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!

It's finally here – the moment we've looked forward to for the past four years: THE OLYMPICS! This is by far the grandest event for American sport shooters, and a chance for our athletes to get some great international exposure, grab the headlines and enjoy their "15 minutes of fame" on the biggest sports stage in the world.

I have a strong feeling that we'll be seeing many of our shooters on the medal stands over the next couple weeks, and so today's blog is going to give you some more "inside info" about those shooters. Stuff you can't learn just anywhere. Commit this stuff to memory, and then impress your friends and family with these tidbits as you are watching our shooters collect their medals ... 

Trap shooter Bret Erickson nearly died just before the last Olympic Games. Shortly after he qualified for the 2004 U.S. Team, he was on a training run with his teammates when his heart stopped.  His teammates were able to get his heart going again, and doctors installed a pacemaker. Just four weeks after that, Bret shot in the Athens games.

Skeet shooter Vincent Hancock just got married. His new wife, Rebekah, is studying to be a nurse – something Vincent also plans to do after he retires from competitive shooting (something that is WAY down the road). And by the way, don't call him Vince. That's the one form of his name he doesn't like. It's either Vincent or Vinnie.

Trap shooter Corey Cogdell is perhaps the most diverse shooter you'll ever meet. Besides being an avid hunter and fisher, the Alaska native is a self-described "girly-girl" who owns more than 50 pairs of shoes. She also loves cooking, and actually worked for two years as an assistant chef for a cooking school, and then traveled to Italy just to study how to prepare authentic Italian food. Not diverse enough for you? She also calls herself a "gear head" who likes to work on old cars (mainly Jeeps and Mustangs) and in her spare time (is there any left?), she rides motorcycles, rock climbs and goes downhill skiing.

Speaking of diverse, rifle shooter Sandra Fong once won her school's science fair, and she spends a lot of time in performance art, writing and directing plays. She also plays the trumpet and sings with her school jazz band. The 18-year-old New York, New York native is heading to Princeton this fall where she will major in theater and the history of jazz.

Rifle shooter Jamie Beyerle is a terrific all-around athlete who also excels academically. She played high school basketball, softball and soccer, and she was also a junior National Champion in BB gun. AND she was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Speaking of athletic skills outside of shooting, rifle shooter Matt Emmons – the reigning gold medalist in the 50-meter prone event – once pitched a perfect game in high school baseball. His interests go beyond sports as well: Matt bought a guitar a couple years ago and is teaching himself how to play, no doubt entertaining his new wife, Katy, with his performances. Matt's a very bright guy – in fact, he has already earned a college degree in management and finance from Colorado University, Colorado Springs campus.

Double Trap shooter Glen Eller, a strong contender to win a medal, was a high school pole vaulter. It's fitting because he's about as tall and skinny as a pole vault. (I tease him about that all the time.)

Eller's double-trap teammate, Jeff Holguin, also played sports his whole life (mainly baseball), and he is a huge college football fan. Jeff's loyalties are tied strongly to his Southern California home: He's a die-hard USC Trojan fan.

Rapid Fire Pistol shooter Keith Sanderson and rifle shooter Michael Anti both love fast cars. Sanderson owns a Porsche 911 and likes to tinker with amateur racing. Anti owns a silver Corvette – which he bought for himself as a reward for winning a silver medal in the 3-position event in the 2004 Olympics. Get it – silver and silver? He claims the color was a coincidence ... but he says his plan is to buy a gold Corvette after the upcoming games ... if he wins the gold.

Rifle shooter Jason Parker has a "secret weapon" when it comes to being mentally strong as a competitor: He has a college degree in Psychology from Xavier University.

How about some tidbits on the pistol shooters? Brenda Shinn is a lieutenant in the Riverside County (CA) sheriff's department. Beki Snyder has a black belt in tae-kwon-do. Brian Beaman is big into archery. Jason Turner plays softball and golfs when he's not shooting. And Libby Callahan, at 56 the oldest Olympian, is retired from the Washington D.C. police force, where she was a lieutenant – and a five-time women's police revolver champion.

So there you have it – share these insights with friends and family while watching the games ... make 'em believe you are an expert on the USA Olympic Shooting Team! See you next time ...

