BY TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Fort Hays University Shotgun Team announced on June 21 the retirement of head coach Duane Shepard.
After 18 years of hard work as a coach, Shepard will be stepping down at age 67 to become an adviser as he passes the torch to someone else.
Shepherd's interest in shooting began in his early 40s when he was teaching adapted and physical education at FHSU.
Shepard was approached by a couple of young men with the idea of putting a team together for FHSU in 2005. In the following years, Shepard taught students with little experience how to shoot until the team gained enough traction that many who joined already had skills.
Following his retirement announcement, Shepard said what he was most proud of was his students.
“All of them have turned into very good community members. They've been a stand-up group,” he said. “Shooting targets requires a lot of physical as well as a ton of the mental aspect of it to be successful.”
Shepherd's shotgun team has won 11 national championships and roughly 18 All-American titles.
Shepard said being a coach is a challenge in itself but having to work around student schedules for the best learning opportunities was a daily obstacle.
“Learning to put the kids in the best position possible to be successful because winning the championship is the end result. It's the work and everything that goes into it upfront,” he said.
States that Shepard has visited for recruiting new members include Colorado, Alaska and Wisconsin.
Jerrod Lies has been the assistant coach for two years and is taking over for Shepard as he retires.
Shepard said Lies understands the program and has high hopes that he’ll lead the team in the right direction.
“My expectations for him are the same expectations I had of him when he was a shooter, putting 110 percent into it. You'll be as successful as you choose to be,” Shepard said.
Lies began shooting when he was 11 years old and is now going into his 18th competitive season at 28.
His love of the sport started in a local 4-H program in his hometown of Mineola. Initially thinking he’d stop after two years of the program, Lies moved on to better guns and continued to shoot all throughout high school.
Lies made his way to the FHSU shooting team in fall 2014 where he’d train under Shepard for the next five seasons. During that time, he won three national championships, three national runner-ups and became a Collegiate All-American.
Lies said the goals for the team going into the new season will remain the same as Shepard always had.
“Every shoot we go to, every competition we go to, when we pull up, it's time to go to work. We're there to win. We're there for the team high overall.” Lies said.
Going into the 2023-2024 season, Lies said there will be minor changes in practice and shooting but overall, the system will remain the same as it did under Shepard, acknowledging its effectiveness.
Lies believes that despite learning a lot in his two years of assistant coach, he still has a lot to learn as he is determined to be the best coach he can be.
“The challenge for me that I put upon myself is to always keep striving to be a better coach for these kids because it's my job to put them in a position to be successful. My challenge is always living up to that and putting them in the best situation possible,” Lies said.
Lies described Shepard as one in a million, feeling blessed to have shot and coached with him.
“He's someone that I greatly admire and look up to, not just for shooting, but being a good man, being a good person,” Lies said. “The impact he's had on the kids, on the program and on the school will never be forgotten.”