Matt Schiller capped off an amazing 12 months when he was awarded Young’s Senior Sportsperson of the Year at the Australia Day ceremony in Carrington Park on Saturday.
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Deputy Mayor Ben Cooper and Matt's former year advisor at Young High School, presented the 19-year-old with the prestigious title, praising his achievements in clay target shooting, where he’s reached the highest level in his game.
Matt shoots in the highest grade possible and was one of the youngest shooters to achieve the hardest handicap in the sport.
He has represented NSW as both a junior and senior and has been a member of development and elite shooting squads.
Matt’s obvious skill had led to his selection on the Australian team to compete at the World Clay Target Shooting Championships in Wales last July.
Pitted against some 500 of the best international trap shooters, Matt walked away with a gold medal, cementing him as one of the best junior shooters in the world.
Cr John Walker then named rising golfing talent Joel Shields as Junior Sportsperson of the Year.
What started as a Sunday morning golf with friends at the Young Golf Club, playing his first competition at 13, soon found the 17-year-old travelling around the country to compete in a number of esteemed golf tournaments.
He began with a handicap of 29 and now plays with a handicap of +1 with the NSW development team under state coach Khan Pullen.
Joel is also a member of the junior squad for the Mona Vale Golf Club in Sydney, which has seen him only one of three boys to be nominated to travel to Hampshire, England this year.
He is currently ranked 83 in Australia and has just returned home from the Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.