Lucas Hann was reserved and kept to himself most of the time.
He had no interest in playing sports. It just wasn’t something he felt was made for him.
The Corner Brook native always wanted to be good at something, though.
His life changed when he discovered biathlon.
He got involved with the sport four years ago through the cadet program and realized he was pretty decent at it so he decided to stick with the sport.
Biathlon allowed him to meet new friends and become more outgoing.
He was in his comfort zone doing something that he grew to love because he felt good about how he was able to excel at combining his nordic ski pursuits with his marksmanship on the rifle range.
Getting a chance to meet people from all over Atlantic Canada is one of the benefits he has derived from the sport, but he also believes his world is better mentally and physically because of his time spent honing his skillsets.
“It keeps me in shape. It keeps me active and outing,” he said.
Hann, a 16-year-old Level 1 student at Corner Brook Regional High, will be participating in his first biathlon race as a civilian when he suits up for Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2018 Atlantic Biathlon Championships being staged March 2-4 in Prince Edward Island.
Hann has competed at biathlon events for cadets for a number of years, but this will be his first taste of competition against civilians so he knows there will be some great competitors in the mix.
“I’m really excited about racing against civilians because I know there will be some tough competition,” he said.
Over the past year, Hann has spent a lot of time working on his shooting accuracy. He even invested precious time towards attending a shooting course over the summer to help him become a really good sniper on the range.
It was an area of his game that needed work so he’s happy he put in the extra work because he has seen some improvement.
“I’m feeling pretty confident with my shooting,” he said.
