Sarah Cooper: a Queensland all-rounder
- by senior correspondent Jennifer Martens
“She’s one of those kids who is good at everything she does,” said Lisa Cooper of her daughter, Sarah. The 14-year-old all-rounder is a black belt in karate, level five gymnast, gymnastics coach, water polo player and star student. Most recently, she has added National Champion rifle shooter to her list of accomplishments.
Her rise in the shooting ranks is particularly impressive since she only entered the sport a little more than eight months ago. Sarah’s father, Shane, is a keen shooter who just happened to one day ask if Sarah wanted to accompany him on a trip to the local shooting range. With ‘nothing better to do’, she agreed and took to the sport like a bullet to its target.
Like her father, she has chosen to specialise in Field Rifle and Metallic Silhouette shooting. For a bit of variety, she has started Pistol shooting as well. In a club made up of mostly middle-aged men, Sarah confesses that her practice sessions lack the social atmosphere and peer interaction that she enjoys in her other activities. However, the fun of shooting outweighs that.
If she has it her way, Sarah will lower the median age of the club; she’s introduced a few of her friends to the sport. Despite telling them how much fun it is to “beat the ‘old’ men who have been shooting for years”, none of them has yet caught the shooting bug like she has. Nonetheless, they are supportive of Sarah’s shooting. “They think it is pretty cool because it is different,” she said.
Sarah and her dad train between two and four times a week at the SSAA Oakey Range, which is just north-west of Toowoomba and about 20 minutes away from her home. When she started training there, Tom McGovern, the club’s junior shooting coach, saw she had talent and made a point of monitoring her performances. Within a short time, he noticed that she had both the mental toughness and skill needed to advance to the next level. She quickly accepted his offer to coach her.
Since forming their alliance, Sarah has more than surpassed Tom’s expectations. “She surprised me because she had only been shooting for such a short time,” he said. “Sarah is unique, in that, while some kids bring the gun up and commit to any shot, Sarah will bring the gun up and if the timing is not right, she will sit back, clear her mind and wait for the perfect shot.”
Tom provides Sarah with monthly training plans to follow independently. Once a month, the two meet and review her plan - focusing on what was effective and what needs to be done the next month. Sarah takes every opportunity she can to compete. She realises that the challenges of competition hold a lot of value for continuing improvement.
So far she is mostly mastering those challenges, but she has racked up four national titles this year alone. Her wins in the Open C Grade Rimfire, the Under 15 Rimfire and Centrefire Field Rifle and the 2-Gun Aggregate at the 2007 National Championships at Hervey Bay this April proved to be her biggest accomplishments yet. “I didn’t think I would win any of them because I hadn’t been shooting for even a year,” she said. “It gave me more confidence and helped prove to myself that I was better than I thought.”
Her domination at the Nationals garnered the attention of Dave Armstrong, owner of The Open Range gunshop in Toowoomba. Dave has offered Sarah an open-ended sponsorship that includes a cap, jacket and bag with the shop’s logo, as well as a Weatherby Vanguard .243 with a VXII 6-18 Leupold Scope, which she will use in her Centrefire Metallic Silhouette events. She will also be supplied with the ammunition she requires for her Rimfire and Field Rifle endeavours. Supporters can keep track of Sarah’s achievements, as well as the business’s other team shooters at www.theopenrange.com.au
With such a limited shooting background prior to these wins, Sarah hadn’t thought much about her goals in sport shooting. However, now that she and her coach have seen what she is capable of, she is taking a more serious look into the future. “I’d like to win another national title, win the State Championships for Queensland and get a national gold medal.” The latter requires her to score more than 380 in a single competition.
She and her dad have a plan to convert an old pool table into their own reloading bench within the next year or so. She’s hoping that their reloads will enable her to get the smaller groups necessary for that kind of score.
Consistency is one of the things Sarah works on every time she picks up a firearm. She understands that by shooting more often and controlling her emotions that her consistency will improve. “We are working on the psychological aspect of shooting,” said Tom. “She’s certainly got the skills, but too much emotion can cause her to throw a shot.”
When Sarah makes a good shot, she says, “I get excited and my heart starts pumping and then I start to shake.” Her coach is confident that once she begins to expect good performances, that kind of emotional response won’t be such a problem.
Sarah is fortunate to have a great deal of support from her family and members of the Oakey club. While her father is able to provide specific technical support, her mother, who prefers to watch Sarah shoot than take part in the sport herself, is there for moral, emotional and logistical support.
Sarah is quick to list Tom and family friend Ed Howarth as two of the people outside of her family who have encouraged her in her pursuit of shooting success. Both Tom and Ed have proven to be ready sources of knowledge, inspiration and assistance. She recalled a time at the range when she was without a magazine for her rifle - enter Ed to the rescue. “Ed fed my ammunition singly through my gun the whole night,” said Sarah. “I would have taken about 50 shots.” Sarah knows she wouldn’t be where she is this early on in her shooting career without people like Tom, Ed and her family.
Sarah credits some of her success in shooting to her experience with karate. As a member of the national karate team for the past two years, she represented Australia at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Canada where she placed fourth. “Karate teaches patience and discipline,” she said. “In shooting, it has helped me learn not to waste a shot, but to wait for the perfect moment.” Karate has recently taken a back seat to shooting, but she definitely wants to get back into the sport at some point.
With such a full plate, taking on any more might be a bit tough. “Sometimes it all does get difficult,” she admits. But most people who know her wouldn’t put anything past her.
Even though she is only in Year 10, Sarah is pretty sure about her plans for her future outside of shooting. “I’d like to go to Melbourne University and study to be a chiropractor,” she said.
In the meantime, she plans to take up a bit of hunting, continue working towards her goals and do what most other teenagers do - have fun.