Iowa Western Shotgun Sports coach Derek Pollock was on hand March 26 as Arlington High School senior Zane Gerrish signed with his national championship winning team.
“We're excited for Zane,” the coach said. “I think he's going to do great things for us.”
Gerrish, a multi-sport athlete at AHS, made his initial connection with Pollock through summer league shooting. The Eagle — who earned first from 22-23 yards at last May's Cornhusker Trap Shoot —hadn't necessarily thought about college shotgun sports by that time, but his mind changed.
“He kind of put a bug in my ear and I ended up deciding I wanted to go shoot,” Gerrish said.
The sport tests him in ways he enjoys.
“It's really tested me mentally,” the senior said. “You can win or lose by one target and that kind of mental challenge is fascinating to me.”
Pollock said Gerrish has shown a propensity for shooting and credited Fremont Trapshooting Team leadership for their efforts.
“We've pulled quite a few kids already from the Fremont program,” the Iowa Western coach said. “They have a fantastic coach in Becky (Nielsen). Her reputation and the way that she handles the team, and brings in and trains these kids, is really why we're interested in them.”
After this current high school season, though, Gerrish will be a Reiver all the way. He has one major goal for his time in Council Bluffs.
“I just want to go out and do the best I can,” he said.
Notably, Iowa Western has two former Blair Youth Shooting Sports athletes on its team this school year, Anissa Hill and Hayden White.
