Globalization of WVU rifle team contributes to all-around success

The West Virginia rifle program has gone global.

Unlike many collegiate programs in nearly every sport, the Mountaineer rifle squad is free from geographical confines.

This year's ten-athlete roster includes representation from European countries such as Italy, Estonia and Poland.

Not to mention a member of the Puerto Rican national team, as well as American shooters from all across the continent, from Eagle River, Ala., to Ardmore, Okla.

Winning has helped, as much of this widespread exposure has come on the back of success in competition.

But, perhaps the largest contributing factor in the globalization of WVU rifle has been its head coach Jon Hammond, who, not coincidentally, is from across the Atlantic as well.

Hammond, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, was a member of the 2002-03 WVU rifle squad and, upon his participation in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, became the 14th Mountaineer shooter to compete in the games.

His experience internationally has helped him to recruit some of the top talent from overseas.

"It enables me to make a lot of contacts and networks," Hammond said. "For recruits, it gives them a common bond, that I'm still competing in that environment. A lot of them reach out to me before I contact them."

This was the case with freshman Meelis Kiisk.

The European sport system places many athletes in a tough position after they no longer satisfy the age requirements for the junior division, but want to keep shooting. As a result, many athletes head west to the United States.

"I sent an email out to nine or 10 coaches and only three or four responded, and Jon was one of them," Kiisk said.

With a full roster for 2010, Hammond did not have a place for the Estonian national team member, so he committed to Tennessee Tech, who defeated WVU for the first three NCAA rifle titles.

Then, the Tennessee Tech rifle program was scrapped in the spring of 2010, so Kiisk got back into contact with Hammond.

"I immediately emailed Jon, and he told me to keep him updated with my scores," Kiisk said. "Then we met at the World Championships in Munich in the beginning of August, and he invited me to join the team."

Sometimes, it is just that simple, but it is always beneficial to have a little bit of help.

For Hammond, that assistance came from one of the greatest Mountaineer shooters of all time, Nicco Campriani.

Along with winning the 2011 individual NCAA air rifle title and being crowned 2010 air rifle world champion, the Florence, Italy, native also helped to recruit West Virginia's current leading shooter, junior Petra Zublasing.

"The only reason why I knew about West Virginia was because of ‘Country Roads,'" Zublasing said. "I never had interest in the United States in general."

After the Appiano, Italy, native won the 2009 women's junior air rifle Euorpean Championships, Campriani began recruiting his teammate to become a Mountaineer.

Then, at the European smallbore championships, West Virginia head coach Jon Hammond invited Zublasing to Morgantown for a visit.

"I came here and I thought it was great," Zublasing said. "On the recruiting trip, they took me to Eat ‘n Park at 4 in the morning, and I was amazed that these places were open at 4 in the morning, which doesn't happen in Europe. It wasn't long after that when I actually came here, though my parents were a little hard to convince."

Hammond has seen the benefit that international shooters have had on the program, so the cross-continental pipeline will now only continue to grow.

"It adds a really good dynamic to the team," Hammond said. "It brings more culture to the team, and the whole team can learn different training techniques and different ideas.

"Just as Morgantown is very much not your typical West Virginia town because there's just a huge mix of people, by bringing international kids into a college team, you just get that different atmosphere."