Instruction and Lessons
If you are interested in taking a lesson with one of our instructors, please send an email directly to the coach of your choosing. For more information reach out to our Clubhouse.
Which instructor is right for me?
Level I
They will be able to instruct a shooter on such basics as setting up foot and body position for proper balance; setting up hand and shotgun position to move with the target; how to use the eyes to acquire a target; understanding why a target was missed; and why all this is important.
Level II
Level II instructors build off the basics and begin working on the mental game. The instructor has to be on the same page as the shooters to help them overcome their problems. Positive reinforcement, helping them learn what to do and when to do it, and rehearsing those actions both physically and mentally. Instructors are able to provide progressive training and help their students visualize breaking targets to empower the subconscious and make the right things happen.
Level III
Level III instructors are excellent communicators, highly proficient at teaching the fundamentals, assessing eye dominance and basic gun fit as well as proficient at calling a shot and diagnosing the causes of a miss on targets up to and including those of advanced levels of difficulty. Additionally, the Level III instructor will exhibit advanced skills in the areas of coaching competitive shooters, the mental game, goal setting and practice planning.
NSCA Instructor Level I
Athena Butler
"My mission is to build my student's confidence in their shooting abilities".
A Northbrook Sports Club member since 2016, Athena enjoys sharing her passion for the sport through teaching. Working with new and experienced shotgunners alike, Athena specializes in the instruction of her female peers. As a designated Annie Oakley Group instructor, she especially enjoys helping women have a positive and safe introduction to clay target sports
NSCA Instructor Level I
Bruce Dragoon
Bruce has been an active member of Northbrook Sports Club since 1994. Since then, he has shared trap and sporting clay fields with thousands of members and guests with a heavy concentration on educating safety and ability techniques while promoting youth-to-intermediate level shooters at the club. Bruce has earned and maintained Master Class status for many years. Bruce is an NSCA Level 1 instructor who, having seen 30,000+ registered targets, can confidently coach all Sporting Clays formats, F.I.T.A.S.C., and 5-stand.
Bruce is available Wednesday – Sundays for instruction.
NSCA Instructor Level II
Mark Freeman
20+ Years of Clays Shooting & wing shooting experience. Instruction & coaching for beginning sporting clays shooters to NSCA competitors & wing shooters with a focus on fundamentals. I teach how to shoot a shotgun, not how to break a specific target. Following all instruction detailed recap and recommended practice points are provided.
Reasonable Hourly Rate & Family Rates
References from current & previous clients provided upon request.
Available Wednesday Thru Sunday
Rental Guns Available
If You Don't Improve, The Lesson Is On Me!
NSCA Instructor Level I/ SCTP Coach/ FITASC Referee
Mark Gutman
Mark Gutman joined NSC in 2011. He is a former registered skeet event competitor and a regular NSC Winter Skeet League Competitor. Mark also is a regular registered sporting clay and FITASC competitor.
Mark enjoys coaching and instructing 5-stand, FITASC, skeet, and sporting clays. He is adept at assisting
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- beginning shooters advance down the learning curve
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- intermediate shooters identify skill sets to work on to make incremental improvements.
NSCA Instructor Level II/ NRA Shotgun Instructor
Kerry Luft
In addition to his NSCA credentials, Kerry is an associate instructor in World Champion Anthony Matarese's A.I.M. Shooting School, and the only one based in the Midwest.
He co-wrote Anthony’s book “Straight Shooting,” and has a deep understanding of the methodology that made Anthony the most accomplished sporting clays shooter in U.S. history. A former Master class competitor, he now funnels his passion for shooting into helping others, and works regularly with Anthony to develop his own instructing skills.
He enjoys helping new shooters gain a solid foundation, and takes great pride watching his competitive students advance through the classes.
As an experienced hunter, Kerry also can help wing shooters put more game into their bag. He is available most weekends and with enough notice, on weekdays.
NSCA Instructor Level I
Leslie Mueller-Grady
Leslie is a life-long resident of Wisconsin and a member of Northbrook Sports Club with broad exposure to various clubs, targets, and events. She’s been shooting sporting clays since 2010 and achieved recognition on multiple NSCA ladies All-American teams. Through over 70,000 registered targets and a devotion to the sport, she has accumulated extensive sporting clays experience that she is happy to share with others. She has a special interest in guiding women in their first steps toward learning and enjoying the shotgun sports; and is actively involved with the “Annie Oakley Shooters of Northern Illinois.”