Happy July from "Inside USA Shooting" on Outdoor Channel.

In my last blog we talked a lot about the shotgun shooters who were trying to make the Olympic Team. Now that the team is set, I'm here to tell you that it is LOADED and should bring back multiple medals. You can see the entire roster at the USA Shooting website, but in this blog, I'm going to give you the insight to these athletes.

The double-trap shooters, Glen Eller and Jeff Holguin, both have legitimate chances to medal in Beijing – Eller especially. He's been among the top two or three double trap shooters in the world for the past couple years, and if he "brings his A game," he could take the gold. Here's the great thing about Eller – I've never seen him rattled. He's got the greatest smirky-grin you've ever seen, like a kid caught in the cookie jar. Away from the range he looks like a guy who is enjoying the heck out of his life – traveling the globe, representing the USA and the Army Marksmanship Unit, competing against the best in the world (and usually kicking their tails). When the round is over, you can't tell if he won or lost – he's always right back to his smile, acting like a guy who just got home from a day of fishing. I really think the pressure of the games won't impact him, and that is going to be crucial to success.

Skeet shooter Vincent Hancock is a freak of nature – and that's a compliment. The kid is only 19-years-old, but he already has World Championships, World Cup medals and a World Record under his belt. He's been anointed the "Can't Miss Kid" for about a decade, and now it's time for him to perform. I think he will. He's pretty intense, even when he is not shooting. He is – without a doubt – the most focused and mentally strong teenager I have been around. He just stares a hole in the ground between shots. But I can also tell you that he is wonderfully polite, answering everything with "Yes sir" or "No sir." I think it's a combination of his southern upbringing (he's from Georgia) and now his life in the Army. He's also very mature and you can see him taking steps everyday into adulthood – in fact, he just got married. I suspect you will see Hancock win a medal in Beijing, and I also suspect that will be the first of MANY in his career.

On the women's side, Kim Rhode is a heck of a story.  If there is one name that casual sport shooters might recognize, it's probably Rhode's. After all, she has three Olympic medals in three games – two of which were gold. She won a gold medal at the age of 16, for crying out loud! How cool is that?! This year she is shooting skeet (after previously medaling in double trap).

I've gotten to know Kim really well during this series - I have her cell, home and office #'s all loaded into my phone. I don't tell you that to "name drop," but instead to give you some insight into her personality. You see, when we first met Kim, we were told that she might be a little "stand-offish" with the media. After all, she'd been in the spotlight so much that it's easy to get jaded. We were also told she might not be entirely warm with us.

We quickly found out she was totally opposite.

We (myself and Kevin Raichl, the Executive Producer of Inside USA shooting) met her before a World Cup event in Kerrville, Texas, where she agreed to co-host a show with us. We gave her a ride from the San Antonio airport to Kerrville, which is about an hour-long drive. Instead of being stand-offish, we found out that Kim is chatty, engaging, funny, warm and entirely polite. She was just great. After we got to the hotel and checked in, she asked me and Kevin if we'd like to meet for dinner. We accepted, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of conversation. Kim didn't focus on her athletic exploits at all, and instead talked about her hobbies of fixing up cars and tinkering in real estate investments.

We've seen Kim at a handful of events since then, and each time she greets us with hugs and smiles, asks about our families and everything else, giggles and hangs out and generally acts like a pal. In short, she has been the opposite of what we expected from a three-time medalist.

Oh, and about those phone numbers: As we were leaving Texas after that first World Cup, I mentioned that Ben Harper, the musician, was playing in my town later that summer and how I was eager to go. Kim mentions that her boyfriend plays in a band back in Los Angeles, and he knows Ben Harper. So Kim asks if I'd like some help securing back-stage passes. I accepted, of course, and she starts dialing friends back home to help me out. Like a life-long friend.

Now how cool is THAT!?

In my last blog I promised to write something about rifle shooter Matt Emmons, but I'll have to get that into the next blog. He's another Olympic Gold Medalist, who – like Kim Rhode - is polite, humble and respectful. That's a trend we've seen throughout this series. So we'll get into that next time. Til then, keep watching "Inside USA Shooting" on Outdoor Channel.

