13-03-2006, 12:29 PM
New duck calling club carries on tradition
The Associated Press
RUSSELL, Kan. — The junior world champion of duck calling is doing all he was asked to do to help others learn the craft.
Brady Stoppel, who won the championship last year, returns to coach Ken Walizer's home every week and helps others who might one day take his crown from him.
The Russell duck-calling club, which has yet to be named, started about a year ago. After Brady won the junior world championship, everyone started noticing the club, Walizer said.
As many as 22 children, both boys and girls, who want to be duck callers meet in the Walizers' basement on Wednesday. The basement is full of evidence of Walizer's love of duck-hunting, with duck and goose mounts adorning the walls.
When the calling begins, the exchanges vary, short little staccato bursts tucked in between calls, all designed to someday entice ducks to land near hunters.
Payton Stoppel, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Bickerdyke Grade School in Russell, is among the girls in the calling club. Payton, who been calling now for about two years, said she wants to someday compete in a duck-calling contest, but she's not so sure about going duck hunting.
Some of the 8 or 9 year olds are pretty good, he said but he isn't ready to rush into contests.
"We have probably as high as six that are pretty good for their age," Walizer said.
He said if the kids are good enough, he might enter them in the world championship contest in Stuttgart, Ark., but he doesn't want to rush into anything.
Although Walizer enjoys going to the contests and gladly spends time to coach the callers, he's quick to say he's not a competition caller, although he's been duck-hunting for 38 years.
He said Brady does different calls for ducks and the competitions, which is called calling judges.
"He's getting pretty good at calling ducks," Walizer said. "He's gotten darn good at calling judges."
Brady said the two types of calls have the same sound, but his feeding call is a little louder.
For Ken Walizer and his wife, Beth, it's a labor of love to host the calling club. They do not charge the club members.
"We enjoy doing it," Ken Walizer said. "As long as they keep coming, we'll keep having it."
———
Information from: The Hays Daily News,
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.
The Associated Press
RUSSELL, Kan. — The junior world champion of duck calling is doing all he was asked to do to help others learn the craft.
Brady Stoppel, who won the championship last year, returns to coach Ken Walizer's home every week and helps others who might one day take his crown from him.
The Russell duck-calling club, which has yet to be named, started about a year ago. After Brady won the junior world championship, everyone started noticing the club, Walizer said.
As many as 22 children, both boys and girls, who want to be duck callers meet in the Walizers' basement on Wednesday. The basement is full of evidence of Walizer's love of duck-hunting, with duck and goose mounts adorning the walls.
When the calling begins, the exchanges vary, short little staccato bursts tucked in between calls, all designed to someday entice ducks to land near hunters.
Payton Stoppel, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Bickerdyke Grade School in Russell, is among the girls in the calling club. Payton, who been calling now for about two years, said she wants to someday compete in a duck-calling contest, but she's not so sure about going duck hunting.
Some of the 8 or 9 year olds are pretty good, he said but he isn't ready to rush into contests.
"We have probably as high as six that are pretty good for their age," Walizer said.
He said if the kids are good enough, he might enter them in the world championship contest in Stuttgart, Ark., but he doesn't want to rush into anything.
Although Walizer enjoys going to the contests and gladly spends time to coach the callers, he's quick to say he's not a competition caller, although he's been duck-hunting for 38 years.
He said Brady does different calls for ducks and the competitions, which is called calling judges.
"He's getting pretty good at calling ducks," Walizer said. "He's gotten darn good at calling judges."
Brady said the two types of calls have the same sound, but his feeding call is a little louder.
For Ken Walizer and his wife, Beth, it's a labor of love to host the calling club. They do not charge the club members.
"We enjoy doing it," Ken Walizer said. "As long as they keep coming, we'll keep having it."
———
Information from: The Hays Daily News,
Mvh
Kim
Jeg er ikke fejlfri,men det er så tæt på at det skræmmer mig.