ESCANABA — A brother and sister from Ford River will be competing next week at a national trap shooting competition in Sparta, Illinois.

The Youth Trapshooting Program AIM is holding the National Youth Skeet Championship. It is part of the Amateur Trapshooting Association that is holding its championship in August.

Justin Cobb, 18, said it’s an opportunity to shoot against some of the best shooters in the country.

“There’s definitely a lot of kids there that can give you a good challenge. It’s nice to have a challenge,” he said.

To meet that challenge, Cobb says he needs to be disciplined.

“I have a set routine that I do every time. If I don’t get that routine just right, usually I end up missing birds. It takes a lot of patience but you just have to have fun,” he said.

Jillian Cobb, 14, started shooting when she was 9 or 10 years old. She said she likes the skill it takes to shoot the clay pigeons.

“I just kind of focus on shooting and keeping your eye on the bird,” Jillian said. “And, when you call for it, you just kind of have to know what way the bird can go and try to follow it.”

This will be Jillian’s first time shooting at the national event. Justin is hoping to be good enough for the junior olympics some day.

The two were shooting yesterday at the Great Lakes Sports and Recreation Club in Escanaba.