Two Scout leaders from Kent passed their final assessments to qualify as BASC Shotgun Coaches at The Game Fair last weekend, with a further leader achieving the same accolade at the National Shooting Show in May this year.
Richard Ruddick and Henson Appleby of Gravesham District Scouts were beaming. After a nervy few hours of intense scrutiny from each of their assessors, both had just been informed that they’d passed their final assessment and were now officially allowed to call themself a BASC Shotgun Coach. It’s a straightforward title, but it carries a lot of weight in the shooting sector.
Back in May, Stuart Hufton, also a Scout leader from Derbyshire, qualified as a BASC Shotgun Coach at The National Shooting Show in Harrogate. The Scouts are on a roll.
These newly accredited coaches are part of a raft of Scout leaders achieving qualifications as BASC shotgun coaches, airgun instructors and safety officers thanks to financial support from the association’s Legacy Fund.
In September 2022, BASC’s head of training and education, Peter Marshall, secured £26,000 from the fund, with a vision of enabling Scout leaders to enhance the opportunities available for young people to get into shooting.
The initiative came off the back of BASC’s ongoing association with the Scout and Guide movement, whereby BASC shotgun coaches have attended Jamborees across the country, encouraging thousands of attendees to try their hand at shooting.
“It’s about creating opportunity,” said Peter. “BASC’s Legacy Fund is underpinned by the generosity of those who leave a gift to BASC in their will, with the intention that we then use that to support projects which, among other things, make shooting accessible for those who might not otherwise have the chance to get involved.”
The scheme works by subsidising the full cost of a BASC course to make it possible for Scout leaders to go through the training. For instance to attend the main three day shotgun coaching course normally costs £750, but thanks to the additional funding, BASC has been able to charge Scout leaders £150 for the same training.
Back to The Game Fair, and Richard and Henson have received their official BASC Shotgun Coach caps – a proud moment for any BASC-accredited coach – and they are still smiling.
“I just can’t believe it,” said Henson. Having started their training early this year, he was astounded at how much they learned, saying, “We came away from the first day, and we were like ‘wow’. We then went on the residential training days and they were just immense.
“We’ve had practice sessions with Tom every weekend pretty much since then, and he’s been great. It’s been hard work, but if we’ve had any questions then Tom has been there to answer them. It’s just been awesome.”
The Tom mentioned by Henson is Tom Friar, who was responsible for mentoring both Richard and Henson in qualifying as a BASC coach. BASC’s coaching mentors are an essential and highly valued part of the accreditation process.
A former BASC Shotgun Coach of the Year, Tom is hugely experienced and the ideal person to guide any new coaching recruit. “It’s not an easy thing to do, becoming a BASC Shotgun Coach.” he said. “We deliberately set out to achieve a high standard to ensure that the lessons they then provide to others are of the highest quality. Both Richard and Henson have done brilliantly; they’ve been so enthusiastic and yet stayed grounded in their approach to learning. I commend them both for passing today.”
In qualifying as BASC shotgun coaches, Richard and Henson have become part of an elite band of individuals who travel the length and breadth of the country to BASC-run events – or those like The Game Fair where there is a hefty BASC presence – to provide shooting lessons to all comers. Like many of the Scouts Richard and Henson come into contact with, most of these people will never have picked up a gun before. However, more experienced shots will also book sessions to work on technical aspects to improve their shooting, too.
“Having only met three of the coaches before The Game Fair, coming in on Friday morning we were greeted by everyone.” said Richard. “It’s great to feel part of the team and feel so included. They’ve just been lovely.”
Like Richard and Henson, Stuart Hufton, an Explorer Scout leader from Derby, has himself shot for many years. For him, the chance to train to be a BASC Shotgun Coach was just “too good an opportunity to turn down.”
“Having the support of BASC to become an accredited coach helps me enormously in obtaining permission to take groups of Explorer Scouts to local shooting grounds.” said Stuart.
“The course itself was really informative and I learned a huge amount, even as someone who has been shooting for a long time. For, me the best thing about it was my mentor, Rob Pleasant. He went completely above and beyond in his efforts and time taken to help me, which meant by the time I got to my final assessment in May, I felt completely ready.”
The enjoyment Stuart gets from introducing someone to shooting is palpable. “Giving a lesson and having someone successfully breaking clays and then saying how much they’ve appreciated what they’ve learned gives me great satisfaction.” he said.
In total, 53 Scout leaders have accessed BASC’s funding to become either shotgun coaches or airgun instructors. But Peter say’s there’s room for a few more. “We’re keen to put another set of Scout leaders through their the BASC shotgun coaching course and have funds in place to continue to subsidise the cost.
“We see it as a win-win, allowing Scout leaders to upskill themselves and then pass on these skills to the Scouts they are responsible for, which in turn provides greater access to shooting sports for young people.”
If you are interested in training as a BASC Shotgun Coach, you can find out more here. In order to be eligible for the course you must hold a valid shotgun certificate and be an experienced shooter.
You can also get in touch with BASC’s training and education team by emailing peter.marshall@basc.org.uk.
Last word to Henson back at The Game Fair: “I’m still grinning to be honest.” I think that says it all.
BASC recently attended the Countrytastic event at the Three Counties Showground, Worcestershire. Countrytastic is an educational show aimed at young families. This sold-out event saw over 5,000 children, parents, grandparents and guardians learn about the countryside.
BASC launched a new partnership with the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs at the Royal Highland Show last week.
Yesterday BASC East were involved with an event for local scout groups in Suffolk.
