Senior and member of Clemson’s air rifle team

Lyndsey’s hobby helped her overcome a debilitating illness and led to national recognition

Clemson University senior Lyndsey Hall, a graphics communication major from Abbeville and a member of Clemson’s air rifle team, couldn’t let her teammates down. She also didn’t want to give up participating in the sport that had become so important to her, especially after having brain surgery. When the air rifle team adviser and coach John Cummings had to take a leave of absence in the fall semester, Hall took over coaching the team so they would be prepared for competition.

For her perseverance and dedication, Hall has been honored with the Outstanding Service to Collegiate Shooting Sports Award from the National Rifle Association, the governing body for collegiate shooting sports.

For Hall, competitive shooting is therapeutic and has helped her recover from the extensive brain surgery she had three years ago to remove a large tumor. As a result of the surgery, Hall lost many functions most people take for granted, including reading retention, some fine motor control, her sense of taste and one-fourth of her visual field. Despite losing portions of her vision, Hall’s ability as a shooter was unaffected, said Cummings.

“Shooting became a very important mode of therapy for Lyndsey,” Cummings wrote in his letter nominating Hall for the award. “It affirmed for her that she was not defective after her surgery. In essence, shooting reinforced for her that with effort and perseverance, she would prevail.”

Hall is the first student team member to receive this award, which usually is awarded to coaches, said Victoria Croft, national collegiate and schools manager.

“We got many letters, e-mails and phone calls from coaches and teammates in support of Lyndsey,” Croft said. “They all spoke of her outstanding leadership and motivation, and it was clear that her peers and coaches think very highly of her. They truly, truly think that she’s an amazing person, and they wanted to see her honored in this way.”

According to Hall’s teammate Kate Demchenko, a junior microbiology major from North Charleston, the team would have fallen apart had Hall not stepped in as a leader. She said Hall arranged for the team’s travel and lodging for competitions, stayed at matches to help coaches from other teams and encouraged the team to keep practicing.

“We began with a team made chiefly of new shooters, yet by the end of the semester we became a very close-knit group of teammates,” she said.

Croft will be on campus Thursday, April 26, to personally present the award to Hall at 1 p.m. at Fike Recreation Center.

Pictured here, Walt Walter, member of the NRA board directors, Lyndsey Hall and Victoria Croft, national collegiate and schools manager for the NRA

Published August 2007