TargetTalk

Hey TargetTalk!

I was just wondering who would be considered the best NCAA coaches, not based on how good their team is, but their coaching ability and ability to help shooters succeed. Say you have a shooter consistently shooting 590s air, which coaches would best be able to help them take their shooting to the next level?

This is not really a simple 1,2,3 answer.

There are MANY factors ... not only on the coaching side.
As much or MORE depends on the attitude and work ethic a shooter brings into the program for a coach to work with, as well as how well they will integrate into a collegiate team ... personality, academic preformance, rifle skills level, etc.

There are shooters that don't fit in with some coaches/teams that blossom under others. I don't think there is any coach that can work & improve all the shooters they work with.

I suggest (as a parent/coach of a current collegiate shooter) that you:
1) Make sure that first and foremost your shooter is registered and compliant with the NCAA Eligibility Center
2) Have the shooter make up a "shooting resume" and use the contact/new recruit info page on the NCAA teams websites
3) GO TO NATIONAL MATCHES where these coaches tend to hang out watching shooters, have the shooter introduce themselves. Coaches may not (by NCAA rules) be able to do much more than acknowledge the shooter. (depends on age & level in HS). Think Winter Airgun for the next major match.
When you hit these matches yourself, talk to the coaches ... not about your shooter (sure introduce yourself), but other topics ... such as their shooters. Ask them what they like in their shooters.
4) If shooting in one of these major matches, ESPECIALLY AT THE OTC, have your shooter stay in the dorms to meet and socialize with shooters on the particular teams they are interested in. When the shooters go on "Official Visits" in their senior year, the interaction with the current team members counts a whole lot in the recruiting decision.

All the collegiate coaches have good points and after some study you can find some weak points as well ... or maybe ask them about those. I know most of them in one sort or another ... I volunteer at those major matches ... and I feel comfortable talking to and respect all of them.
My view has always been (because I have a shooter that I believe will listen to any coach to dig out any little bit of info) any coach is going to be able to impart something ... if the shooter will listen .... some shooters will not and if you are a parent coaching you must take special care to impart that idea into your shooter.

I agree with everything JH wrote.

Fit with the team is the number one thing i think.. Teams have different goals and even from the outside looking in different personalities. Shooter personslity could mesh or clash.

Shooters realistic goals matter.

Best advice i got from a college coach was 'shes too good for me to recruit but make sure her grades snd test scores are as good as posible.. There are a lot more scholarships for academics than rifle'

Best technical coach? I would narrow that down to 6. After that im sure they have pros snd cons

Id love to read your list of six.

Thanks for all of your responses. I very much agree with the parts about team chemistry and coachability of shooters. Redschietti, I would also love to see your list of the top 6 coaches. Or anyone else's lists as well. I am just trying to get a general idea of which coaches are commonly considered the best. Thanks!

Id talk coaches snd teams over a cup of coffee

There are a lot of good shooting coaches in American colleges, but unless you are already one of the top half dozen junior shooters that should be a minor consideration for you. You will not be shooting for a living after college. The first consideration is your education. It is what you are really going to college for.

Find a college that teaches at a high level what you want to study and then worry about rifle. If you want to study STEM the service academies are outstanding as is Ohio State and NC State.

Since you seem to need names though, these are people I have known for decades and I would not hesitate to send my child to shoot under:

USAFA Mike Anti and Launi Meili
USCGA Rich Hawkins
USMA Web Wright
NC State Keith Miller
TCU Karen Monez (women only) this is not a coed team

Having just completed a very successful NCAA competitive career this last May, I agree with many of the above comments regarding what makes a particular shooter's collegiate career successful. However to answer your question directly, here are what I would consider to be some of the top coaches based on my personal experience, and my reasoning for each.

1) US Air Force Academy - Launi Meili/Mike Anti. If you go to this school, you receive coaching from two coaches who had extremely successful careers as competitive shooters for the U.S., both having won Olympic medals in their disciplines. In terms of technical understanding, I don't think you're going to do much better. However, choosing to go to this school requires an uncommon degree of commitment to your career and whatever the military wants you to do, so if you have any interest in competing after you graduate or really taking yourself as far in the sport as you can possibly go, this wouldn't be a good option despite the excellent coaching that would be available to you there.

2) West Virginia University - Jon Hammond. Jon is a really nice guy and has been a member of the Great Britain shooting team for many years and is also an Olympian. Not to mention he also seems to have a good idea of how to coach pretty well considering the competition record of WVU during his time there. One could say some of this has a lot to do with his excellent recruiting skills and having a good team atmosphere, but he certainly has the technical knowledge to go along with that.

3) University of Alaska Fairbanks - Dan Jordan. Dan was a top collegiate athlete when he shot for UAF as a student, then after a rock climbing accident got back into shooting and won a silver medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. He was my coach for 4 years and I think he has excellent technical knowledge and is very enthusiastic about working with shooters who are motivated and driven. Having Dan as my coach was a big reason I decided to attend UAF when I had to choose a school.

4) Ohio State - Ryan Tanoue. Ryan was a member of the U.S. national team for some time, and in his few years as coach at Ohio State their team has seen steady improvement each year. Ryan is extremely approachable and very knowledgeable about the sport and I would certainly consider him one of the best coaches in terms of NCAA shooting.

5) Texas Christian University - Karen Monez. I have not worked with her directly so cannot give too many details, but she has coached some very successful teams down there at TCU and has coached many individual shooters who have experienced a lot of success in the sport. Be aware that TCU rifle is not co-ed, it is women's only.

Those are the first coaches that come to my mind if you're looking for best technical knowledge. Each coach will have their strengths and weaknesses, as will each school, as will each team. It is important to evaluate all of these aspects when determining where you want to go and figuring out which one will be most aligned with achieving your personal goals.

Ryan

I would also note that TCU has an excellent assistant coach in Emmy Caruso, one of a few women to ever have shot a 400X400 in Air and a two time Olympian.