There was recently a ROTC shooting competition in Madison county. junior Hailey Hahn took third place in the competition.

Hahn was happy with getting third place, but still wants to improve for future competitions.

“I was happy about about getting third place,” Hahn said. “I wish I could have done even better.”

Improving for the competitions is a full-time job for Hahn, practicing both after school and on her own time. The competitions consist of three position; lying down which is prone, standing up which is offhand and kneeling.

“We have team practices which are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays after school until 6:30 p.m,” Hahn said. “Besides that I have a balance board which I use to practice offhand and I practice the kneeling position on my own time as well.”

Hahn did not initially expect to join the program, but after she did being able to work together with her team and to give and receive motivation to improve is what kept her there.

“When I first started shooting it was just random,” Hahn said, “I did not expect to make the team.”

When she was first joined the program it was a volunteer coach in the marksmanship program that helped and supported the team by taking them to their competitions and in general just trying to help them out.

“When I first started marksmanship I was in Washington state,” Hahn said. “My coach there was my mentor and a person who made me better and to want to progress.”

Whether it be in Washington or Alabama, Hahn has had very good experiences with the people in both marksmanship and ROTC as supportive and helpful people.

“In all three years that I have been in ROTC and marksmanship and in all three schools that I have been to they have been an immense help,” Hahn said. “They have been very encouraging of what I do and in helping me to progress.”

Hahn plans to go distinguished in shooting, which is a goal she is close to achieving already. She also wants to continue shooting throughout college. In order to achieve her goals she keeps an open mind and always tries new things to improve.
“I try to learn from my teammates, from the competitions I go to and talk to the other coaches to see what I can do better,” Hahn said. “I try to do something different every time I shoot.”