By Eileen O. Daday, Daily Herald Correspondent

Hannah McHugh, 16, of Palatine dreams of one day going to the Olympics, and in her case it’s not that far-fetched. She’s the reigning Illinois Junior Olympic gold medalist, and next week she leads her four-person team to nationals.

They compete in the little-known sport of Olympic-style three-position (3P) air rifle competition, both in the precision and sporter classes. Joining McHugh as she prepared for nationals are Matthew Kou, 17, of Prospect Heights; and siblings Katrina and Nicholas Meier of Glenview, who are 15 and 17, respectively.

Together they will represent Illinois at the 2004 National Junior Olympic 3P Championship, starting July 10 in Bowling Green, Ky. Every Wednesday and Saturday they practice with their team, the Arlington International Airgun Club, at their rifle range set up in the sunken gym at Christian Liberty Academy.

“Watching air gun competition is like watching paint dry, it’s very boring,” McHugh conceded. “But when you’re on the line shooting, there’s so much concentration, self-discipline and attention to detail that go into it.”

Her teammate, Katrina Meier, who took the individual silver medal at the state meet, agrees, adding that the slightest little movement can throw your whole shot off. Yet scoring that perfect center continues to drive her.

“I love it,” she said. “I love the competition of it. It’s such an adrenaline rush and then you have to calm yourself to set up for the next shot.”

At Saturday’s practice, a former Olympic shooter spoke about just that, as well as the mental toughness it takes to succeed at the national and Olympic level.

Michael Douglass was one of only two male air pistol shooters representing the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He grew up in Beach Park and learned to shoot competitively at Waukegan High School, graduating in 1994.

Douglass continued his competitive shooting while attending Marquette University, and eventually was selected to train at the Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs.

“I started out much the same as you’re doing, but the key is to make a national team,” said Douglass, who retired from the sport after the Olympics and works as an Aurora, Colo., police officer.

Douglass described goal-setting techniques and the power of a positive attitude and visualization, before reinforcing good sideline habits and trigger control.

“I equate the sport a lot to golf, it’s one shot at a time,” Douglass said. “There’s lots of technique and repetition of motion, between the stance and execution that goes into each shot.”

There’s also a strict set of guidelines that goes into every time the teens set foot in the range.

“There’s so many rules that go into it,” Kou said, “but safety is absolutely the No. 1 rule.”

A range officer oversees all of their practices. Team members follow his commands on when to commence shooting and when to cease, and no one crosses the line.

“You learn to respect (the rifles),” said Nicholas Meier, a former sea cadet who joined the club to concentrate on his marksmanship. “People get into trouble with guns because they don’t respect them, they treat them as toys.”

His coach, Jay Vergenz of Mount Prospect, concurs. “The sport requires a lot of respect and maturity,” Vergenz said, “which is why it is the safest sport in NCAA history.”

The teens follow strict guidelines, including always keeping the gun pointed toward the target, always keeping their finger off the trigger until the marshal signaled the start, and they kept the barrel of the gun unloaded until they were ready to start.

Targets are set up 10 meters away, lit up with spotlights. They are mounted on steel backstops so that when the small pellet hits, they flatten out and drop down into a trap.

“These rifles have just enough velocity to get it to the target,” said Bob Stack of Arlington Heights, whose son, James, 13, competes. “They are not classified as firearms because they are a very low-powered instrument, as compared to rifles that the military would use.”

The team credits its sanctioned range and equipment to funding it received from the National Rifle Association Foundation that supports safety instruction and education relating to the shooting sports.