Rifle team adds second assistant coach to help train new shooters for upcoming postal competitions

In addition to a number of new team members, Liberty University rifle Head Coach Marlene Gray and her husband, Assistant Coach Kevin Gray, have welcomed a new assistant coach on staff this fall — Erica Cruz, who was a member of the team as a graduate student last year and is in her second year pursuing an M.A. in History.

"It's very helpful to add Erica as our assistant coach this year," Marlene Gray said. "She can work one-on-one with the students and really help them focus on getting the gun more adjusted to them personally and being able to understand the mental game behind it to get ready for competition in practices."

Cruz, who has spent 15 years in the sport as a competitor, is excited about the opportunity to coach the team she was a part of last season and pouring into them both technical and spiritual wisdom.

"This season, we have several new competitors who have joined our team and it's been a lot of fun just teaching everybody the basics, teaching them the fundamentals of the sport, getting everybody ready for our matches that are going to be coming up soon," she said. "It's been a little bit of a learning curve because I'm just learning how to teach the sport to people who have never done it before. Having the returners help the new people to develop more together as a team, it's really fun to see that team dynamic start to develop."

One of the top returning team members is sophomore Elizabeth Gilroy, who was designated as the team's captain.

"I'm very glad to be back to the team this year," she said. "Being the team captain, I get to help the new people grow and give back to the sport and help them get all settled in so they can be able to compete."

She has enjoyed competing alongside and now under the instruction of Cruz, who has helped to build on a strong team culture.

"Not only is Erica a previous teammate and friend, but she also builds such connection with everyone on the team so there is that relationship of not just coach and teammate (but) friendships that are being built and her experience in the sport allows people to get hands-on experience," Gilroy said.

Marlene Gray said the team's level of competitiveness has continued to grow even as members have graduated, with the shooting range at the Liberty Mountain Gun Club serving as an excellent recruiting tool.

"Because our program has been growing over the last few years, we have recruited some very exciting new students who have come in," she said, noting that there are also several students coming in with little to no experience in the sport.

All three coaches and their team captain are training the newcomers for the fast-approaching competition season, which starts this weekend with remote postal shoots.

"We're going to have two matches per month plus in the spring we will have a couple travel matches that we're going to," Cruz said, leading up to the ASSA National Championships in Fort Wayne, Ind., where the Flames and Lady Flames will look to improve on their program-best second-place overall finish last spring. "We're really excited for that and I'm excited to see where the team goes from here."

Video edited by Micah Adams/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant

Rifle team adds second assistant coach to help train new shooters for upcoming postal competitions

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Gilroy

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