From left are Phillip Aten, Jesse Weinfurter, Kala MacDonald, Doug Griffith, and Brenda Aten. The 4-H Big Shooters instructors gained certification last month in a number of shooting sports disciplines. (Courtesy photo)

CHANNING — Five Sagola Township Sportsmen’s Club members attended 4-H shooting sports instructor training in Marshfield, Wis., gaining certification in several disciplines.

To work with the Big Shooters youth shooting team, instructors must be certified in the disciplines they oversee. The team competes in archery, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, trap shotgun, BB gun, air rifle and muzzleloading.

With an increase in membership in the youth club, additional instructors were needed. Five people answered the call to gain certification.

Phillip Aten, Jesse Weinfurter, and Doug Griffus achieved certification in all of the rifle disciplines. This means that each instructor can now work with the youth shooting team in BB gun, air rifle, and .22LR shooting.

Brenda Aten obtained certification for archery. She can now work with youth for target archery, 3D archery, and any of the 4-H’s shooting sports archery events. Kala MacDonald added all of the 4-H archery disciplines to her resume, which already included being a Michigan Hunters Education Instructor.

The Big Shooters youth club now has 10 instructors. The club meets the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Sagola Township Sportsmen’s Club.

Along with thanking the new instructors, the club recognized some of its many sponsors that make events, trainings, and competitions possible: Sagola Township Sportsmen’s Club, Eastern Dickinson County Sportsmen’s Club, Wildlife Unlimited of Dickinson County and Bullseye’s to Badguys pistol and tactics training.

For more information on the Big Shooters youth shooting team, please contact coach Anthony Erickson at 906-396-1119.