Sharpshooters in the Making

When you enter the shooting range at West Spring Secondary School during a training session, the first thing you notice is the quiet intensity emanating from the shooting club students. Even during the school holidays, you’ll regularly find about 20 students gathered there for extra practice sessions on their own accord. They hold their air pistols with an air of practised readiness and an expression of youthful seriousness.

West Spring Secondary School has been granted niche school status for air pistol since 2011, and at its full strength, the shooting club is a popular CCA with over 90 members, of whom about 50 are trained to use the air pistol (while the others train with the air rifle). Mr Kelvin Poon, subject head of PE, rattles off a list of air pistol accolades the school had won this year in the national school championships: 1st for ‘B’ division boys, 2nd for both ‘C’ and ‘B’ division girls and 4th for ‘C’ division boys. In fact, since 2007, the school has dominated the top four positions in both divisions for boys and girls in air pistol.

For most of the air pistol students, the first time they tried using the weapon was during a Sec 1 PE lesson. Sec 2 student, Ng Zhiqin, says, “At first, using the air pistol seemed quite boring. But then there are all these techniques you can learn, and you just feel like you want to get better in it.” He is now a member of the air pistol national youth team.

A level playing field

The school’s air pistol niche has its roots in the air rifle club, which was formed in 2001. Teacher-in-charge, Ms Ong Shichi, had been in charge of a similar CCA in the previous school she had taught in. Mr Harphal Singh, then the principal of West Spring Secondary School, was extremely supportive of this initiative as he had been a sniper in the army.

Ms Ong recounts, “There were very few members then, and we’d go down once or twice a week to the HomeTeam in Bukit Batok to train.” In 2004, the air pistol was introduced to the shooting club and when the school moved to its current premises in 2005, the new facilities included an air-conditioned shooting range with 12 booths – a real privilege as students could conveniently train in a range of their own.

Mr Kelvin Poon, the school’s subject head for PE, explains that air pistol is an ideal niche for a secondary school because it offers a level playing field. “Air pistol is not offered in primary schools, and you don’t need to be particularly athletic in order to be good in this sport,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re tall, short, fat or thin.” Also, the school has found that the club attracts an equal number of boys and girls.

Developing accuracy – and character

Ms Ong feels that training with the air pistol helps to develop students’ self-discipline and perseverance. “Each event requires them to stand for a long time – an hour for the girls and 1 hour 45 minutes for the boys. They don’t just develop physical stamina, but they also become more patient,” she explains.

For Sec 2 student Crystal Lee, who is in the school team, picking up air pistol has made her a more driven person. “I go for training almost every day because I want to maintain my scores. I feel a sense of responsibility to do well since I’m representing my school. This means I have to plan my time properly because I also need to balance training with my schoolwork,” she adds.

On his part, Zhiqin found that this sport helped with his bad temper. “My seniors taught me to calm myself down when I make bad shots, and I find that I am not so easily frustrated these days,” he reflects.

Sec 3 student Willeen Teo, on the other hand, never thought she’d be in the air pistol club. She had already chosen the school band as her CCA in Sec 1, but during a PE lesson, the teacher noticed her talent in handling the air pistol and persuaded her to join the school team. “Even though I am really busy with two CCAs, I find the air pistol fun. It has actually helped me in my studies as I am able to concentrate for longer periods of time,” she says.

In fact, using the air pistol can even make one philosophical, according to Crystal. “Life is like shooting. You get the good shots and the bad shots,” she explains. “When the good shots happen, you work hard to maintain success. When there are bad shots, you need not be too sad – instead, use these failures to motivate yourself to do better next time.”