said.
But after the camp director and her mother talked her into at least trying the sport, she picked up one of the old surplus military rifles and gave it a shot. She came home with a new-found love, shocking her mother since the family had no prior connections to riflery.
"She was just hooked," Janet Coffey said. "Absolutely hooked."
After a camp session the following summer, the budding markswoman joined the Holliston Sportsmen's Association and began shooting many Mondays at the club's indoor range, joining a male-dominated world.
Working through four different firing positions - prone, kneeling, sitting and standing - she passed the National Rifle Association's initial certification for young shooters and started on her Distinguished Expert Award, a mark not gained in Holliston since the early 1960s.
For two years, she shot at targets less than 2-inches wide from 50 feet away with a .22-caliber rifle, needing to record consistently high scores in each stance to advance.
"If you even slightly twitch, you're screwed," Coffey said.
After hours and hours of shooting, she finally met the NRA's standard this spring, waiting for her final target to be officially scored before celebrating. When it was finally over, she said she didn't know what to do with herself.
"It was a weird freedom," Coffey said.
While other junior shooters from Holliston have sought the NRA honor, many have failed.
"Most people give up," said Holliston coach Richard Girvin. "She just kept pushing. Not many people have the willpower to complete a task like this."
But Coffey also seems to have a natural affinity for the sport. A year ago, coach Rick Johnson Jr., of the state's junior rifle team, saw her shoot at a Holliston match and recruited her.
"She shot phenomenally given the equipment she had," he said, referring to her club's old rifles. During her time with the team, Coffey has traveled around the country and recently won the state championship for the prone position.
With high school behind her, Coffey is off to Framingham State College this fall. While the school doesn't have a riflery program, she hopes to continue shooting in Holliston if she can squeeze it in her schedule. Should she decide to devote the requisite practice time, Girvin said the London Olympics could be a possibility.
"It's within her reach," he said.
(Michael Morton can be reached at [email protected] or 508-626-4338.)
