Headline: Weather no longer problem for MSU rifle team coach. Photo: Foster in kneeling position, aiming rifle. Caption; Jack Foster, coach for the MSU rifle team, is preparing for the world championship rifle shooting competition in Korea. He practices in his basement. He's practiced target shooting nearly every day for the past 25 years. His dedication to regular practice has led him to world championships 5 different occasions. Weather has frequently prohibited him from practicing outdoors. So...he built a house with a rifle range in the basement. "I made the basement 60 feet long so I could have a 50ft. target in it." he said. "I strictly do bull's-eye targets so it works great." Foster's home rifle range allows him to practice for his immediate goal of winning a place on the 1978 WSC. Eliminations will be held in Phoenix AZ, in June. Competition held in Seoul, Korea in Sept./Oct. His skill in rifle shooting has taken him to 27 countries. He cempeted internationally for the 1st time in 1960 in the Olympics in Rome where he placed 7th. "I've never won an Olympic medal," he said. "I guess I'm a little over the hill now for the Olympics since most shooters excel in their mid-30s. But I still love the sport". Foster, 41, began shooting when he was 16. "There was a rifle range about 2 blocks from my home and I hung around there a lot. I have to admit now that I took up competitive shooting partly because my parents disapproved so much." Foster said 2 ingredients have permitted him to excel at the sport. "Desire and determination make all the difference in the world. If you have those you're going to compete and you're going to excel. I've always been the kind of person who got into something 110% if I got into it at all." A 1958 University of Montana forestry graduate, Foster said that being a successful shooter also depends on proper mental training. "There is a lot more mental work to shooting than there is physical work," he said. "Unlike most sports where you need a sudden shot of adrenalin, shooting requires you to be still and to concentrate. Your reflexes, coordination and nerve impulses have to react at exactly the right time." Foster, whose wife has also been on championship teams, said that some of his toughest competitors have been women. "Shooting is a sport where women are not at a disadvantage physically," he said. "The U.S. has been the top team in rifle shooting since 1964 and many of our top shooters are women." "Montanans, both men and women, have more international shooting awards than any other state. That's pretty commendable since our population is a whole lot smaller than many other states." MSU's rifle team has also faired well over the years. The 35 member team is leading the regional league, Int'l Shooters League, this year. Seven teams from MT, WY, UT and ID comprise the college league. Foster said shooting has historically maintained a high place popularity-wise in World Olympics. There are 29 sports considered to be Olympic sports. The shooting sport which has 7 events, is 1 of them. The track and field sport has typically been 1st in popularity, swimming 2nd and shooting 3rd. The placement is determined by both the numbers of contestants and participating countries." A Bozeman realtor, Foster said there isn't any money in competitive shooting. "All the money flows one way-out. I just do it for the personal satisfaction it gives me. It's a good feeling to know you can do something few others can do." "It's a feeling of achievement and success. When a boxer or a skier wins a medal at the Olympics, that's their entry ticket to the pros. But when a shooter wins a medal at the Olympics or World Championships, that's the ultimate achievement in the sport of shooting."