NAVARINO, Wis. — The verdant grounds of J&H Game Farm have taken on the appearance of an Independence Day celebration. Under a bright, early summer sun, the shades of green are spiced with exploding aerial discs, loud reports and a lively crowd.

Welcome to the Wisconsin Sporting Clays State Championship and the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP).

"Nice double," said Greg VanDenPlas of Green Bay, state director of the SCTP sporting clays program, as he stops to bump fists with a diminutive shooter. "Some of these kids are only as tall as their shotgun, but they're amazing."

The event is the culmination of the spring season for the program. Eighty-five kids are competing in teams of three for state titles on this day. Most come from four clubs — J&H,

Hunter's Park near Brillion, F&R Sporting Clays in Saukville and Waukesha Gun Club in Waukesha.

SCTP is a program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Newtown, Conn.

Through a network of state directors, coaches and clubs, SCTP offers school-age kids the opportunity to learn and compete in the shooting sports. The tenets of the program are safety, fun and teamwork.

"We find that kids really embrace the sport," said VanDenPlas. "To be honest, they have better attitudes than adults and are ready for any challenge."

Shortly after the 9 a.m. start, throngs of shooters, coaches and supporters spread out over the grassy grounds. Some kids push special carts that hold shotguns, others ride electric golf carts or carry their unloaded guns with open actions over their shoulders.

The J&H teams wear T-shirts that say "Dust 'em up for Dewey," in memory of Dwayne Ashauer, a classmate who died last year.

National participation in SCTP has increased steadily from 700 shooters in 2001 to 9,003 last year. Wisconsin had 332 kids participate in 2007, eighth highest of the 42 states that fielded teams.

The program has divisions for trap, skeet and sporting clays (the trap and skeet state meets were held at different sites). Teams are most often sponsored by gun clubs, conservation clubs or shooting facilities. Team members can be from a single school or drawn from a broad area.

Two years ago a team from Burlington High School placed second in the SCTP national tournament. And a rookie team (5th grade and under) representing Hunter's Park but with kids from several schools won a national title in 2005.

"The key is to get them involved," said VanDenPlas. "Once we get them in training, even if they didn't know each other before, it's amazing how quickly they form a team."

And how quickly they learn to safely and proficiently handle a shotgun. Amanda Valentine, 12, of Hilbert is in her first year of shooting but routinely breaks demanding crossing shots.

"I think it's really fun and good for bonding with your family and teammates," said Amanda, who shoots about twice a week. Her father, Jim, is an avid hunter who used to enlist Amanda as his "puller" at the range.

"She started to ask to shoot and learned about the team, and next thing you know I'm a coach and she's at the state meet," Jim said.

Sporting clays is sometimes called "golf with a shotgun." Typically held on a wooded, grassy course, participants shoot targets at 15 to 20 stations, or holes. Each station presents different shooting challenges.

Here a clay pigeon flashes through an opening in the trees, simulating a ruffed grouse. There a target bounces on edge through the grass like a bounding rabbit.

Several stations require shots at doubles, or two targets in the air at the same time, in the blink of an eye. A registered round has 100 targets.

The course today has seventeen shooting stations. The emphasis on teamwork permeates the competition. Hit or miss, after each shot the shooters give support.

The SCTP programs are held in spring and summer. Cold and snow can affect Wisconsin shooters for some of that time, but in April and May many teams are able to practice twice a week.

The shooters in the state championship competed in varsity, junior varsity, intermediate advanced, intermediate entry and rookie divisions. The oldest were recently graduated high school seniors; the youngest were incoming fifth-graders.

The highest score of 280 was turned in by the J&H Dusters, a team comprised of Ryan Kowaleski and Michael Redmann of Shawano and Eric Wiechman of Oshkosh. Two targets behind was a team from the Waukesha Gun Club of Jack and Jay Peterson of Oconomowoc and Ben Waier of Milton.

The shooting is good, very good.

Three individuals — Derick Biermann of West Bend, Austin Klister of Greenleaf and Jack Peterson of Oconomowoc — recorded scores of 97 out of 100. Only one Wisconsin shooter, an adult, has recorded a perfect 100 in a registered sporting clay shoot in the state, according to VanDenPlas.

"I don't know if I could touch my nose 97 times without missing it," said state coach VanDenPlas.

But the SCTP focus is on teams — no individual awards are given out. The virtues don't stop there, says VanDenPlas, who notes the safety record of the Wisconsin SCTP program is spotless.

"This is a great way to teach responsibility and discipline," said VanDenPlas. "You give these kids the right training and supervision and they will impress you and make you proud."