John C. Higgins
Before moving to the U.S. in 1991, John Higgins worked as a shooting instructor with Edward Chadfield at his family owned Yeaveley Shooting School in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England. At the tender age of seven, upon firing a shotgun for the first time, John was instantly captivated. Thanks to Edward, by the age of fourteen, John had progressed to instructing others in sporting clays. In addition to assisting management of the shooting school, John held contracts with various hotels to establish temporary sporting clays courses and provide shooting instruction for special events across the country. He relocated to the US upon receiving an offer from the newly formed National Sporting Clays Association. John was the first designated employee of the National Sporting Clays Association and worked as Chief Instructor and Assistant Director helping to establish instructor programs and assist the many new member clubs of the NSCA which was and still is based in San Antonio, TX.
After his tenure at the NSCA, John was endorsed for the role of sporting clays course designer and instructor at Brays Island Plantation in South Carolina, a prestigious premier sporting community. By 1998, John, a NSCA registered master class shooter proficient in all aspects of shotgun sports, decided to pursue an independent path. Establishing himself as a freelance shooting instructor and course designer, John has designed more than a hundred layouts of private and professional sporting clays courses, including five-stands across the U.S. and abroad. With over 50 years of experience, he has coached thousands in all the sporting clays disciplines. John’s exceptional skill as an instructor is evident in the number of his students that have become champions at the state, regional, national, and international levels. This vast and lengthy experience has culminated in the founding of Coordinated Shooting Method, (CSM) which offers a positive and dynamic approach to clay target sports education. To date nationwide over one thousand instructors have taken one or more of the CSM Instructor Certification Courses.
John’s career as a professional instructor, course designer, and range owner has been focused on developing the clay target sports at every level of interest and participation. His extensive experience and widespread involvement in trap, skeet, sporting clays, FITASC, and wing shooting have enabled him to offer a wide array of professional services to clients worldwide. These services include, facility design, staff training, marketing and management consultancy, member services development, business planning and strategy, continuing education, coaching, training, and certification for instructors, event planning and management, and high-end recreational program development for resorts.
