After a little more than a year of training, Shayon Francis is already considered one of the best female pistol sport shooters in the nation.

Francis, who initially dabbled in sport shooting for fun, after being introduced to the handgun event by chance, has progressed steadily alongside her Alpha Angels — formerly Super Six — teammates overtime, both locally and abroad at the Pan American Handgun Championship in Florida, a few months ago.

In fact, it was an accumulation of those performances on the local stage that saw the police constable recently being named Female Shooter of the Year by the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA).

Francis also received the sectional prizes for Most Improved Female and Buddy Clubite Female, mostly due to her bubbly personality, coupled with her appetite for competition.

She placed ahead of Alpha Angels teammates Yeonie Campbell, Renee Rickhi and Detective Corporal Sasha-gay Mullings in that order. Corporal Kayla Keane and Shevanese Session are the other members of the outfit.

Looking back on her incredible showing over the past year, Francis said she always enjoyed the process more than the results and, with this mentality, the good results kept coming as she grew in confidence with each shot along the way.

Her current coach, Andrew Yap, may not have discovered her talent but by all indications, is extremely pleased that it didn’t go to waste.

“Winning the awards is testament to how much I have improved since I started and I must say thanks to Coach Andrew Yap because he contributed significantly to my development and achievements. I’m more confident in my skills and ability so these awards are just propelling me to work harder and to keep pushing,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“So for sure, I’m excited and thankful because it shows that all the hard work is paying off and like I said, I am even more encouraged now to put in the hours to continue improving,” Francis added.

While sport shooting has not only tested her mettle, but also brought into sharp focus her ability to rise above challenges, the financial hardships that comes with the sport remains one such obstacle that Francis and her teammates are yet to really overcome.

“That has been one of the downsides where making progress is concerned because I don’t always get to train as often as I would want to due to the financial constraints that come with the sport,” Francis shared.

“The truth is, to move further up the ranks you have to be constantly training and that comes at a cost. We are hoping we can extend our contract with Spectrum Systems Ltd or secure another one from one of the corporate companies.

“This will allow me and also my teammates to continue our training sessions so that we will be ready for our international matches,” the St Thomas native noted.

Still, Francis, 26, — who is assigned to the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s communications arm — remains committed to the task of ensuring that Alpha Angels continue to give a good account of themselves when they next grace the international stage, in particular.

This as she recollected their third-placed finish at the Pan American Handgun Championship which she believed accomplished their objective of giving observers an insight into the potential and likely future of Jamaica’s women in competitive shooting.

With their class and quality clear for all to see, Francis said she and teammates are now weighing their options about where next they will make an appearance in the new year.

“Going to PanAm Championships to not only represent our country but also making it to the podium remains a massive achievement for us and its something that we are hoping to build on as we go forward. We have the Caribbean Open coming up in February in Puerto Rico and also the Florida Open, so we’re currently finalising which to shoot,” declared Francis.

“For me personally, every time I shoot a match, I always aim for the top which is why I am quick to acknowledge my mistakes and work on them. So, not to sound overconfident but I’m expecting a podium finish for all my international games,” she ended.