It’s the backside of August and two of my favorite pastimes – hunting and football – are about to mix like peanut butter and jelly, or better yet, sausage and sauerkraut for this full-blooded German.

While hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor activities are my profession, football, among other sports, is a non-work outlet so for me, nothing could be better than weekends in autumn.

There’s little I enjoy more than a Friday evening scout for doves, ducks or whatever season is open and, on the way home, pulling into a local high school football game. It only gets better if it’s a game between schools that have no more than nine players on each side of the ball.

Saturdays provide opportunities for a quick stop to take in a few quarters of an outdoor college football game, or to time an afternoon break to listen to local college football teams grind it out on the radio.

Sometime in the future, perhaps by the time my children are old enough to participate, I wonder if those high school athletic events might also include activities that are more closely related to hunting and fishing. Let me explain. Hopkins High School in Minnesota already has a school-sponsored trap and skeet team. Across the country in recent years, the National Archery in Schools program has been a resounding success, and is starting to develop here. In North Dakota, the Prairie Rose State Games added family fishing as a noncompetitive activity for the 2006 statewide event. The PRSG also include archery, rifle silhouette, skeet and sporting clays shooting events.

I realize there’s a distinct difference between hunting and competitive shooting with bow or gun. I’m not a fan of hunting or fishing contests that reward those who can shoot the most grouse or catch the most walleye. In fact, I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum.

But find me a kid who can’t throw a spiral or hit a home run, yet can put a nice-sized fish in the live-well or a drop a rooster with one shot, and he or she can experience the same confident smile and internal sense of accomplishment that come from a touchdown pass or three-point basket.

I enjoy high school football and other sports, but not everyone plays them, and for those who do, the activity is not necessarily a life-long pursuit. Shooting sports are all-inclusive, and they are easily continued after high school days are over.

I’m not suggesting there’s a greater benefit from archery in schools or high or competitive skeet shooting than playing football or volleyball. But I do know that some kids who would not take part in the “traditional” sports might stand in line to sign up for something like archery.

Hunting and fishing will always involve a core segment of the population. However, as our state population becomes more urban and less rural, we need to develop more opportunities for introducing hunting, angling or trapping to kids who most likely would not otherwise become involved.

Hunter education is a large part of training new hunters, but most of those who take part generally have the means and ways of getting out into the field. A growing number of wildlife clubs offer junior club activities. Youth-only hunts have served to give young hunters a jump start.

It’s seldom that I hear of a hunter or angler who didn’t begin hunting or fishing until later on in life. For the most part they were exposed early on, enjoyed it, and will continue throughout life.

Organized activities centered on skills that hunters and anglers also use can develop confidence, character and an interest in spending time outdoors. As you spend time hunting or fishing this fall, and listening to or watching high school football, l imagine how much better your archery or shotgunning skills would be if you’d have spent a couple hours a day, five days a week practicing with skilled instruction.

North Dakota Game & Fish www.gf.nd.gov He can be reached at 701.281.1220

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