| From its inception, the Sportsman’s Team Challenge competition has been based on the simple concept that a team, working together in all the shooting disciplines, offers a unique challenge to the sports community. A rare and hard-to-achieve combination of support, strategy and shooting skill, plus a lot of teamwork, are required for anyone to excel in the competition.
No one individual embodied this spirit more than Wayne DeSoto – a friend to everyone in the sport. During the last three years of his life, he partnered with Henry Burns and me to make up the STC team “Pretty Good N’ You.”
Win or lose, fly high or crash, Wayne was never down, never critical and was always ready to help his teammates have fun and enjoy the sport. Before becoming a part of Pretty Good N’ You, he would travel to the national STC competition on his own with the hope that someone would need a shooter to fill out a team. He was always ready to do his best for anyone who would give him a chance to compete.
A classic example of his spirit and enthusiasm occurred during his last national championship where Pretty Good N’ You was among the more than a dozen AA teams in the competition.
Wayne was shooting the .22-caliber pistol in the handgun event and somehow managed to empty all 10 of his magazines in just under two minutes and still left one plate standing. Chugging back to the scorer’s table with arms flailing and feet pounding, Wayne yelled “Don’t worry. We’ll make it up in the end!”
Henry and I were laughing so hard that we could barely complete our segments of the match.
Despite the handgun train wreck, we still managed to make it to the championship round and ended up winning third place. Wayne was walking on air throughout the award ceremony – his first trip to the big winner’s circle.
Wayne died of cancer in January 2000. He finally encountered a target he could not knock down, but he never gave up, never got discouraged and was a competitor to the end.
Henry and I loved Wayne as much as he loved life and sharing time with his friends both on and off the shooting range. Wayne had the ability to make you smile, even when he was repeating his bad jokes, and we are better people for having known him.
In tribute to him, we created the Wayne DeSoto Sportsman of the Year award to recognize others who embody his competitive spirit and enthusiasm of the team concept of STC. Past recipients include: Jamie Foote, Glynne Moseley, Linda Foote, Larry Nelson, Dan Moseley, The Sedlecky Family, Bob Maples and Larry Weir.
The recipients of this perpetual award have been assigned the task of selecting each year’s honoree as a way of recognizing those who love the game, love their teammates and help make our shooting community a better place. If any STCA member is interested in nominating a person for the honor, please contact any previous recipient with your recommendation. – Ralph Winingham
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