As 2021 came to an end, the Emmaus rifle team entered the new year with a 5-0 record.

A 494-493 victory at North Pocono Middle School on Dec. 21 provided the Hornets with their latest and closest season victory. Marksman Griffin Lake led Emmaus’ qualifying scorers with a 100-9x score, followed by Nate Servais and Sanaiya O’Neal with a 99-9x mark. Servais is described by coach Michael Schuler as one of the team’s top shooters.

“He’s a quiet kid, but very hardworking and intent on getting better,” said Schuler. “He also really stepped into the role of mentor with some of the younger kids, giving them tips and pointing out what he thinks they could do better.”

Madison Carreiro shot a 98-7x, while Molly Yard finished with 98-6x. Yard has impressed the coach.

“I had her older sister for my first three years and she’s continuing the tradition of being a top shooter,” Schuler said. “She’s a sophomore but is willing to step into a leadership role and help me out a lot with the younger team members. Her father is also one of my assistants, so I think being around helps to push her to be better.”

Five days before the North Pocono win, the Hornets downed Stroudsburg 499-492 and beat Salisbury on Dec. 14 by a 496-478 count.

“It’s different from a normal sport in that I don’t really do a lot of coaching like a basketball coach would,” Schuler said. “There’s a fair amount of things that are pretty universal, but there’s also a lot of things that we call shooter preference. If I do something this way and it’s the right way to do it, and you do it some other way that isn’t what’s accepted as the right way but it works for you, I’m not going to change anything.”

For Schuler’s shooters, the minimalist coaching approach has various benefits.

“It’s working for you, so it doesn’t need to be changed,” Schuler said. “I think this really builds a lot of personal responsibility because the student is responsible for a lot of what they’re doing. I’m just there to give some advice about what they can do better.”