A combined 55 years of dedication to air rifle program

Volunteers are the heart of American Legion youth programs with their time, leadership and dedication to the youth they serve. Two volunteers of The American Legion Junior 3-Position Air Rifle National Championship who have been integral to the program’s success and the positive experiences youth have for a combined 55 years – Loren “Bud” Sperry and Ida Jewell – are stepping away from the national program but continuing their love for the program within their posts and departments.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” said Sperry, a member of American Legion Post 181 in Lake Stevens, Wash., about leaving the national program after 28 years serving as match director. “This program has been very important to me.”

Sperry and Jewell, the chief range officer, said their farewell during this year’s air rifle championships July 18-20 in Hillsdale, Mich.

The youth competitors are a main reason Sperry has returned to the program year after a year, and it’s a reason that he instills upon other volunteers.

“It is about the kids. The whole program is about the kids,” he said. “They are getting a chance to learn not only the competition end of it, but they’re getting the chance to learn how to teach themselves positions that they have to have to shoot at this level. We make sure they get everything they need to have a good program, and I always say that we do tend to spoil the kids here because we have fun with them, we treat them as an individual shooter. Kids in other competitions are treated like a number because they are so big; there are 300 shooters. Here we have 30 shooters, and each kid is treated exactly the same. Every shooter has the same opportunity as the one next to them, and they rely upon their own training.”

Jewell, a member of Post 122 in Bath, Ind., has continued to come back for the past 27 years because “I love the program. I love the kids. And I love these people,” she said. “The athletes that I see in shooting have got to be the most caring, kind kids that I’ve ever dealt with. Shooting teaches them to be so honest. And I think that makes such a big difference with the kids. And they get to meet new friends and they get to meet us. And when other kids hear about the experience they’ve had, it makes our program grow.”

Both Sperry and Jewell have seen a lot of changes with the national tournament over the years, especially with advancement in technology. Volunteers used to hand score paper targets, which would take hours. Now they are electronic, which makes the role of match director for Sperry easier and allows him more time to “be there with the kids to make sure everyone is following the rules, and everybody has the same level of playing field.” In his role Sperry also helps the marksmen with the mental side of air rifle. “A lot of these kids will get into their own head. They will try to outthink themselves. We stress here that they keep the process and shoot the way you learned how to shoot. Keep that position going.”

Jewell also recalls the days of paper targets and has a fond memory from it.

“At the end of the day targets were spread out on the floor for the kids to look at and they could challenge any shot,” she said. “This always tears me up. One year one kid said, ‘I challenge that shot. That’s not a 10. That’s a 9.’ It just really got me. That as much as anything else has kept me here. The program instills patience and honesty.”

Concentration and respect are two other life qualities learned for the sport of shooting, Sperry said, adding that “sometimes for kids nowadays you don’t know where they come from, you don’t know how their raised and if we can give them that little bit to change their life ... we did something.”

Sperry and Jewell will be missed next year and the years to come at the Legion’s Junior 3-Position Air Rifle National Championships, yet the impact they’ve had on youth air rifle athletes for the past 28 years will continue. “It’s good to look back and see what these kids have accomplished, something that you started or that you helped,” Sperry said as many of the Legion’s air rifle champions and competitors who have gone to place in the Olympics. “It’s fun to watch them see what they can become and what they have become.”

Many hugs and tears were shared over the past week while Sperry and Jewell were in Hillsdale for their final American Legion air rifle championship. As they too will miss the program, the athletes, the camaraderie, the family.

“The people. And the kids,” Jewell said tearfully of what she will miss. “I’m going to miss this program terribly.”

Sperry reiterated those sentiments as for him, the program has always been about one thing.

“The kids,” he said. “I’ve always said that I want the kids to be what they can be. They’re the ones that have to do it; I can’t do it for them. We can’t do it for them. We can give them a place to be able to shine and that’s what this program is about.”