The Crooked Road Clay team was established in the fall of 2024 by coaches Mark and Betsy Thompson. The journey began with a simple Facebook post in a local homeschool group that mentioned the USA Homeschool Clay Target League with the phrase “Someone should start one of these.” Inspired, Betsy began researching the necessary requirements and paperwork while gathering interested families in an ongoing comment thread that included email addresses and the number of kids interested. With a 6th-grade homeschool student of their own, whom they enjoyed teaching about firearm safety and fundamentals, Betsy proposed the exciting idea of starting a team to Mark. With a straightforward “Let’s do it,” the vision for the team began to materialize. Within a week, the team was officially formed and sanctioned by the USA Homeschool Clay Target League. Sign-ups were distributed, and within 48 hours, they had secured 11 founding squad members, four coaches, and a designated home shooting range. Their first practice took place two weeks later, and they have been working together ever since. Creating a new team with coaches who weren’t familiar with the USA Clay Target League on a fresh adventure requires a unique group of individuals willing to take a leap of faith. Mark and Betsy are incredibly grateful to Julie Becker and Carl White at Summit Springs Shooting Sports for sharing their expertise and range with the Crooked Road Clay Team. Their dedication to engaging youth in shooting sports and collaborating with Mark and Betsy has been instrumental in the team's success. Thank you, Carl and Julie.