Extension Matters

Volume 11 Number 2

Choosing to Lead

Connecting, educating, and empowering Mississippi youth

Meet Scott and Danyelle Yeatman, 4-H Shooting Sports volunteer leaders in Webster County!

Q&A with Michaela Parker | Photos by Michaela Parker and submitted

Scott and Danyelle Yeatman have been volunteers for 4-H Shooting Sports for 17 years, and they’ve helped hundreds of young people learn how to handle firearms safely and responsibly. All 4-H volunteers, overseen by agents and specialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, undergo background checks and training to work with Mississippi youth. Scott and Danyelle have both completed level one training to teach rifle and pistol, level two in shotgun, and level three in slingshot. Danyelle is also the rifle and pistol coordinator in Webster County. While they don’t have children of their own, they appreciate the opportunity to teach and inspire all the young people they get to work with.

What inspired you to volunteer with 4-H Shooting Sports for 17 years?

Scott: There’s nothing else like it. I say that I have four jobs and only one of them pays, but that’s just money. 4-H, with these kids, pays me more than my paying job. We had a kid I had taken to practice, and he asked me, “Mr. Scott, how come you and Ms. Danyelle don’t have kids?”

And I said, “We do. You’re one of my kids.”

He thought about it for a little while, and one Sunday morning, my phone rang, and I answered it. He said, “Happy Father’s Day.”

That about tore me out of the frame, and it still does.

Danyelle: I’ve gotten Mother’s Day gifts from kids, too. When you see a kid that has been trying and trying and trying, and they finally succeed, it makes you feel like you’ve succeeded.

At district this year, I was sobbing behind our kid when he made state. He turned around with this big old grin, and I said, “I’m crying.” Somebody sent his dad a video, and he took a screenshot of him hugging me from that video. You get invested in them.

Scott: On more than one occasion, we’ve had parents call us to ask us to check on their kids. Now, that’s something that has to be built. It can’t be bought, you know. I tell my boss and a lot of other people. I say, “We don’t have kids. So, the only legacy that we have to leave is what somebody else’s kids think of us.”

What do you want to teach your 4-H’ers?

Scott: We’re here to be safe before anything else.

Danyelle: One of our former 4-H’ers, his kid is learning with us now. When we hand him the firearm, he just automatically checks the safety. It’s just something that we want to see happen.

Scott: Confidence is another big thing. We want them to get confident in being around other kids. Sportsmanship, not necessarily succeeding in hitting a target, but succeeding at life. You know, to just learn how to do things with others and get confident in what you’re doing. The rest comes after that.

Why is it important to get kids involved in 4-H Shooting Sports?

Scott: It gives them something different. It gives them a responsibility. It gets them outside. We have so many kids now that have been babysat by television and video games. But 4-H gives them something to do and somewhere to be. It was stated in one of the shooting sports trainings, you never know what that child has outside of this. I don’t know what they have at school, what friends or problems they may have.

But I watch all of these kids become friends outside of shooting sports. I love how all our shooting sports kids find each other.

What are some of the safety tactics you teach in 4-H Shooting Sports?

Danyelle: We start when they’re eight years old, and as soon as they get done shooting an air rifle, they need to put the safety on. Don’t take it off until they’re ready to shoot. As soon as you pull that trigger, put the safety on. We want it to become muscle memory for them.

We emphasize to always treat a gun as if it’s loaded. Never point a firearm at something you don’t want to potentially destroy. Finger off the trigger until you’re ready to make that shot. Nobody goes over the line while everybody’s shooting.

Why do we emphasize firearm safety to the 4-H’ers?

Scott: We’re not always there [around them outside of 4-H] watching over them, so when they walk away, we need to know that the safety measures come naturally. There’s going to come a time when they’re going to be somewhere with a buddy or something, and they’ll need to know how to safely handle their firearms.

Why should somebody get involved in this program as a volunteer?

Danyelle: You’re paid in the heart.

Scott: It will be one of the most rewarding things you can do, if you’re dedicated to it. You have to do it for the kids and that’s when the reward comes in:

We have a drawer at home that has a stack of cards from our kids, and if we ever get down or discouraged, we just break that out and start reading. And I tell Danyelle, “When I’m gone, throw those in the casket with me.”