A carefree attitude and laid-back approach have helped Roosevelt's air riflery teams find success in a sport that requires hitting a miniscule bull's-eye 33 feet away.

The Rough Riders are perennial contenders in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association. The boys finished second in the OIA and fifth at the state tournament while the girls placed 10th. Though Roosevelt graduated key seniors, it managed to find shooters — when there's no outside junior program to offer development — to keep the program right on target.

"It seems that every year, we get better somehow," senior Michael Blickos said. "We have sophomores who are shooting (well)."

Experience helps, but so does attitude. The Rough Riders know how to switch from intense concentration, enjoying themselves and keeping things — including the target — in perspective.

"It's better to have people that are funny and interesting because you have a much more relaxed environment," junior Andrew Dolder said. "You don't feel pressured to constantly shoot better. But shooting better does help."

It also helps when your coach, Nathan Urabe, shares the same attitude.

"He's the kind of person you want to be your friend," said senior captain Mason Laikupu. "He has never yelled at us before. He makes suggestions. If he gets mad, he'll probably laugh or joke about it.

"It's that kind of personality that helps. We're not on edge that he'll get mad at us."

Urabe isn't sure what has made his program successful, but knows his shooters have always had a good attitude. Team members, not him, are the ones who read the results of opponents in the newspaper. He tells them to focus on family and academics, and views success as the fact his team is still competing to this day. When he took over in 1999, the team's future was uncertain due to low turnout.

"The first goal was just to keep it going and continue to educate about shooting and being safe with guns," Urabe said. "If we're competitive, we're competitive. My main goal was to educate."

Educating the team goes beyond what they do in the classroom. The team has to go through a training program and test offered by Civilian Marksmanship Program before it hits the range.

"It's not like the movies where you can 'bang bang,' " Blickos said. "It's respect and discipline, and you learn that in air rifle."

Added Kelli Shintani: "You just have to be positive. If you think negative, you get really bummed out by one shot, and it affects your day. If you have a bad shot, you just have to let it go."

In the end, winning doesn't make a difference, though the Rough Riders have managed to let fun dictate their performance, not the other way around. The boys and girls teams are off to 1-0 starts and host Kaimuki on Saturday.

"If we do good, so be it," Laikupu said. "We'll have fun either way."