CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Originally from Gail, Texas, Ryan Phillips got into trap shooting around the age of 8. It's a sport where athletes shoot moving clay targets and she heard about it through her mother and began with a youth club. She knew it was something new for her and typically out of the ordinary.
"I shot in San Antonio, my 7th grade year," Phillips said. "I did super good at one of the events and USA Shooting was sponsoring that. So they gave me an invite to go to the state JO match, the Junior Olympics."
That's when she won her very first competition and never looked back. In 2021, she went to Lima, Peru for the Junior World Championships where she won silver. Last summer, she traveled to Korea and won both junior competitions.
"My first international medal for open was in Paris," Phillips said. "I got a bronze medal for a three-man team. Then most recently, I was in Morocco at an Open World Cup."
Developing her skill has been a challenge since the nearest shooting range for Phillips is in Kerrville. That's about 200 miles away from Corpus Christi.
"It's pretty challenging, especially compared to some of the people that bunkers in their backyard, they can train every day. I never really got that luxury. So it was one of those things when I went I was putting in as many rounds as I could," Phillips said.
Phillips has also learned how to balance training with school as she's in her third year at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She's studying Communications with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality studies.
"It's time management, communication. You've really gotta stay organized," Phillips said.
Trap shooting is known to be a male-dominated sport, but Phillips said she's proud to represent the many women who are changing that. She also keeps that in mind for herself as she pushes towards the Summer Olympics this July. For any young men or women looking to get into trap shooting, Phillips said she has just a few words for them to remember.
"Make sure you're having fun. And if you're not enjoying it, what's the point," Phillips said.
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