NSSA Instructor Level I
Steve Patke
Steve began shooting as a teenager and he started shooting registered targets and competing in 1989. He shot at the Lincoln Park Gun Club on the Chicago lakefront until they closed, and he joined Northbrook Sports Club in 1991. Steve became Skeet Chairman at Northbrook 15 years ago where he was actively involved in scheduling, planning and running skeet events. Steve served as the president of the Illinois Skeet Shooting Association. He is currently Illinois state director, Zone 5 director, director of Northbrook Sports Club and is on the Executive Committee for the National Skeet Shooting Association. He has won several Illinois State shoot gun championships, including High Over All Champion. In addition, Steve has won the Zone 5 High Over All Champion. His highest HOA score was 398/400 at a large shoot in Indiana and has been a Northbrook Club Champion several times. Steve has had some very good scores at the World Shoot including third over all in the .410 Bore. Steve travels around the country to shoots for competition and to promote the sport and Northbrook’s events. Steve has shot 101,500 lifetime targets!
NSCA Instructor Level I
Henry Schwenk
Henry has been shooting clay targets since the age of 11, and has been a member of Northbrook for over 20 years. He is lead coach for Northbrook's youth sporting clays, and is a regular instructor for the Annie Oakley's. He has competed in nearly 500 sanctioned skeet and sporting clay events, and coaches both disciplines.
NSCA Instructor Level I
Greyson Ponder
Greyson has been a Master class shooter for over 5 years and has taught sporting clays for even longer. Starting out his career in shooting, Greyson shot competitively for the SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program) in which he won multiple state and national titles. In addition, Greyson went on to coach the sporting clays and skeet teams after he graduated from the program. From there he went on to shoot strictly registered NSCA targets traveling to shoot across the country on the pro tour. In the most recent years Greyson has been an All American Open Fitasc team member and Junior All American First team member. He has seen thousands of registered targets in tournaments at various clubs and states.
Greyson is a certified instructor for Target Line Shooting School mentored by Steve Schultz and is certified in the NSCA as a sporting clays instructor. Greyson is excited and committed to pass on his knowledge and experience to shooters at all levels. His experience in both the SCTP and in the highest levels of NSCA competition gives him the unique ability to mentor and coach anyone. Shooters looking for instruction can expect high level coaching tactics for both the mental and technical side of competing.
Please contact Greyson to book a lesson or for any questions.
Ph: (224) 301-3807
NSCA Instructor Level III
Phil Puckorius
As an NSCA Level III Certified Instructor, Phil brings over twenty-five years’ experience in coaching at all levels of NSCA certification.
After nearly thirty years of shooting registered sporting clays, rising through the classes up to Master Class in 2004 and making over twenty All-American and State teams, Phil also knows what physical and mental skills are necessary to excel in the clay target sports. As an avid hunter, Phil understands how building certain field-oriented techniques and skills on the clay target range can help hunters and recreational shooters have more fun and success when in the field.
NSSA Instructor Level I
Bob Shuley
Bob has been shooting clay targets and upland game for more than 65 years. He has achieved the highest classification in all clay target disciplines - AAA in skeet, AA in trap, and Master Class in Sporting Clays. For the last 20 years, Bob has been working with the future generation of clay target shooters - specifically youth. Before the SCTP arrived, Bob taught the finer points of skeet shooting with a great degree of success. Today he works with SCTP shooters, especially the very young. His goal is to enable young shooters to out perform more experienced shooters through encouragement and mentoring - a process Bob calls “boot camp”. Bob enjoys watching junior shooters improve their shooting skills and achieving shooting success. Bob also works with experienced shooters who are looking for help with their skeet game. His accomplishments are listed below.
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Member of the NSSA Hall of Fame
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5-time World Skeet Champion
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Member of the ISSA Hall of Fame
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36-time Illinois Skeet Champion
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Member of the United States Shooting Team
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Pan American Games Individual Gold, Silver and Bronze medals
NSCA Instructor Level I
Tom Sweeney
Tom Sweeney is local to Chicago’s North Shore and is one of Illinois’ most accomplished Master-Class Sporting Clays competitors.
In his 25-year career, Tom has shot over 175,000 competition targets, earned top honors nationally, and has worked with many of the country’s top coaches.
Equally comfortable working with beginners or experienced competitors, Tom is eager to share the rewards of his shooting journey to accelerate your progress.
Discounted rates for women and student shooters!
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Perennial NSCA All American, Sporting and FITASC teams
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Illinois Sporting Clays Association President
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Former NSCA Executive Council member
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Former Northbrook Sports Club President and long-time Board member
Visit Tom's website for more information or to book a lesson.
NSCA Instructor Level II
Bob Thickens
I have been a member of Northbrook since 2010 and a level II instructor since 2011. Prior to that I was a level 1 instructor since 2003. I have run youth leagues at two clubs and assisted at a third.
I enjoy teaching the kids as well as ladies and more advanced shooters.
As for my personal experience, I have been a member of NSCA all American teams as well as all state Wisconsin teams in both open and concurrent categories. I am a past Northbrook Sports Club, club champion. I have shot over 150,000 NSCA registered targets, so there are not many sporting, FITASC or Five Stand presentations that I have not seen.
The key to instruction is communication between coaches and students. I believe I do that well.
Level I NSSA Instructor/ Level II NSCA Instructor
Rod Vetter