Left: Pakenham skeet shooter Anthony Sottosanti has been shooting competitively since he gained his licence as a 13yearold.
By Brad Kingsbury
ANTHONY Sottosanti is shooting for the top literally.
The 16yearold Pakenham skeet shooter has dedicated himself to becoming the best in the land and has an ultimate goal that would daunt most teenagers.
“It’s a big one, but I want to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games,” he states with a resolve that instantly has you believing he will do it.
After starting competitive shooting earlier this year, Anthony has progressed swiftly and recently won the junior skeet champion titles in Sydney and Canberra.
His next mission is the national titles to be held this weekend in Sydney.
From there, Anthony will work to achieve the qualifying level required to elevate him to the elite group eligible to travel to the USA, Europe and Asia to train and compete against the world’s best shooters.
There are three Olympic target shooting disciplines, skeet, trap and double trap.
Skeet shooting involves hitting as many clay targets as possible out of 125 with the men’s qualifying score being 121 hits and the junior score 114.
Anthony’s best score to date is 92 out 100. He is yet to shoot the full 125 target round.
The Year 10 St Francis Xavier College student has sacrificed much of his home and recreation time to train and work at the Frankston Gun Club in an effort to achieve his goal, but his passion for the sport is unwavering.
“It’s pretty hard when your mates organise stuff and you want to go out, but I just want this so much that I’m prepared to do what’s required and train,” he said.
Anthony became familiar with guns as a young child growing up on his parents Sarah and Joe’s farm in Cockatoo.
He moved to Pakenham with his mother as a sixyearold and had his first go at target shooting with his uncle several years later.
“I started when I was 13 and I got my (gun) licence,” he said.
“My uncle Santo got me into it. He was a good skeet shooter and he came down one day and showed me how to do it.
“My first experience was with a sidebyside shotgun on a skeet range and I hit the targets. I just found I could do it and really enjoyed it.”
Anthony has had great support from both parents, but the sport became expensive and he took a parttime job at the Frankston Gun Club as a 14yearold to help with costs.
“It helps pay for my shooting and I can train as well,” he said. “I practice there twice a week at the moment.”
Anthony is taught by national coach Valerie Tomokihn and is dedicated to becoming the best, but knows that it won’t be easy.
“I try to keep fit and that’s important,” he said.
“It’s a mental thing because you’re out there pretty much all day competing. By the second, third and fourth rounds you really have to concentrate.”
Anthony said he was also grateful for the support provided by his school that has allowed him days off to train and compete and even altered his exam times to fit in with his sports commitments recently.
