Trapshooting has arrived at Galway High School after it was first pitched to the school board more than a year ago.

The program was spearheaded by Heather Tillson, a Galway alumna and former D1 riflery athlete.

“First step was to pass the school board, which took a little while, but we did it,” she said. “As soon as we were ready to go, COVID hit, unfortunately.”

Almost a year later, the team is practicing every Thursday at the Galway Fish and Game Club.

If you’re not familiar with it, trapshooting is a form of clay target shooting with shotguns.

“Our family, we do a lot of hunting. We’ve done some shooting at my grandparents,” said Evan Perkins, a sophomore trapshooter.

Perkins joined the team, along with his brother and more than 40 other students.

“You do not have to be strong, you do not have to be of any physical build,” said Tillson. “It’s wheelchair accessible. Girls and guys can shoot just as good as each other or just as bad as each other, so it’s definitely all-inclusive.”

Stacey Windsor, for example, is an eighth-grader who comes with only a little bit of target shooting experience.

“I thought it’d be kind of fun,” he said. “I’m not really into hunting, but I do like target shooting. And it is a fun experience.”

Tillson is not at this alone.

“We’ve got a whole array of people who’ve been shooting long before I was born,” she said. “Teachers of hunter education for decades, and also some certified trapshooting instructors.”

And they’re all volunteers, including Ron Surdyka, who has been an instructor in some form and dashing shooter for more than 40 years.

“There are a lot of little tricks to shooting,” he said. “A good way to teach is just to let them do something, give them information, and then a little more information.”

And Tillson says that’s what it’s all about.

“I’ve learned a lot,” she said. “I’ve traveled the country with this sport and I’ve made lifelong friends and skills that never leave you. And I want to offer that to kids here.”