While many students use their free time outside of school to rest or tackle homework, sophomore Clover Graves makes time to steady her breathing, align her sights and take precise aim. She shoots Olympic-style precision rifle, a sport where a single breath or heartbeat can throw off a shot.
Graves discovered the sport about a year ago during a visit to West Point, the U.S. military academy. While on campus, she happened to see a rifle match taking place on campus, and was immediately intrigued. “I just thought it was fascinating to see people doing this, and I had no idea this was a sport at all,” she said. Graves met a family there who introduced her to the Cos Cob Rifle and Revolver Club in Greenwich, where she still practices during the week.
“She was all in,” said her younger sister Marni Graves ‘29. “She started and learned really quickly, and I could see that she was falling in love with this sport.”
Now, Graves competes in the West Point Rifle League on weekends, regularly facing athletes on track to attend service academies and top NCAA rifle programs. Graves shoots both .22 caliber rifles and air rifles in three standard positions: prone, kneeling, and standing (also called offhand). Each match consists of 60 scored shots, with 20 per position. In .22 matches, the distance is 50 feet; in air rifle, it’s almost 33 feet. Shooters aim at targets so small that scoring rings are the size of a dime.
“You can even see your heartbeat on the target. You aren’t supposed to breathe when you shoot,” Graves said.
Of the three positions, kneeling has been the most physically challenging. “Your foot falls asleep, and you’re at this weird angle,” she said. “But it’s the first one in the match, so I know if I get through that I can get through the rest.”
Graves balances shooting with a packed schedule that includes junior varsity lacrosse, fall tennis, rigorous academics, and other extracurricular commitments. Year-round, she practices rifle three times a week and plans her entire week out in advance, time-blocking in order to juggle her many practices with schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
Marni discussed how this discipline didn’t happen overnight. “Her drive and time management have developed over time. She’s learned to cope with a lot happening at once, but she also knows when it’s time to focus,” Marni said.
Graves’ ability to focus is central to her success in precision rifle. “She has the ability to almost create a bubble around her when she is shooting,” Marni said. “It’s very interesting to watch.”
Graves’ interest in rifle has also influenced her long-term goals. In the summer of 2023, she attended a STEM program at the U.S. Naval Academy, and is considering applying to a service academy. Additionally, she is also drawn to another field that demands intense precision: medicine.
“I love precise things, I’ve always been obsessed with that sort of thing – I would love to be a doctor or surgeon one day.” Graves continued, “That’s another component of what I love about this sport.”
Marni believes that the sport may have helped shape those ambitions “She liked the environment at West Point and the opportunities they offered. I think she sees how she could pursue whatever she wants to do there,” she said.
Though she has only been shooting for a year, Graves is already competing against some of the strongest junior athletes in the country and plans to continue. Marni views her sister as a role model, both in competition and beyond. She said, “I look up to Clover not only because she’s my older sister, but because of how well she balances everything. She still makes time for friends, academics, and rifle. She’s figured out how to do it all.”
For Graves, rifle offers something she hasn’t found in other sports. “It’s so different from every other sport I’ve done because you want to be as still as possible, so I fell in love with it,” she said.
