Friday, April 19, 2024
STATE CHAMPION: Granbury clay target shooter Brett Chasteen has wrapped up four state titles this year.
SHOOTING MOMENTOS: Brett Chasteen is collecting state title trophies and mementos of his travels.
A DAD’S HELPING HAND: Brett Chasteen may have exceeded his father’s coaching abilities, but Alex still has pointers to share.
Granbury's Brett Chasteen's dreams of Olympic shooting glory might never have occurred if he hadn't been hit by a car when he was 18 months old, and the accident that almost killed him ended up saving his life.
Whether he remembers the accident or has been told about it over and over is uncertain. Still, the details of that almost tragic day remain with the 15-year-old who has won four clay target state championships this year.
A LIFE-CHANGING ACCIDENT
"I was 18 months old, and I was hit by a red Dodge Ram in my grandparents' neighborhood," Chasteen said. "I was chasing a basketball down the driveway. I was little, so I didn't look both ways. The truck came by and hit me. I hit the curb. I got scrapes; I broke my wrist, hitting my head really bad. They did a bunch of scans and stuff. They checked my head to ensure nothing happened, and that's when they found out I had a brain tumor."
Bruised externally and internally, Chasteen would have to wait to heal before undergoing surgery to remove the tumor in the lower left part of his brain.
It would be more than a year before Chasteen could begin the everyday routines of a three-year-old child, and that came with the restrictions of avoiding activities that might result in a head injury because he is susceptible to concussions. Football, basketball, soccer, baseball and other sports that might involve head-to-head contact were out of his life before they had a chance to start.
Like most growing boys, Chasteen has a competitive nature, and it has been through clay target shooting that he has filled that void to the point of running over.
Two weeks ago, at the 2022 Scholastic Clay Target Program Texas championships, Chasteen won a state title in his age group and was No. 11 overall regardless of age.
It was his fourth state title of the year (he shoots in other organizations), and the win earned him a spot on the SCTP All-State team. With the all-state selection, he will be representing Texas at the SCTP national championship in Ohio next month.
Chasteen's father, Alex, is also a competitive shooter who started a team with his fellow employees at the Grand Prairie Police Department, and that's how his son was introduced and became infatuated with shooting.
Alex served as his son's first coach, but he's done such a good job that he will be the first to admit his son's skills and competitive level have now exceeded his coaching abilities.
A RICH SHOOTING HISTORY
The Chasteen family has a rich history of competitive shooting.
"I've been shooting since I was in high school. My dad was a police officer. I'm a police officer. But I didn't get to shoot clays with my dad. My dad was more into pistol shooting. Some of my friends in high school shot competitively in Georgia. I went to their house, and we'd shoot clays and stuff and then go to the college and shoot with the clubs there."
Chasteen's mother, Jill, also did some shooting with her husband, but she's not as competitive as her family. Her receiving a "fancy shotgun" on a birthday one year fell a little short in the gift department and resulted in Alex going and finding "some gold and diamonds" to balance the scales. Jill kept the shotgun, too.
It's still a little early for Chasteen to decide which college he will attend, but he's been happy to learn that shooting at the next level can also help pay for school with scholarships.
The brain tumor didn't harm his learning abilities, and Chasteen was tabbed as a National All-Scholastic Shooter last week.
THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Still, it hasn't all been easy, and Chasteen has already suffered through the fabled “sophomore slump" before his 10th-grade year started when his scores leveled off and even dipped a year ago.
There were all the standard checks for glitches in his shooting, but the problem was that Chasteen had outgrown and exceeded the capacities of his shotgun.
An upgrade can be costly, and there is also the consideration that Chasteen isn't done growing to his full size. Together, Chasteen and his father set their sights on a Blaser competitive shotgun.
It's both a short- and long-term solution because the shotgun features adjustable components and can "grow" along with Chasteen.
LOFTY CAREER GOALS
While he's sighting in on targets three to four times a week, Chasteen admits he doesn't want to shoot much more than that to avoid his sport becoming a grind, and he's got other interests away from shooting that can also lead to a solid career.
"I've been in flying school right at the Granbury Municipal Airport for the last four months, and it is going well," Chasteen said. "Here, in about two months, I should be able to do my solo monitoring. My end goal is to be either a private pilot or to work for an airline."
NEW 4-H SHOOTING CLUB
On June 20, Alex signed paperwork with the Hood County 4-H Club that will be bringing the first-ever 4-H clay target shooting to Granbury.
With a growing interest in the sport, Chasteen feels it is something he can do to give back to his community. Readers can find out more information about the new club by emailing HoodCounty4HShotgunClub@yahoo.com.
Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231
