Minnesota Youth Shotgun Association

Our mission to promote the growth of youth trapshooting and hunting through shotgun safety, youth and coach education, and youth competition

Our coaches, organizers and helpers are ALL VOLUNTEERS, meaning 100% of your donation benefits youth shooters and coach education!

All our coaching services in Minnesota and across the country are provided free of charge because we believe how much money you have shouldn't stand in the way of becoming a better competitor or coach.

2018's mySA programs included five youth-only chain shoots, organizing and running MN's State Shoot Youth Day and AIM Championship, subsidizing NRA Shotgun Coach education for several new youth and adult Minnesota coaches, providing free shotgun instruction for 60+ pheasant campers, and proudly partnering with Pheasants Forever's Focus on Forever program through free coach education and training for new coaches nationally.

Our Story

In 2007, while attending the Minnesota State Shoot as a competitor, Mark Stevens, already an ATA/NRA Level 1 Coach, witnessed young trapshooters unsure of how to register and intimidated by the enormity of the event.  By 2008 Coach Stevens began the Minnesota Youth Chain Shoot--a four location series of ATA (Amateur Trapshooting Association) registered youth-only shoots--to provide young trapshooters with competition experiences in order to make them more confident at larger shoots.  The success of this event, coupled with two very successful years as Head Coach of the Buffalo Gun Club Youth Program, lead to Mark Stevens being a co-recipient of the 2008 ATA Coach of the Year.

By 2010 Coach Stevens had achieved three years of successful Minnesota Youth Chain Shoots and, together with his wife Sally Stevens, completed the ATA/NRA Certified Shotgun Coach (Level 2), making them the only two coaches at that level in the State of Minnesota.  They also applied and were granted 501(c)3 status for a new organization, the Minnesota Youth Shotgun Association, to encompass the Minnesota Youth Chain Shoot and many of the coaching activities, including hunting mentorships, that they were already involved in. In December 2010, the Minnesota Youth Shotgun Association was granted, by the Minnesota Trapshooting Association, the opportunity to provide a more cohesive and enjoyable shooting experience for youth shooters at the Minnesota State Shoot. 

There are many ways to support our work through donations, volunteering, and suggestions.  mySA is run solely through grants and the generosity of donors who believe in our mission to promote the growth of youth trapshooting and hunting through shotgun safety, youth and coach education, and youth competition in Minnesota. We hope you consider supporting mySA on Give To The Max Day!

For more information please contact mySA co-founder Mark Stevens at 612-703-6155 or mark@airclimatecontrol.com, or Sally Stevens at 763-486-0853 or minnesotashotgun@icloud.com.