Levin shooter Charlie Thomas, 16, has competitions both days this weekend, leading up to the NZ Skeet Shooting Championship in Christchurch later in the month.
Levin shooter Charlie Thomas, 16, has competitions both days this weekend, leading up to the NZ Skeet Shooting Championship in Christchurch later in the month.
A young Levin shooter could be lining up alongside the big guns at a New Zealand tournament this month.
Charlie Thomas, 16, might have picked up the sport of skeet shooting competitively less than two years ago, but already he was close to breaking into the sport's highest grade.
Thomas had quickly risen schoolboy and age grade ranks to be ranked an A grade shooter, and was on the cusp of breaking into the elite AA grade, which was the sport's very top echelon.
Like a golf handicap, competitive shooting had a points system to determine ranking. Thomas was currently ranked an A class shooter at 94.7 per cent. AA class required a scoring average above 96.
While he shot rabbits with his father as a youngster, he only entertained the thought of shooting as a sport at the suggestion of an uncle, Tony Mokomoko.
Uncle Tony was a top shooter himself, and seeing the potential in his young nephew, he spent time teaching him the nuances of the sport and took him to his first competition.
Levin shooter Charlie Thomas.
Thomas was fortunate to have some expert tutelage from a number of experienced mentors in his short career.
Uncle Tony then called on former New Zealand representative Murray Cameron to see if he was interested in sharing his wisdom with his nephew too.
Cameron was only too willing, and had even modified a gun to suit Thomas' tall frame after he came home from one competition with a bleeding and bruised cheek.
He spent hours crafting and bending a matching pair of SKB guns to suit.
Thomas said it had made a huge difference. It had translated into a string of impressive results, including a first placing in the recent North Island under 18 skeet shooting competition.
Charlie Thomas.
He finished 25th in the open division at the same North Island tournament, qualifying for the New Zealand Championships in Christchurch later this month.
"The coaching has really helped, a lot. He will stand behind me and watch and explain if I miss what I have done wrong and tell me what I can do to improve myself," he said.
But attributing success entirely to coaching is too modest. Thomas was a natural talent with motivation to match.
This weekend he will contest a Lower Hutt competition on November 6, and a Hawke's Bay provincial competition on November 7.
Charlie Thomas with his shooting ribbons and trophies.
His goal was to continue to card results that would one day see him compete at the highest level.
Thomas said skeet shooting, like all shooting disciplines, was a sport that relied on concentration and mental discipline. Being relaxed helped, and he subscribed to the KISS approach - Keep It Simple.
