Nineteen-year-old Levi Henrichs is fresh off victory as a team member in breaking a Guinness World Record with CZ-USA in Kansas last month. With work, college and practice, this young man has major aspirations—including the shooting sports.
NRA Family: When people ask you what you do, what do you say? Elevator-speech length.
Levi Henrichs: I shoot clay pigeons out of the air for fun.
NRA Family: What’s your history in the shooting sports, and how did you get to where you are today?
Levi Henrichs: My shooting sports career began well before I started shooting trap. I’ve always been around firearms and really enjoyed being around them and shooting them—beginning with hunting and trapping and leisure time with my dad. My freshman year of high school was the first time I was able to shoot as a sport—and, have lots of other people to do it with—on a regular basis. Ever since then, my love for the sport and firearms has grown.
NRA Family: Do you consider yourself to be an ambassador for the shooting sports? Why?
Levi Henrichs: I only have great things to say about competitive shooting sports. When anyone asks me anything about it, I give good information in hopes of sparking their interest, and maybe helping them get to a range and give it a try. It is why I went and got my NRA level 1 coaching license for shotgun when I was 16. I love getting other kids into the sport, and getting them familiar with the firearm and the basic level knowledge and safety that it takes to start shooting.
NRA Family: What does the future hold?
Levi Henrichs: Right now, the future for me isn’t entirely clear. Finances are one of the biggest obstacles right now. Being in college and not being able to work full hours makes it hard to stay competitive, but I would really love to shoot at the Olympic level and medal.
NRA Family: Is there a particular discipline in shooting sports that you’d like to improve in?
Levi Henrichs: I would also like to get into 3-gun competition and work to compete at a high level. That field would be a lot of fun to get into. It would be a whole different range of shooting, but I enjoy all different firearms, and the potential for learning and being competitive is always a source of enjoyment and personal gain.
NRA Family: Usually, young people get tremendous support from family members … what’s your story?
Levi Henrichs: My parents have supported me from the beginning with shooting sports; I wouldn’t be where I am without them. I was never a ball sports athlete, but our whole family has always enjoyed hunting and shooting sports. This is how our local team got started. Several parents, including my dad, got together and did the groundwork for it. By making time and putting forth the effort to get involved with and setting up a team locally, this group opened up a way to learn to shoot and become competitive, along with learning to handle firearms safely. My dad also gave me a job working construction for him so I could have the money to buy better equipment to improve my skills. I would not have been able to pursue this sport without a job, and it also helped my work ethic. I was able to keep shooting because I was willing to do what it takes to stay in the game of competitive shooting sports.
NRA Family: What else do you like to do when you’re not training or shooting?
Levi Henrichs: I really enjoy spending time with my friends and shooting. Shooting is what takes up all of my time. If I am not shooting, I am training or thinking of ways to shoot better.
NRA Family: How can people follow you through social media?
Levi Henrichs: People can follow either of my two Instagram pages: my personal is levihenrichs and my second page is j_l.shootingsports.
