Peninsula Junior Competes in Sharp-Shooting
Junior Ema Straser has been competing in sharp-shooting since eighth grade and is a member and teen leader of a club shooting team on campus called Palos Verdes Peninsula-4H (PVP-4H). Sharp-shooting is a sport that trains participants to shoot various guns with precision for hunting, competitive shooting and military purposes. PVP-4H recruits shooters who are above the age of 13 and have completed the California hunter-safety course. The team requires its members to have shooting precision, body form and breathing techniques, which are helpful at competitions.
Straser currently trains at the Southern California Indoor Target Range (SCITR) in Torrance. One technique she learned during her training is the shooting position called sitting, which requires a shooter to support both arms on the inside of each leg. She has also been taught proper breathing techniques to remain calm while aiming. Straser’s brother inspired her to take sharp-shooting classes with him at the SCITR, where she found her passion for the sport. Though Straser has been discouraged on multiple occasions for being a girl and not having as high of a skill level as the boys in her club, she did not let those who doubted her prevent her from succeeding, and she worked even harder to prove them wrong.
“One reason I began shooting because I wanted to prove that a girl could shoot just as well as a boy,” Straser said. “I ended up being naturally precise and started winning trophies.”
Straser won the 2016-17 and 2017-18 first-place titles for Position Rifle shooting at 4H sharp-shooting competitions with teams across California. During these competitions, shooters are assigned specific targets and allowed five rounds per target. The targets are then shown to the judges to determine a winner based on how close to the center of the target each shot is.
Junior Asa Yeck is a competitive sharp-shooter who is also on PVP-4H. Over the years, Yeck has become closer with Straser, which has allowed him to witness and learn from her techniques.
“I always see Ema taking her time to align the perfect shot on the target and hitting it with deadly precision,” Yeck said. “ She always seems to be improving and does not mind giving others corrections.”
According to Straser, sharp-shooting is perceived as an uncommon sport at Peninsula, so Straser has found very few friends who show interest in the sport. Junior Hayden State is one of the students at Peninsula who is knowledgeable in sharp-shooting. He has heard about Straser’s skills and hopes to learn more about the sport.
“I found Ema’s sharp-shooting hobby very cool because not a lot of girls I know shoot guns, so she is very unique,” State said.
As the current teen leader of the PVP-4H team, Straser is inspired to continue her love for shooting by motivating other girls to defy the stereotypical roles and join the range.
“I want to encourage other girls to try shooting to prove that we can shoot just as well as guys and defy the unorthodox stereotype that girls cannot shoot guns,” Straser said.
