Like all children whose parents coach a sport, Danielle Makucevich naturally became interested in the sport of her parents' choice. And like other kids, she wanted to take a turn at what her parents were practicing. So they obliged.

Six years later, at the ripe old age of 10, Danielle has earned an invitation to compete at the National Junior Olympic Rifle Competition. Danielle and her mom Michelle will fly to Colorado Springs, where the Melville School fifth-grader, possibly the youngest shooter ever to be invited and certainly the youngest of 100 invitees this competition, will participate in the event at the Olympic Training Center the first week in April.

"I started shooting when I was four-years-old," Danielle said. "I like shooting because my mom and dad do it so they can help me."

Michelle and her husband Dan have competed nationally and internationally in the sport for a couple of decades. They have earned medals, awards and honors at all levels of competition.

But Dan didn't even start participating in the sport until he was 12- or 13-years-old, while Michelle didn't begin shooting until her freshman year at college. Now their daughter has qualified for a national competition as a 10-year-old.

"I started coaching her when she was in the womb because I was competing then," Michelle said. "In the 23 years I've been coaching, I've never heard of anyone younger being invited."

Danielle received the invitation thanks to firing a 325 score (out of 400) she earned at the Rhode Island State Junior Olympics in January. She is a member of the Newport Rifle Club's junior team, which her mother coaches.

On April 5 and April 6, a little more than a month before her eleventh birthday, Danielle will participate in Women's Air Rifle (standing position) in the 14-and-under bracket against shooters mostly three or four years older than her. But she doesn't mind.

"I just think about the target," Danielle said. "I just think about getting my best shot."

Helpful hockey

Danielle's other sport of choice is hockey. She likes to play defense and has been involved with Newport Youth Hockey Association teams and with Rhode Island Select squads a couple of years. Her mom said playing hockey has helped Danielle tremendously with her shooting.

"She would not be as good as she is in shooting if she was not doing hockey," Michelle said. "She has quadriceps that are made of steel. That's what you need to hold steady in standing. She's in great shape and she has great muscle control and balance. If you play hockey, you've got balance."

Danielle will need that balance when she fires off 40 shots standing 10 meters from her target. The '10' ring on the target is a half-milimeter in size, or the same size as the period at the end of this sentence.

Despite vying against girls bigger and stronger, the 4'6," 79-pound shooter will not be phased in the least. The fact Danielle has shot at the Olympic Training Center before, at the 2007 National State Games of America, and is used to performing in front of people, also should help

"She has so many competitions with hockey," Michelle said, "that she doesn't get nervous for shooting competition. She's really developed as an athlete because of all the hockey she's done."

Dan will stay home with his son Matthew and two cats aptly named Zamboni and Tenex ( a brand of 22 Long Rifle ammunition) when Michelle and Danielle head to Colorado. The Olympic Training Center usually boards the competitors in athletic dorms, but they have to be at least 12-years-old.

"We're going to crash at a friend's house who lives in Colorado Springs," Michelle said. "Daddy wanted to go too but I told him he hasn't been coaching her."

Michelle has been a coach for the Newport Rifle Club's junior team for about a decade now. She will take her daughter to the club to practice more and more as the event draws closer. And even if all the practice doesn't help Danielle win this year, there's always next year, and the year after, and the year after that and...

By Steve Rogers

srogers@eastbaynewspapers.com