Greene inducted to Sporting Clays Hall of Fame

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When Steve Greene says he’s been target shooting his whole life, he’s not kidding.

Greene began shooting trap as a kid and was shooting competitively by the time he was 8 years old. After nearly 40 years of competitive shooting, most of them shooting sporting clays, Greene has been honored as one of the top shooters in Wisconsin.

Greene of New Richmond, was inducted into the Wisconsin Sporting Clays Association Hall of Fame on Aug. 1.

Greene has the second highest lifetime point total in sporting clays in Wisconsin association history. He’s had the points to be eligible for the Hall of Fame for several years. It wasn’t until this year that he turned 45, which is the youngest age eligible for nomination for the Hall of Fame.

While Greene is a large, powerfully built man, he is modest and soft spoken. He said it isn’t his personal accomplishments that give him the most satisfaction from the sport. He saved that honor for watching his son, Bryan, compete. Bryan, who will be a junior at New Richmond High School this fall, made the All-State sporting clays team last year and is attempting to make the All-American team this year.

Greene is one of the most accomplished sporting clays shooters ever in Wisconsin. Greene added another title recently when he was the 2009 state champion in the Masters Division at the 2009 state championships.

Greene’s accomplishments in sporting clays competition fills pages. He has been on the Wisconsin All-State first team eight times. He’s also been on all-state teams in Kansas, Tennessee and Missouri. His work has caused the Greene family to move several times through the years. They returned to Wisconsin in 2004.

In addition to a bevy of state championships, Green has done well at the regional and national level. He’s finished as high as third place in national competitions. He took third place in this year’s FITASC national championships.

Greene got involved in trapshooting when his dad began taking him to events in Washington state when he was 7 years old. The next year, he began competing. He immediately set his goals on being an All-American trapshooter. He achieved that goal when he was 18.

Greene began seeking more challenges. He competed in skeet shooting and other levels before finding his ultimate challenge in sporting clays.

“Just about every type of shooting in shotgun, I’ve done it competitively,” Greene said.

Greene said at his level, he practices once a week and competes two to three weekends a month.

“It’s more mental at the higher levels. It’s very similar to golf,” Greene said. “It’s hard to do it repeatedly and to adapt to the different situations.”

Greene’s calm demeanor helps him to handle the pressure situations. In 2008 he became the second person from Wisconsin to ever go 100 for 100 in one round, in a competition in Vermillion, Minn. He also has one 99, one 98 and five 97 scores to his credit.

His knowledge of sporting clays has led to him being sought as a coach and course designer. He helped to design the Game Unlimited sporting clays course outside of New Richmond in 1992. Since moving back to the area in 2004, Greene has competed in the Game Unlimited sporting clays league each year, winning the individual title each season.

Greene said he feels he is in his prime as a competitive shooter.

“It was a lot easier to get to the top than to stay there,” he said. “I feel my last two years are the best I’ve had so far.”

Tags: sports, trapshooting, sporting, clays