US Army soldier Will Hinton is taking his shot at the Paris Olympics

SKATE PARK HIS FAMILY BOUGHT IN WOODLAND, AND SOME OF THE ATHLETES HEADED TO PARIS. ALSO REPRESENT THE U.S. IN ANOTHER WAY. SEVERAL U.S. ARMY SOLDIERS WILL BE GOING FOR GOLD AT THE SUMMER GAMES, PUTTING THEIR TRAINING TO THE TEST AGAINST OTHER WORLD CLASS ATHLETES. AND JOINING ME RIGHT NOW, STAFF SERGEANT WILLIAM HINTON, WHO WILL BE REPRESENTING THE U.S. IN A MUCH DIFFERENT UNIFORM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, MIKE. HAPPY TO BE HERE. YEAH. SO YOU’LL BE COMPETING AS A SHOOTER. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY AND GETTING INVOLVED IN COMPETITIVE SHOOTING. SO I STARTED, UM, WITH MY FAMILY. I GREW UP IN A FAMILY OF AVID SHOOTERS. UH, I WAS SHOOTING ALL THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL AND WAS ACTUALLY IN COLLEGE FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE I WAS RECRUITED BY THE ARMY MARKSMANSHIP UNIT. SO I SWITCHED FROM SHOOTING A GAME CALLED SPORTING CLAYS TO AN OLYMPIC DISCIPLINE CALLED INTERNATIONAL TRAP, WHICH IS WHAT I SHOOT NOW. UH, AND I’VE BEEN IN THE ARMY FOR ABOUT THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, AND AN INSTRUCTOR SHOOTER DOING THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO WHEN DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU WANTED TO EVEN COMPETE IN THE OLYMPICS? AND HOW DID THAT EVEN GET ON YOUR RADAR? UH, IT REALLY STARTED WHEN I JOINED THE ARMY. THE ARMY ACTUALLY HAS THE ARMY MARKSMANSHIP UNIT, AND ONE TEAM OF THAT UNIT IS THE OLYMPIC OR INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING TEAM. SO I WAS RECRUITED BY THE ARMY AND JOINED, AND THAT WAS MY GOAL WHEN MAKING AN OLYMPIC TEAM REALLY BECAME CLEAR. SO IT’S BEEN A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR ABOUT THE EIGHT YEARS. BUT WE FINALLY DID IT. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW PROUD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MUST BE. I MEAN, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR ASPIRATIONS? WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM EVERYBODY JUST AROUND YOU RIGHT NOW? WELL, I MADE A POST AS SOON AS I, YOU KNOW, FOUND OUT I WON THE TEAM. IF I EVER DOUBTED THE SUPPORT, I HAD. UH, I CANNOT EVER DO THAT AGAIN. IT’S ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS. AND IT’S VERY HUMBLING AND A PRIVILEGE TO REPRESENT THE ARMY AND ALL OF AMERICA WHILE COMPETING. SO IF ANYTHING, IT EMPOWERS ME AND MY WILL TO WIN EVEN MORE. OKAY, I KNOW THE GOAL. IT’S GOLD. WHAT’S YOUR FOCUS, THOUGH? BEFORE YOU EVEN JOIN EVERYONE IN PARIS? I’M PRETTY BASELINE TO BE HONEST. I’M VERY EXCITED TO BE THERE AND I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. BUT I FEEL LIKE IF ANYTHING, I FINALLY, YOU KNOW, REACHED THE PLATFORM AND OPPORTUNITY TO WHERE I REALLY CAN FOCUS AND NARROW IT DOWN. SO I WILL SETTLE WITH ANY PODIUM FINISH. BUT IN PARTICULAR, I HAVE MY SIGHTS ON GOLD. OF COURSE YOU DO REAL QUICK WHEN YOU’RE OUT THERE COMPETING. WHAT? WHAT IS ONE LITTLE TRICK THAT YOU DO JUST TO CALM YOURSELF? BECAUSE I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT THE NERVES MUST BE LIKE. OH, I’M. I’M DEFINITELY NERVOUS AT TIMES. UH, NOT IN A BAD WAY OR GOOD WAY. THE BIGGEST THING IS TO REINVEST THAT ENERGY. UM, BUT MY BIGGEST THING IS I ALWAYS JUST SOUNDLY REMEMBER AND INVEST IN MY TRAINING. YOU KNOW, THE PURPOSE OF ALL THE HOURS, ALL THE SWEAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE FAILURE THAT ACCUMULATES TO, YOU KNOW, BEING IN THAT MOMENT, KNOWING THAT YOU’VE PUT IN THAT WORK AND EFFORT THAT YOU CAN TRUST IN YOUR SKILL SET TO SUCCEED. STAFF SERGEANT WILLIAM HINTON, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND BEST OF LUCK IN PARIS.