The Rifleman

Granbury High School senior Philip Becker doesn’t feel stress all that often.

For an air rifle shooter, that might be the greatest quality of all.

Becker, a member of the GHS Marine Corps JROTC rifle team, was named to the U.S. national junior air rifle team after shooting the highest combined score at the National Air Rifle Championships in Camp Perry, Ohio, earlier this week. He is the first shooter in the history of the Granbury program to earn the honor of donning the U.S. jacket.

So was he nervous before the event? Any pressure weighing on his mind?

“I really wasn’t too stressed about it,” Becker said.

Does he ever get stressed about events?

“I mean...not really.”

Fair enough.

“There’s always some pressure,” he elaborated, “but it’s really not – shooting is so mental-focused, that you overcome it.”

And Becker overcomes it at nearly every event he competes in. Earlier this year he set a national Marine Corps JROTC record in precision air rifle with a score of 596-52x, which broke a record his teammate Makenzie Sheffield set in 2018, and tied a national record with a 200-20x in the kneeling portion. Becker is also the reigning Marine Corps Service Champion.

But he says earning a spot on the U.S. team is the accomplishment of which he’s most proud.

“It feels great,” Becker said. “It’s been a goal since eighth grade. I’ve been consistently working toward it.

“It’s a thing you look up to for a really long time, and it feels nice to finally get it.”

“This has been Philip’s goal for the past year, earning a spot on the national junior team,” said Lt. Col Scott Casey, the Senior Marine Instructor at GHS. “I knew he had a shot at making the national team as he has worked very hard this year, setting several national records earlier in the season preparing for the National Air Rifle Championships.”

DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED

Becker has honed his skills relentlessly over his career. Air rifle may seem like a simple game of point-and-shoot, but the mental side of it, the ability to focus in completely on every shot, is what separates the good from the great.

“So much of shooting is mental, and – not to toot my own horn – but I feel like I have a good enough control on that to where I can focus and continue to perform at a good level,” he said. “It comes from practice, and mental training, and being aware of that stuff.”

Football coaches often talk about taking seasons one game at a time. When it comes to rifle shooting, Becker said he takes events one shot at a time rather than keeping an overall score in mind.

“It’s hard not to think about a score,” he said. “But if you go in and really laser-focus on the score, you tend to perform a little bit worse.”

Becker keeps a list on his phone of his goals for each year. Now that he’s checked off earning a spot on the U.S. junior team, he’s eying even loftier goals in his senior year.

First and foremost on his list is signing with a collegiate rifle team. Becker has been talking with the University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, Ohio State University and North Carolina State University, and wants to major in aerospace engineering with the goal of becoming a NASA flight director.

Next is making (and hopefully winning) the finals at the Winter Air Rifle event, which is held at the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs. He also wants to participate in an international match representing the U.S.

Last on his list is winning the All Service Championships.

Because when you’re as accomplished as Becker is, there’s nothing left to do but aim for the top.

grant@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 254