Sorensen to take over as Shotgun Sports Coach
Note to media: For more information, contact David Loomis, assistant sports information director, at david.loomis@hastings.edu.
(Hastings, Nebraska) – Hastings College Athletic Director Chris Clements announced today that Lane Sorensen has been named as the head shotgun sports coach after spending a year as the Shotgun Sports Manager at Heartland Shooting Park in Alda, NE.
"We are very excited to add Lane to the Hastings Athletics family. Lane had a successful and well-respected career as a student-athlete, and we are looking forward to getting him to campus," Athletic Director Chris Clements said. "Our shotgun sports program has a history of success, especially in recent years, and we are looking forward to building on that success with Coach Sorensen."
A native of Aurora, NE, Sorensen took care of machines and grounds, set sporting clay targets, and managed employees and their time while at Heartland. He also held records of the quantity of targets, maintained equipment and managed shoots.
"I am most excited for this upcoming season that we have a great group of shooters returning. They are still a young group, but with a lot of experience. Most of the kids on the team were around to experience the two National Runner-up seasons, if not both, at least one of them. They have been so close and they are very hungry to finally get it done. The team has not reached its full potential yet and I look forward to seeing them progress this season to get there," Sorensen said.
Sorensen graduated from Fort Hays State University in 2023, where he received a bachelor's degree in General Agriculture and held Member, Vice President, and President titles for the Universities' Shotgun Sports team.
In 2023, some of Sorensen's notable accolades in the sport were Nebraska State Skeet 12 ga. Champion, NCSSAA Div. 2 National Runner-up in Sporting, NCSSAA Div. 2 National Runner-up in Doubles Skeet, and NCSSAA All American Honorable Mention. In 2021, he was NSCA National Class AA Main Champion and SCTP National Skeet Runner-up. In 2020, he was NSCA National Class A Main Champion.
For the last seven years, Sorensen has also worked as a millwright for Kiner Inc, where he has aligned and assembled machines and equipment, installed stationary industrial machinery, and welded.
"What players and fans can expect from me as head coach is the intensity and passion I bring to the table in this sport. I have dedicated the last 13 years of my life to shotgun sports. While I spent six years shooting at Fort Hays State University, we were a very successful team and had arguably the best coach in collegiate shotgun shooting history. He guided us and helped us understand what it took to get where we wanted to go. Without Dr. Duane Shepherd and his wife Teressa, I would not be in the position I am in today. I plan on leading the Hastings College Shotgun Team, with the same values and traditions I was taught that made us so successful back then," Sorensen said.
You can get a hold of Head Coach Lane Sorensen, whose coaching duties will start immediately, via email at lane.sorensen@hastings.edu.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
