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Seaford teen finds calm and focus in precision shooting
Marina West has been able to excel in the sport of precision shooting even though she has only been participating for a short time. In just her first match of 3PAR shooting, West was able to come away in second place. (Photo: Becki West)

Seaford teen finds calm and focus in precision shooting

SEAFORD, Va. (BVM) — At nearly 15, Marina West loves music and animals, and has been known to roll her eyes at the antics of her younger siblings. She is like most other kids her age.

Except she isn’t.

West can sing along to songs unfamiliar to her peers because she was raised listening to a wide spectrum of music spanning the decades before she was born. The West family has three dogs, four ducks, and two guinea pigs, and West can often be found lounging in a lawn chair with one of the ducks. She is a talented artist and young entrepreneur, selling her hand-drawn Christmas tree ornaments to earn money for holiday gifts. And she’s a competitive shooter.

“My parents have always been pretty big into the whole gun world.” West said. “We live right by a range. They would go pretty often.”

Becki and Marina at an IDPA match, with Johnnie hamming it up in the background. (Photo: Becki West)

The West family, parents Johnnie and Becki, Marina, and her twin brothers, Jackson and Hayden, 12, moved from Newport News to Seaford in 2016, placing them in close proximity to York County’s Lafayette Gun Club (LGC).

“I was around 10 when my dad first took me to the range,” Marina said. “We just shot rimfire .22 from bench rest, and I loved it so much! We went back a couple more times, but I started really getting into it in the spring of 2019.”

That was about the time that Marina started shooting .22 caliber rifles as part of the Juniors Program at LGC, where her parents are both members. The program teaches the safe handling and firing of rifles, based on the NRA Marksmanship program.

Marina’s parents also compete in monthly International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) matches held at the club. IDPA focuses on the use of handguns and holsters for self-defense in simulated real-world situations.

As the only female firearms instructor at LGC, Becki is also a member of the Training and Education Committee, and she is often one of a handful of women at their monthly IDPA matches. As she saw Marina’s interest in shooting grow, naturally, she invited her daughter to join the fun.

“I was really nervous at first,” Marina said. “I had shot a 9mm pistol a little bit, but mostly just in safety practices at home. I’ve had gun safety drilled into me since I could think. It feels like there’s a lot of pressure or expectation sometimes, because my mom is an instructor, that I should be really good.”

The nerves didn’t stop her from trying, and she has participated in IDPA matches regularly for about a year.

“I love that Marina is willing to get out of her comfort zone and work hard to improve,” Becki said.

Marina West competing in her first 3PAR match. (Photo: Becki West)

Marina’s participation in the LGC Juniors Program led to an invitation to join the Lafayette Competition Team, where she competes monthly in local, regional, and national air rifle matches. The team meets three nights a week and competes in Three Position Air Rifle (3PAR) matches. 3PAR is the event designed to prepare juniors to compete in the Olympics, according to USA Shooting, the organization that prepares athletes for the highest level of international competition.

“Marina was noticed by the coaches; her safe handling and quick progression up through the levels of the program,” Junior Program head coach John Hullender said. “I invited Marina to join our team not only because of her shooting skills, but because of her maturity, willingness to listen and learn, and her ability to apply what she learns. She is a huge asset to the team and a remarkable young lady.”

Marina is showing great potential in the sport. In her first two months on the team, she competed in a local 3PAR match and finished in second place in her division against athletes that had been competing for up to a year.

“They’re different animals,” Marina said when asked whether she prefers IDPA or air rifle. “There’s tactical shooting and precision shooting. Tactical is very ‘shoot quickly and hope it goes in the right spot’ and precision is ‘make sure it goes in the right spot and worry about time later.’”

Shooting is also a helpful outlet for the young marksman.

“I really love air rifle a lot, it’s very calming,” Marina said. “I have ADHD. I move a lot. When I shoot air rifle, I don’t fidget — at all. I just realized this recently. My mind is completely focused. I don’t get anxious. I was really excited when I figured that out! I don’t think I’ve done enough IDPA matches to know if my head goes to the same place, but I’m interested to figure that out.”

Marina’s advice for anyone interested in shooting competition is simply to “go for it.”

“Don’t let age or worry about judgement from others hold you back.”