Just because the Olympics are over doesn't mean our USA Shooting Team is slowing down. In fact, many of the shooters you saw compete in Beijing just returned from an extremely prestigious event overseas, where they again claimed some hardware.

The event was the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final (ISSF stand for "International Sport Shooting Federation"). It was held in Minsk, Belarus and included 58 shooters from 18 countries – including 15 shooters who medaled in Beijing. When I say this event is "extremely prestigious", consider many people in the sport shooting world consider World Cup finals the highest level of competition – more so than even the Olympic Games. To qualify for a World Cup Final you have to be either a defending World Cup champion, ranked in the Top Eight, or be a Medalist from this year's World Championships to earn an invitation. That means it truly is the "best of the best".

Among the Americans was men's skeet Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock, who qualified for this event by winning the World Cup event in Suhl, Germany last spring. Hancock took silver at this world Cup Final – losing to Tore Brovold of Norway. It was a "flip-flop" of the results from Beijing, where Hancock won the gold by beating Brovold in a shoot-off.

And while Hancock medaling has come to be almost "expected", USA Shooting took home another silver at the World Cup Final thanks to a shooter who did not make the Olympic Team – but who has been on the cusp of great things for the past few years. 23-year-old Haley Dunn of Eddyville, Iowa finished second at this year's Olympic Trials, just one shot behind Kim Rhode for the only women's skeet position on the US Team. It was the second consecutive Olympic Trials that ended in heartbreak for Dunn, who also finished one-shot off the pace for the 2004 Olympic Team.

But Dunn has shown great resilience despite those two heartbreaking moments. She was the 2005 skeet world champion and USA Female Shooting Athlete of the Year, the 2006 women's skeet national Champion, and the 2007 Pan Am Games gold medalist. She is a threat to medal every time she competes, and she came through with a silver at this Belarus World Cup Final. It's a great kick-start to her next four years as she will try again in 2012 to make the US Olympic Team.

Besides being a great shooter, Haley is a really nice person. Every event we go to, she is among the first to come up and say "hello" and ask about my family, etc. She always has time to talk to us on camera, even if it is moments after a disappointing performance. Last spring, when she finished one-shot behind Rhode for that only women's skeet Olympic Team slot, you could tell she was crushed. She walked away from the range and took some time to herself, just wandering the grounds at the Olympic Training Site in Kerrville, Texas. But about a half-hour after the medal ceremony, she was back to her smiling, polite, cheerful self, accepting fan's and competitor's condolences with grace and class. She is truly a class act.

Haley has also been enjoying the college football season the past couple years. As a graduate of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, she is a true-blue Missouri Tiger football fan. I remember back at the World Cup in Kerrville a couple years ago, Haley was talking about finishing the competition while also trying to cram for a couple of final exams – and wanting to race back to Missouri by Saturday night so she could go the football game with her college friends. Considering the Tigers' football team has been in the Top Ten most of the past few years, Haley is enjoying her alma mater's success on the gridiron. We can only hope similar success comes to the shooter who has been THISCLOSE to making the Olympic Team for each of the past two games.

Don't forget to watch "Insides USA Shooting" on The Outdoor Channel. The next episode is really cool because we sat down with many of the members of the 2008 Olympic Team and got their first-hand, "behind the scenes" stories about Beijing – everything from getting their uniforms before leaving America to what it was like standing on the podium and getting an Olympic medal around their necks. Really interesting, personal and heart-warming stories straight from your Olympic medalists. Be sure to watch, and we'll see you again soon on this blog.

What a hugely successful Olympic Games for USA Shooting! Six medals – twice as many as 2004 – including two golds, two silvers and two bronzes. Perhaps just as satisfying as the overall success is the fact that there were a few "surprises" for the team. We all expected Glen Eller, Vincent Hancock and Matt Emmons to medal – which they did. And many people figured Kim Rhode had a real good shot (no pun intended) to medal, considering she already has three Olympic medals. But considering it was her first games in her new event of skeet, there was some concern about how she'd adapt. Obviously, as her silver medal proves, very well!

But I don't think a lot of people expected trap shooter Corey Cogdell to medal in her first Olympic Games, and even though pistol shooter Jason Turner has been hovering around the Top Ten in the world for several years, I wouldn't say a lot of people expected him to make the podium in the biggest event in the world. So kudos to everyone – from the "expected" to the "surprises." What a great ten days for USA Shooting.

Since NBC didn't air the shooting events during prime-time, I had to watch all the finals on my computer – even though most of them started at midnight here in Oregon. Each night I'd tell my wife "I'll come to bed in a bit," only to find myself staring at the computer watching the finals, pumping my fist and cheering (in whispers, so as not to wake my two young children).

After Glen Eller won the gold in double-trap, I sent a text message to him and one to his dad (Butch), and e-mailed his mom, Clara, congratulating all of them. The next morning I called Bill Keever, who is a teammate of Eller's on the Army Marksmanship Unit shotgun team at Fort Benning, Georgia. Bill had also watched the event live on his computer, but for him it didn't start til three a.m. and didn't end til 4:30. He had to be in the office at 6:00, so when I called he was still a little foggy. He said the entire marksmanship unit gathered to watch the final again during their morning meeting. A bunch of tired, happy shooters in that room!

Bill said he was sending text messages to Butch Eller throughout the match, and as Glen got closer to winning Bill sent a text to Glen's sister, Stacy, reminder her to have the box of tissues close by because he knew Butch would be a mess. Butch is an emotional man – especially when his son is shooting – so you know the tears were flowing as Glen closed it out and got the gold.

I asked Bill if he had talked to Glen yet. He had – although not until Glen had completed four hours of press conferences and interviews! He said Glen was happy and relieved, and then Bill told me a story that really sums up what this team is all about.

Near the end of their conversation, Glen said "By the way, thanks Sergeant."

Bill asked: "For what?"

"For talking me into joining the Army," Glen responded.

Bill said it brought a tear to his eye, knowing that his good friend was so happy. Bill also said "that comment alone made it all worthwhile, the last four years of training. Sure, I wish I could have been in Beijing representing America, winning a medal. But if I can't do it, knowing Glen did it was just as satisfying. I was just so proud of him."

Chances are Bill Keever will have plenty more opportunities to be proud of Glen Eller – and vice versa. All the Army shooters, and all the shooters on the USA Shooting Team, are threats to medal in 2012 in London. This entire team is so close and so supportive of each other – and that certainly plays a part in their success. It should be fun to watch for the next four years!

See you soon. Next blog we'll talk about Matt Emmons' Olympic experience. He sent an e-mail describing it on a "personal" level and I'll share a bit of that e-mail with you. So keep checking this blog page!