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.