With an eye for the target, Alex Strudwick has shot her way into an invitation-only competition at the Olympic center in Colorado in April.

Strudwick, a junior at Coppell High School, will use her .22 caliber sport pistol at the Junior Olympic championship, which would qualify her for the Olympic development team if she places first or second., said E.C. “Coach” Wong, who has been training Strudwick.

“I’ve never thought of it really as a big deal. But now that I think about it, it’s really cool,” Strudwick said.

Strudwick’s father is a hunter, so it came naturally for her to start shooting, she said.

“I think some people grew up with guns, and it makes it easier for them,” Strudwick said.

But, despite the familial background, it wasn’t instantly easy, she said. “I did like it at first, but it just took a lot of time to get used to the gun,” Strudwick said. “There’s a lot of elements in shooting that you wouldn’t think of.”

The movements when shooting her sport pistol had to become robotic to Strudwick before she started having a lot of success, she said.

When she started shooting about 2-1/2 years ago, Strudwick said, she didn’t take the sport too seriously.

“We’ve just gotten a lot more involved in matches now,” she said. “When you go into your first real competition, it’s really scary, and I was really nervous.”

The competitiveness in Strudwick has come out, and that’s why her mother, Annalesley Strudwick, thinks Strudwick is taking it more seriously.

“Alex didn’t seem to get that interested until she started competing, and that changed for her,” Annalesley said.

At the matches, the women shoot 40 shots, usually one shot per target or two shots on 20 targets, Strudwick said.

She has 1 hour and 15 minutes to shoot all the targets, which can be tiring holding the 3-pound pistol steady, she said.

Young competition

To compete at the Junior Olympic competition, Strudwick was chosen as the one junior woman to represent Texas. The junior man from Plano also shoots with her on the Shooting Stars team based at the Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Annalesley said.

Wong said he has put 37 athletes on the Olympic shooting team.

“A lot of kids and people think Olympians are untouchables. And they’re not; they’re real people,” he said.

If someone is dedicated and willing to put the time into the sport, becoming an Olympian is not impossible, he said. And, Strudwick has what it takes, he said.

“Her mind is like a sponge. You tell her something, and she doesn’t forget it. And I think that’s why Alex has been able to advance as far as she has and as quick as she has,” Wong said.

Although she is most comfortable shooting her air pistol, Wong said, Strudwick is successfully shooting her sport pistol with precision. The air pistol is the gun on which Strudwick learned her shooting technique, but once she mastered it, she’s competing with the sport pistol, he said.

Strudwick is ranked No. 8 nationally in women’s sport pistol and No. 52 nationally in women’s air pistol, Annalesley said.

“Olympic shooting is very much a precision type endeavor,” Wong said. “Alex is producing between 90.5 and 91.5(percent) work. To get on the team, you need to get 92 percent consistency.”

Wong said he is confident Strudwick will be able to reach and surpass that 92 percent average by the time of the junior Olympic competition.

Wong trains people as young as age 7, he said, which is possible as long as safety is ingrained into their minds.

The retired Air Force fighter pilot first started competitive shooting in 1962 and teaches students from all over the world online, Wong said.

Family practice

And, Strudwick’s abilities and commitments come from her mother, Wong said.

Annalesley recently started shooting with her daughter at the club after going to the Olympic center for the first time in November, she said.

“I’m not anywhere like she is, but it’s fun to learn,” Annalesley said.

When Strudwick first started shooting, her dad was the one who was most involved in the activity. Now, Annalesley has found enjoyment in the sport as well, she said.

“(Annalesley) is 100 percent for the kids,” Wong said. “And that philosophy has transposed into her daughter. (Alex) is ever-willing to help.”

But, Strudwick sees herself a little bit differently than her mom and her coach.

The 17-year-old said Young Life is a large priority in her life and juggles schoolwork, working at Old Navy and hanging out with friends in addition to her twice-a-week shooting schedule.

“I’m just kinda average,” she said.

Strudwick said she is starting to think of a life after high school.

“I’ve thought about maybe a medical career or going into the Army marksman unit before college,” she said.

In the meantime, Strudwick said she struggles to explain her shooting to classmates.

“A lot of people I’ve talked to about it don’t really understand it at all. At school people will ask, ‘So do you shoot people?’” she paused. “No.”

To learn more about Wong and his shooting organization, go to the National Association of Shooting Sports Athletes Web site, www.nassa.org.