Welcome to my first "Inside USA Shooting" blog entry. When Outdoor Channel asked me to start this blog, I jumped at the chance – mostly because I think there are so many interesting things that happen while we are covering USA Shooting events, and we just can't fit it all of them into our half-hour shows. So having a forum to tell more stories and share more of the fun with our viewers is great for me.

One of my favorite experiences of this show came in September of 2007 when we went to Colorado for the fall selection match in shotgun. That match was the first step in determining the Olympic Team for 2008. You combine the fall scores with the spring selection scores to determine who makes the team. I'm starting our blog there because that was the moment that the notion of "The Olympics" really hit home. We always knew this series would eventually lead us up to the 2008 games, but it was the fall selection match where we strongly felt the presence of the games – Olympic rings on the flags and banners, official "Olympic Selection Match" bibs on the shooters, stuff like that. Just knowing that THIS group of shooters would provide the ones going to Beijing was amazing. I grew up as a big fan of the Olympics, so for me personally, it was exciting to be there. I had to pause and let it sink in that we were talking to, hanging out with and getting to know Olympians. How cool is that?

What amazed me about the shooters at the event is that none of them seemed overly impressed by the moment. And I mean that as a compliment. I was chewing my fingernails and watching every shot like my life depended on it. I was watching the younger athletes like they were my own kids, watching the older ones like they were brothers and sisters. I mean, think about it – the Olympics only come every four years. You may only have one legitimate chance in your life to make the team. All those practice rounds and days at the range coming down to this event. How can you not be shaking in your boots?

From the looks of things, these shooters were not.

While I was living and dying on each target, the shooters themselves behaved like they were on their local range for a Saturday morning club match. I guess that's how you have to be to succeed at this level. If you start to think too much about what each shot "could" mean to your future, then you'll lose your focus. Elite athletes in any sport are a different breed when it comes to mental strength, and in shooting, it's no different.

I asked one of the double-trap shooters – Bill Keever, a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit – what he thinks about when he's shooting. He said, "Nothing but the next target." He made it sound so easy when it really is not. I don't know about you, but even when I am most focused on something – perhaps when I am writing a story for the show – even then my mind wanders to other things, like my kids or bills I have to pay or what I'm having for dinner. Not these athletes. I truly believe they can blank out everything but "the next target." And that's what makes them Olympians.

Shotgun shooters are also amazing in their ability to change personalities seemingly at a moment's notice. Three minutes before he was scheduled to compete, Keever was chatting with his Army double-trap teammates – Josh Richmond, Jeff Holguin and Glen Eller. They were planning their post-match hike and trash-talking each other about their basketball pick-up game the day before. Laughs and giggles all around. Then Keever steps onto the range, his face becomes as still as a statue in a museum, and he fires a round of 47 out of 50. As the final target explodes, he high-fives a teammate, shakes a judges hand and then looks at me and – get this! – winks, smirks and says, "I blasted that last one, didn't I?!" It just amazed me. I was still trying to catch my breath and I wasn't even out there. I nodded in agreement as he wandered back to his teammates, already yelling that they were all "gonna get a beating on the court tonight," acting like the round he just shot was just for practice when in fact it was part of a career-defining moment.

One of the things I promised Outdoor Channel is that this blog would give you some "inside info" that will help you get to know these shooters as "people" and not just "athletes." It might not be earth-shattering, but it will certainly help you get to know the folks representing you across the globe. So here's something for you relating to the Keever story: The double-trap shooters did indeed go for a hike after that round – up Pike's Peak, the famous site in Colorado Springs that has a 7,400 foot elevation rise from the base of the trail. Then they played some more pick-up basketball. Eller is the tallest of the four, but Richmond isn't far behind and he played ball in high school. So there's some skill there. Holguin plays like he does everything – quietly and cerebrally. Keever is quick, athletic and full of trash talk. FULL of trash talk. They went to Chili's for dinner and a few beers, and most likely didn't spend one minute that evening thinking that the next day could decide their Olympic fate. And that just amazes me.

See you on the next blog when we'll talk about rifle shooter Matt Emmons. I'll give you some insight about the most polite, humble and respectful Olympic Gold Medalist you'll ever meet. Til then, keep watching "Inside USA Shooting" on Outdoor Channel.