IN the picturesque surrounds of Corowa and Albury, James Willett has dedicated some serious training hours to his craft.
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Clay target shooting, above all else, requires a Zen-like calm and focus to succeed; something the softly-spoken Willett possesses.
Without it, there is no chance the 19-year-old could be one of the highest-rated trap shooters in the country.
This air of composure dates back to Willett’s childhood, growing up on a farm near Mulwala, where his father Arthur first taught him to shoot.
Discipline with a weapon was paramount.
“Dad taught me the right way,” he said.
“I learned early on how much fun it was to go away to competitions with my family.
“You meet a lot of people travelling to the different shoots around the place, it’s always been enjoyable to get out there and send some shots down the range.”
His form in the past 12 months has seen him move far away from the humble range at the Albury Gun Club, instead venturing onto the world stage after a number of state and national titles.
Now rubbing shoulders with Olympic gold and silver medallist Russell Mark, Willett harbours ambitions of being the next Michael Diamond.
“It was always great watching him (Diamond) at the Olympics growing up, you don’t win two gold medals by accident,” Willett said.
“He and Russell Mark have been a real inspiration for me to keep getting out there, keep going to competitions.
“At the end of the day that’s what it’s all about.”
Willett is just now starting to make an impact on the world stage, with impressive performances in New Zealand and Italy bringing him to the attention of Olympic selectors.
In November, he was named in Shooting Australia’s Aiming4Gold futures squad after coming third in his first overseas event, the Universal World Trench Championships in Lonato, Italy.
A weekend later he won his first international event, the International Shooting Sport Federation trap championships, taking out the under-21 section in both the singles and doubles.
He said his first foray onto the international shooting scene had been a great learning experience.
“The conditions out there are very different to back home,” he said.
“It really takes a bit of time to adjust, but ultimately if you’re able to get over there and shoot away from home more often your results will always improve.
“The level of competition is much higher, obviously, so that’s where all the training comes into it.
“If you do enough of it, you learn to trust you muscle memory, you feel more comfortable away from home, and everything starts to get a little easier.”
He has the extensive knowledge of 1996 Olympic double trap gold medallist Mark behind him, as well as Wangaratta’s former Commonwealth Games representative Graeme Boyd.
The well-travelled duo have been helping Willett through the transition into the double trap discipline, after Willett sought to move away from his skeet shooting background.
“Their input has been crucial,” Willett said.
“Learning the new discipline has been challenging at times, but I’m pretty thankful for the support I get from those two.”
He’ll have plenty of practice whenever he’s at home.
Thanks to sponsorship from Rural Container Supplies and other sponsors, Willett has been able to build his own shooting range on the farm.
“I’ve got a pretty hectic schedule in 2015, I’ve just come back from Cyprus and I’ll be going overseas again to shoot twice more this year, so to be able to relax and practice properly when I’m at home is a real blessing,” he said.
“I’m obviously looking to spend the most time on the Olympic discipline, having the layout at home is crucial.”
For all of his international success, Willett said one of his career highlights so far was winning the National Family Deauville Doubles with his dad, Arthur.
“It was pretty great to be out there with dad, he’s supported me by driving me around, helping me financially and such, so to shoot with him and get the win was pretty amazing,” he said.
“We shot 125 out of 125 pairs, which was a real thrill.”
It seems as though last year was just the beginning for Willett, as the 19-year-old looks to venture further, improve his performances and stake his claim for a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.