The Jon Hammond collegiate rifle coaching tree continues to expand. Former West Virginia University (WVU) rifle star Will Anti is the new head coach for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks rifle team, after an announcement from the school this past August.
He began his coaching duties on August 3, filing the vacant position of Alaska-Fairbanks rifle team head coach after the resignation of Layne Lewis earlier this year.
Anti joins the Alaska-Fairbanks rifle team after a one-year stint as the USA Shooting Paralympic shooting coach, where he was involved with not only the technical aspects of Paralympic shooting, but also mental and physical training.
In an interview with Nona Letuligasenoa of the Alaska Nanooks website, Anti expressed his excitement regarding his new role as the rifle team head coach, as well as the current team roster. At the end of the 2019-2020 season, Alaska-Fairbanks was ranked No. 15.
"UAF offers the most unique experience in NCAA rifle, and I am excited about highlighting the tremendous opportunities and resources we have, as we look to attract some of the top-ranked recruits over the next year and beyond," Anti said. "It is a great honor to lead a program that has produces many of the most elite shooters of the last few decades. I'm excited to start working with this extremely talented group of athletes and I am very optimistic about the future of Nanook rifle."
A 2019 WVU graduate with dual bachelor degrees in finance and accounting, Anti was a superstar for all four years he spent on the rifle team. He was a member of the two WVU teams that won back-to-back NCAA national championships (2016, 2017), as well as the two WVU teams that won NCAA rifle national runner-up titles (2018, 2019).
Lead photo courtesy of Brian Persinger/WVU Athletic Communications.
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