Scholastic sports have so many positives going for them. Rifle is not your typical sport - in all the best ways.

Or maybe it's just the way that Manheim Township approaches it.

Rifle is one of the rare sports where boys and girls compete with and against each other, side by side. Among other things, rifle teaches gun safety, and it's a discipline that doesn't require its competitors to be overly athletic.

"Prone rifle is a sport that's open to everyone," said Allison Noecker, who's been Manheim Township's head rifle coach for six years. "It allows students to experience teamwork and competition, even if they're not super athletic. You can get so much value from being part of a team. It allows kids to build those team bonds that are so important to adolescent growth."

Manheim Township's varsity prone air rifle team comprises 24 student-athletes of varying backgrounds. It hosts home meets in a multipurpose room set up as a rifle range in the high school building, and its season begins around Thanksgiving and runs to the second week of February.

Manheim Township competes in the eight-team Lancaster-Lebanon (L-L) League, the only one of its kind in District Three and the state. There are other rifle leagues in Pennsylvania - mainly three-position and standing air rifle circuits - but the L-L League is the only one done from a prone position.

"Rifle is different than other sports because it emphasizes individual and team goals," said Noecker. "It takes a lot of mental focus. There's a lot of mental energy to it because it's about precision. If you breathe the wrong way, your shot can go off. It's just you and the target. You don't have to be the biggest. You don't have to be the strongest. But you have to keep your mind in the game."

"Rifle has helped me with mental discipline and having a peaceful mindset," said senior captain Michael Zimmerman.

Competitors in prone rifle shoot pellets from .117 caliber precision air rifles at targets 10 meters away from a lying position.

"They are an eclectic group of just good kids," said Noecker of the makeup of her team. "A lot of our shooters are also involved in other activities. Some play fall and spring sports. The cool thing about rifle is that anybody can be a high achiever. Our shooters are into a little bit of everything."

"Everyone that is on the team has found something to bond over, and that makes us a family," said Anisa Matson, senior captain.

Since the circuit's inception in 2002, Manheim Township has captured or shared eight Lancaster-Lebanon League championships, including last year's title. Five matches into this season, Manheim Township was 4-1 and positioned second in the league.

"They're learning teamwork, and I hope they're also getting some fun out of it," said Noecker of her shooters. "They're learning safe use of firearms. Some of them enjoy hunting with their families. Some have never touched a firearm before. I hope that they're learning to be mindful of their surroundings with a firearm."

"Rifle has made me realize how important the little things are," said junior Ian LaBrasca.