Waldorf Trap Shooting
By Austin Siegal
Waldorf will be expanding upon their 13 athletic teams with the addition of trapshooting and its new coach.
Trapshooting is one of the nation’s fastest growing sports, especially in the Midwest, and the team will begin competition in the Fall of 2021.
Waldorf Vice President of Enrollment Mike Heitkamp was the main person tasked with finding a head coach to get the program rolling. Tarron Glidden was hired for the position.
“Trapshooting is a true love of mine,” said Coach Glidden. “I am ready to get this program going and create a winning culture.”
Coach Glidden began her trapshooting career at New Hampton High School where during her four-year prep career surpassed 100 medals, as well as shooting several perfect scores.
After high school, she went on to attend Wartburg University in Waverly, Iowa. During that time, she was an assistant coach for her high school team.
Following her four years at Wartburg, she became an assistant trapshooting coach at Mason City High School up until now where she was named head coach for Waldorf University.
Trap shooting plays by an interesting set of rules. Each competition slightly varies on what the host of the event decides, but for the most part there are some standard rules.
Each team at a competition has five players on each side. Each player will shoot two rounds at the 16 yard line. Each player will shoot 25 rounds, five rounds at each of the five stations.
Where the meets may differ is the total score needed to win. Some meets require the best score out of 50 total points or the best score out of 100 total points. If the event ends in a tie, then a shoot off will determine the winner.
The Waldorf trapshooting team is planning to practice at the Ventura Gun Club in Ventura, Iowa, and will also be working with Florence Gun Club in Forest City.
Along with Waldorf’s team, there are 10 other collegiate trap shooting teams in the state of Iowa and even more in Minnesota. The team will compete in the Fall, as well as the Spring season.
Waldorf will be adding incentives to entice students to join this program. The university has committed to providing a $15,000 scholarship program for qualified students who wish to compete.
Students who end up joining the team will also become members of the Amateur Trapshooting Association’s Academics Integrity and Marksmanship Program. The program has a main goal of instilling the importance of academics, as well as good personal values in its student members.
“As a regular student from the Midwest here in Iowa, I think the addition of the team is great,” said Waldorf student Hunter Rushford, “and I am interested to see how the sport works and meet the new members of campus who are involved.”