Qualified coaches are a critical component in expansion of youth shooting sports, and for three consecutive years, the MidwayUSA Foundation has provided cash grants to help train more youth shooting sports coaches. The 52 cash grants awarded by the organization in 2023 came to a total payout of $250,000.
The funding will assist regional and state youth shooting agencies in training roughly 1,625 coaches. They, in turn, will share that knowledge and skill as they teaching the sport to nearly 30,000 youth shooting athletes. The MidwayUSA Foundation’s Coach Training Grant Program, and other efforts, are aimed directly at increasing participation in youth shooting sports.
“The Foundation’s Coach Training Grant Program has been instrumental in allowing us to train and certify more coaches for our shooting teams,” said Brian Beard, president of USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports. “Coaches and volunteers in our programs have also been very grateful for the grants. The more trained coaches we have, the faster youth shooting sports will grow. We are excited to be a part of it and can’t thank the Foundation enough!” A complete list of Coach Training grant recipients in 2023 is found on this web page [PDF].
In addition to nearly 2,800 youth shooting team endowments, MidwayUSA Foundation also funds about 80 state and national youth shooting sports organizations through Agency and Donor Designated endowments. These organizations, including SCTP, SASP, ATA, ACUI, NCSSAA, and more, are eligible for the Coach Training Grant Program. Youth shooting teams interested in certifying more coaches should contact their state, regional or national organization. You can find a list of these organizations on the Foundation’s Partner Community Page.
Coach Training Grants are awarded annually. The grant cycle begins Feb. 1 and concludes on March 1. Full details on the program are available online.
