THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501090088
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Every morning, Jose Castillo stands in the middle of his bedroom and swings his shotgun, quickly, smoothly, right to left.
He does this over and over and over, his arms swaying in a graceful arc, his eyes trained on the line where the ceiling meets the wall.
The workouts are part of Castillo's regimen, and he performs them with a superstitious zeal.
He hopes they will take him to Atlanta and the 1996 Olympics.
Castillo, 30, a fire control technician on the Norfolk-based command ship Mount Whitney, is a champion skeet shooter.
``It takes practice, just like any other sport,'' he said. ``It's a growth process. You don't just show up and win.''
In the next few months, Castillo, captain of the Navy's nine-member skeet-shooting team, hopes to attend national trials in California and Georgia. He has his eyes trained on getting invited to the world cup championships in July at Colorado Springs.
Last October, Castillo won a world title competition in San Antonio, as the military champion of the 12-gauge division.
How good is that?
During the competition, Castillo hit 250 out of 250 birds - clay discs that are 4.5 inches wide.
He then faced 15 other perfect shooters in a sudden-death playoff. They stood shoulder to shoulder, each one taking a turn at shooting ``doubles'' or two of the clay pigeons. The first one to miss was out.
Castillo was the last one standing.
He credits his practice.
The son of a doctor from Missouri, Castillo grew up hunting real birds in the thick woods that surrounded his home. He shot his first skeet at age 8. He won his first title at 9.
``I've had so many hobbies all my life, I was fortunate,'' Castillo said. ``My mom and dad never gave me Nintendo. They sent us out to the back yard and said, `Go.' ''
Castillo, whose brother and father both shoot skeet, moved to Florida in the mid-'70s and took up golf, leaving skeet behind. He went to the University of Florida on a singing scholarship, but dropped out after one year and joined the Navy.
When he was stationed in Key West, Fla., in 1990, he picked his gun back up.
He practices one day a week at the skeet range near Oceana Naval Air Station, shooting 150 birds at a time. He tries to shoot a major championship every other month. He has to reach 5,000 shells a year to meet the standards set by the National Skeet Shooting Association.
As captain of the Navy team, Castillo picks the shooters who go with him to compete at the various tournaments. They are granted leave to attend the events only if their work on their station is complete.
On the days of competition, Castillo relies on superstition to get him through. He dresses carefully. Shorts. Red Navy team shirt. The color of his underwear changes, depending on which gun he is using. If it's 20 gauge, he wears blue. If it's 12 gauge, red.
He eats waffles and drinks orange juice the morning of the tournament. Tuna salad and more juice for lunch. And then before he shoots, he downs a quick shot of Cuban coffee.
``It makes me feel better,'' Castillo said.
He says he knows skeet shooting won't bring him fame and fortune. His face won't be on a box of cereal. Even though more than 200,000 shooters compete nationwide each year, few of the winners are known outside of the gun club circuit.
``It's not a highly televised sport,'' Castillo said. ``There are enough people in the sport that there's a whole lot of satisfaction when someone recognizes you.
``That's enough for me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Jose Castillo, 30, is a fire control technician on the command ship
Mount Whitney.
by CNB