Michael Wahl Becomes First Junior Delegate for the Connecticut Trapshooting Association
Written by Irwin Greenstein
Yes, Michael Wahl has his eyes on going to pre-med school, but in the meantime he’s notched a more recent accomplishment of being appointed the first Junior Delegate for the Connecticut Trapshooting Association.
At 16, Michael takes his high-school senior classes online while working 36 hours per week as a full-time intern at the local Vascular Experts, which bills itself as the largest group of Board-certified vascular surgeons in the country.
“I shadow the doctors and then follow them to the hospital to surgeries,” he said. At work, he performs triage for patients, taking their vitals and generally helps out in the office.
Michael’s typical schedule is school work from 7:00 to 10:00 AM, his job at Vascular Experts from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, comes home and does homework, and every Tuesday looks forward to shooting in the Tuesday night trap league at the New Haven Racoon Club.
He starting shooting trap in 2020, inspired by his parents who competed in Amateur Trapshooting Association shoots. Although he never took formal lessons, Michael was taught by his parents and other members of the New Haven Racoon Club.
“It was an open community and everybody wanted me to be successful at the sport,” he said.
“When I went to the Connecticut state shoot there were a lot of people my age and I saw them as a way to grow the sport,” he explained.
That experience got Michael thinking about expanding his involvement in trap shooting beyond participating in a squad – and ultimately led to him becoming the First Junior Delegate for the Connecticut Trapshooting Association
Michael got involved with the Eastern New England Zone of AIM (the official youth program of the Amateur Trapshooting Association of 21 and under). He became captain of the team, but health issues sidelined him for a while. He was back by March 2024, when he won the Junior Doubles Champion shoot.
“I’ve done mentoring with youth shooters at AIM,” he said.
Now, Michael considers himself a recreational shooter.
“I never took formal lessons,” Michael said. “Everybody was giving me advice, what worked for them. But as I got older, I became less competitive, but it was great to win. I realized I didn’t have to get down on myself for not shooting a perfect score. I became driven to make myself feel good about trap shooting.”
At first, Michael helped younger kids who didn’t feel like shooting in the group because they were younger. He had felt that way himself, so he helps them feel welcome. He became a Junior Delegate to make it more welcoming for women and kids to make them feel more welcome in the shooting community. On October, 7, 2024, he became the Connecticut Trap Shooters Association Delegate at Large.
“I was appointed a Junior Delegate because he talks to a lot of kids and the they wanted a youth voice on the board. They created a new position for me, because I had the drive to help people with their shooting.”
Through home schooling, he achieving a 4.0 grade point average and expects to graduate high school two years early.
As a recreational shooter, he’s interested in helping other people succeed.
“I like the leadership,” he said.
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