USA High School Clay Target League

The USA High School Clay Target League started with a simple idea: get kids shooting. What began in Minnesota in 2008 with three teams and 30 students has exploded into one of the fastest-growing high school activities in America.

• •How it works: Students join school-sponsored clay target teams and compete in trap and skeet throughout the season. It's structured competition—not a casual range day. Teams practice, compete in weekly matches, and the best advance to state and national championships.

Idaho is now part of a national network spanning multiple states. The 2024-2025 season saw 55,832 participants across 1,972 teams nationwide. That's real momentum.

• •Spring Season runs February through July, with:
• •Registration, practice weeks, and five competition weeks
• •State tournament qualifying
• •National Championship at Mason, MI (July 8-12)

• •Fall Season runs August through November with a similar structure.

The League expanded to include: - USA College Clay Target League (2021) — for colleges, universities, and technical schools - USA Homeschool Clay Target League — for homeschooled students who can't participate in traditional high school sports

"In 2014, the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League Championship became the largest shooting event in the world."

This isn't a short summer program. It's a full competitive season with coaching, teammates, structured scoring, and pathways to nationals. Students who might never have picked up a shotgun get trained by experienced instructors, shoot hundreds of rounds, and join a community that takes the sport seriously.

The growth tells the story: from 30 kids in 2008 to nearly 56,000 in 2025. Idaho shooters are part of something that's reshaping how young people discover shooting sports.