DONIPHAN -- There's a new cool sport in junior and senior high schools in Nebraska, and it doesn't involve a $200 pair of Nike basketball shoes.
Browning, Remington and Winchester are the brand names on the equipment of choice for most trapshooters, who wear everything from flip flops to cowboy boots.
More students are competing in trapshooting than ever before, said Terry Brentzel, director of the 43rd Cornhusker Trapshoot at the home grounds of the Nebraska Trapshooting Association in Doniphan.
A record 2,073 shooters registered for this year's event, which began Thursday with junior high competition. Senior high students competed Friday. Finals and the naming of the overall individual winner, who will receive the Cornhusker Cup, are Saturday.
Just 12 years ago, 650 kids competed in trapshooting, which draws from small towns such as Litchfield and cities such as Lincoln.
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"It's a sport similar to golf. They go out and try to beat the top shooter. It's very competitive," said Mike Abbott of Ashland, who coaches a team from the Ashland-Gretna area.
Ashland eighth-grader Willie Beard broke 96 of 100 clay targets and won a fourth-place medal in junior high competition Thursday.
Brentzel said they've never had an accident at the Nebraska meet, considered one of the largest in the nation.
Natalie Keaschall of Lincoln said her son, Ben, a member of the Pius X High School team, began trapshooting in sixth grade. She agrees it's a safe sport.
"He's been trained. He's taken hunter's education. His dad's a hunter. It's a passion of his," said Keaschall, whose husband, Craig, is an assistant coach of the Pius X team.
"It's fun. You get to be outdoors, and it's a good stress reliever," said Pius X senior Shelby Condello.
Her father, Bruce, a Lincoln dentist, recalled the day Shelby brought up competing in the sport.
"I want to be on the trap team," she said. "I need a gun."
Her father, an avid hunter and fisherman, replied: "A gun is a liquid asset. I will go to the store with you tonight. It's not like buying an oboe."
He said his daughter plans to use her trapshooting skills later in life to hunt pheasants and turkey. If she doesn't, he can always sell the $600 gun.
"This is her first year, and she loves it," he said. "Funny thing, it has become cool to be on a trap team."
Dick Mavis, head coach of the Lincoln Southwest High School team, brought 70 students to the state championship this year. Last year, he had 54 shooters compete.
"It doesn't make any difference what size you are. You can be little or tall," Mavis said.
Good reflexes and sharp vision help make a good trapshooter. Athletic conditioning also is a must because shooters have to lift a roughly 7-pound gun to their shoulder at least 100 times during the meet.
Good hand-eye coordination also helps -- something most youngsters pick up from playing video games.
"A lot of these kids can outshoot the adults," Brentzel said. "They are just quick."
Case in point: Southwest sophomore J.P. Deeds, who hit 99 out of 100 clay targets Friday.
"He hit the target. Moved it. Smoked it. But no visible piece came off," said Mavis, noting that otherwise Deeds would have had a perfect score.
Depending on the level of competition, trapshooting can be expensive.
Mavis said a member on his team spends $500 to $800 on fees and shells during the season, and that doesn't include the cost of a 12-gauge shotgun.
"Usually, they either get one that Dad had or they buy it," he said.
Shotguns range in price from $250 to $10,000, Mavis said, adding that some competitors may have $20,000 firearms.
"Comparing a field gun to a trap gun is like trying to play basketball in cowboy boots," he said. "It could be done, but it makes it a lot easier with a trap gun."
