12325 E Stillwater Way
Redding, CA 96003
Phone: (530) 549-3319
cschmidt@starband.net
Carl Schmidt, NROI's New Man in NorCal
by Kim Williams
(Interview originally appeared in Nov/Dec 2004 Issue of Front Sight Magazine)
NROI's man in the west, Carl Schmidt, is no stranger to being on the front lines. Having survived five national championships, four Golden Gates, three Western States', and SEVEN Golden Bullet tournaments, Schmidt recently attended his final instructor training seminar in Washington. There he survived having my camera in his face and a barrage of annoying questions spanning the entire weekend. He is now officially an NROI Instructor, ready to take on Level I seminars on his own.
A Master-class shooter and enthusiastic 3-Gunner, Schmidt brings new energy and an unusually high degree of technical expertise to his new role with NROI. Rooted in California, Schmidt fills a void in NROI's instructor network left by the retirement of Bill Kehoe.
If you're headed to a tournament in the West, watch for him.
KW- Let's get the personal stuff out of the way first. Are you married? Children?
CS- I've been married to my wife Donna for 23 years. It has only been with her support and understanding I have been able to accomplish my goals in this sport. I have three grown children. The oldest son, Jeff, works as a cook in Alaska. The second son, Cory, is a computer geek in San Diego. The youngest daughter, Melanie, works for Shasta County in Redding (California). None are married at this time. No grandkids.
KW- What do you do for a "real job"?
CS- I've enjoyed working for the City of Redding for over 30 years. I'm a Working-Supervisor (I know that's an oxymoron) in the Fleet Maintenance Department.
KW- How did you get started as a shooter and then with USPSA?
CS- Back in 1991 I heard about a group of guys that shot pistols at a local range. When I shot the first stage the world disappeared and all that counted was shooting those targets. At that point I knew I had found my game and I've never looked back. I started traveling to other clubs in the area and wanted to be classified.
KW- What made you decide to become an RO?
CS- In 1993 I volunteered to be club president. I felt I should be knowledgeable about the rules.
KW- Can you give me a breakdown of your certification (RO/CRO/RM) dates if you can remember them and who taught your classes?
CS- 1993, Level 1 taught by Dave Stanford
1995, Level 2 taught by Bill Maund
1999, RM mentored by Jay Worden
KW- What made you decide to go one step further and become an instructor for NROI?
CS- When I heard Bill Kehoe was retiring I realized there would be no instructors west of the Mississippi, so I contacted John Amidon and volunteered. I look at it as the next Level in NROI.
KW- Do you hope to bring a fresh new perspective to the instructor corps?
CS- As far as I know I'll be the only RMI that is a Master class shooter. I hope to impress on my students Masters and GMs are not the bad guys, and maybe show other M and GMs they can also be part of NROI.
KW- Are you nervous about teaching?
CS- After watching how smooth the other instructors are I'm worried my first few classes might be a little dry. I don't want to lessen the experience the students are entitled to.
KW- What motivates you to volunteer and do so much for the sport?
CS- As with most of the jobs I have done for this sport I figured somebody had to do it; it might as well be me. As I mentioned before, I think IPSC shooters are some of the greatest people I've ever met, so the more I help the more I meet.
KW- Do you remember how many matches you've worked?
CS- Can't say I have preference. I enjoy them all. Every match has different challenges, whether it's a club match or Nationals.
KW- What about as a member of Staff?
CS- Undoubtedly the Nationals. The camaraderie among the Staff is great. You learn more about being a RO at the Nationals than anywhere else. The shooters in this sport are some of the best people I've ever met and the Nationals is the one place they come together.
KW- Speaking of the Nationals, you just recently completed the USPSA 3-Gun Nationals as an RM; what was that experience like?
CS- Well, up to this point it's been the high point of my career as an RM. The match was quite a challenge to put together. We basically put the match together in three months. The short time frame coupled with the rule changes that seemed to come every couple of weeks really kept things hopping. With all the problems, I feel the match was a success because we showed USPSA could put on a multi-gun nationals. With a little more tweaking of the rules we should be able to develop matches on par with the pistol nationals.
KW- What did you take away from that match, as challenging as it was? Did you learn from it?
CS- It made me realize what a great organization we belong to. The set-up crew, most of them had never helped set-up a nationals before, worked 12-hour days all week in order to get the match going.
The shooters came; most didn't even know what the rules were. They came to be part of USPSA's first multi-gun Nationals. Most admitted it was a tough match, but understood we were conducting an experiment and had a good time. I was really proud of the job the staff performed. In my opinion they were the heroes of the match. They worked 12-hour days, most without lunch breaks, without a whimper. Some even came in early on the last day to run some late squads. They knew what the job was and did it. Even though it was probably the toughest match they had ever worked, most would do it again.
KW- Despite all the problems would you do it again?
CS- Definitely, just waiting for someone to ask.
KW- What would you do differently the second time around?
CS- I'd like to have more time to prepare, and set up a schedule that wouldn't be so hard on the staff and shooters. And remember to buy black tape. ( I forgot to buy black tape for the partial targets, and when you don't have black tape there is not much you can use to substitute.)
KW- Do you think USPSA is headed in the right direction as far as membership, marketing, juniors, divisions, etc?
CS- All of our new shooters start at the club level. I feel USPSA should be doing more to support the local clubs in order to help keep new people. The clubs need help with advertising, shooter packets, etc. Most clubs don't have the kind of resources or talent needed to promote the sport.
KW- What about NROI? What do you think we can do to improve RO recruitment and retention?
CS- At the present time the people taking the course are self-motivated, which is great. That's the kind of people we want. However, after that point there is no recognition or incentive to stay an RO. I'm not sure what would work, an NROI newsletter maybe?
KW- Do you see a problem with the US vs. Them thing that people sometimes talk about?
CS- I see this as the human condition. The RO is a person of authority, and some people will always have a problem with authority, and some people will abuse authority. So as long as there are people involved there will be problems. Just something we have to live with.
KW- Do you think anything can be done about that?
CS- Come to one of my classes.
KW- Now that's confidence. What advice would you give new shooters?
CS- Find someone to mentor you, take a class from the GMs that teach, and practice, practice, practice.
KW- What about new Range Officers? What advice would you give them?
CS- Start working all the matches you can. Experience is the best teacher.
KW- What do you think is the most fundamentally important thing to teach students attending your seminars?
CS- Take what you learn back to your clubs and follow the rules. I see so many clubs that think it's OK to fudge the rules, not realizing how this can affect new shooters that start traveling. I also see experienced shooters not wanting to visit clubs that are known not to follow the rules.
USPSA and NROI are lucky to have added Carl to our pool of instructors. His dedication and excitement will offer a fresh new perspective and we take great pride in welcoming him aboard. If you get an opportunity to take one of his seminars, grab it!
