Local youth shooting sports coach recognized

An article in the sports section of the June 14, edition of the Frontiersman detailed the results of the just completed Alaska SCTP-YESS state championships held at Birchwood Shooting Park. Mention was made in an accompanying photo of a legislative citation presented to Neil Moss for his work in organizing and running the SCTP-YESS shotgun shooting program in Alaska.

The Tuesday article covered the results of how well our Valley youth shooters fared in the championship matches. I want to concentrate on the citation awarded to Neil Moss.

The original citation was written and introduced to the 29th Alaska State Legislative session by Rep. Lynn Gattis. The citation received 59 co-sponsors, which means, including Rep. Gattis, unanimous support from the Legislature.

That sort of support doesn’t happen every day!

In addition to the citation, Moss was presented with a cased Alaska state flag that had been flown over the capital in his honor. Again, this is not a normal recognition level.

Rep. Gattis was unable to attend the presentation ceremony held during the state championship award presentations and asked Sen. Mike Dunleavy to do the honors. In his remarks, Sen. Dunleavy quoted from the citation wording. The senator began: “I am pleased to present Neil Moss with this honorarium citation for his work with the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program – Youth Education (in) Shooting Sports.

Back in 2004, Neil took his dream of developing a competitive youth shotgun league and ran with it. Through years of hard work, his dream has evolved into this incredible statewide shotgun program.”

In his speech, the senator talked about how the Alaska SCTP-YESS program has taken student clay target athletes to compete in the Scholastic Clay Nationals in Sparta, Illinois, four times. These student competitors and their coaches have also competed in the Western Regionals in Cody, Wyoming, in 2012; Seattle in 2014; and Tucson, Arizona, in 2015. Students from the program also attended the Nationals in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014 and 2015, and Junior Olympics Nationals in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2013, 2014, and 2015, bringing home gold and silver medals for Alaska!

The citation itself states: “Neil Moss is dedicated to working with youth shooters and their coaching staff to train and develop, not only better shooting techniques and high scores, but more importantly self-confidence, self-esteem, self-reliance, respect, personal discipline, responsibility, teamwork, and sportsmanship. He and his wife, Lindy, have made it their goal to raise up well-rounded kids to become confident adults and productive members of society focused on their communities and families. Out of their love for the sport and for Alaska’s youth, they have volunteered many hours of their time and invested much of their own funds to see this program succeed. They are excellent mentors to the next generation of young athletes all over the state of Alaska.”

Concluding, “The members of the Twenty-ninth Alaska State Legislature extend their sincere gratitude for all the hard work that goes into making this program possible, and honor Neil Alexander Moss for everything he has done for Alaska’s youth.”

I sit on the Board of Directors for the Alaska SCTP-YESS program and have firsthand knowledge of the time and funds both Neil and Lindy have invested in this program. For instance, Neil is an avid waterfowl hunter, probably the most “fanatical” one I know. I think he’d rather hunt ducks than breath. In his dedication to the SCTP-YESS program, Neil has only been waterfowling once in the past four years!

In speaking with Lindy Moss for background information, Lindy mentioned that, without the financial support from Larry and Brenda Potterfield of Midway, USA, the Alaska SCTP-YESS program would never have gotten going and definitely would not have survived and grown the way it has over the past 12 years. Lindy told me the Potterfield’s have a “heart for Alaska” and have been very generous in their financial support.

From a small beginning with one team and just a few kids here in the Valley, the program has expanded to 18 active shooting programs and several more in the beginning stages of development statewide, programs ranging from Nome to Ketchikan. Neil and Lindy have been the driving force behind all of them. Neil will tell you Lindy is the “real power” behind the scenes.

Some of the statistics provided by the Midway, USA support group state that Alaska, per capita, has the largest SCTP-YESS program for youth ranging from fourth to 12th grades in the nation. That says reams for Neil and Lindy Moss’ efforts in managing the program.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications. You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.