Pat,
When you looked at this group of shooters, how far out did you look? Personally, I do not think the ATA or the State Associations will see "returns" on this investment for 15-30 years after the shooter leaves the rank of Sub Jr/Jr.
I have (albeit quietly) voiced an opinion that there should be one additional category in the ATA: collegiate. No reduced price on targets, shooters in the category shoot for own trophy at state championship events, satellite grand championship events, zone shoots, and the Grand. One of the reasons we see a drop off of these shooters once they get out of Jr. rank is ridiculously high rate of competition once they leave that category. Check out the last 10+ years of All-Americans in the Junior category. How many are still shooting? Sure, economics play a big role in it, but couple that with the fact that at the age of 18, now the shooter is "leaving the nest", most often the parents are not picking up the tab and if they move onto college, are carrying a load of classes. Add in a PT/FT job and the pressure of now having to compete with Leo/Ricky/et al, it can become very discouraging very quickly. If I did not shoot for Purdue for my 5 years there, I question how involved I would be in this sport at 32 years of age. I have 5-7 buddies that are in the same boat. We were still able to shoot with the club program at Purdue and compete in shoots against other collegiate shooters, which kept out interest high. We all continued to shoot after our time at Purdue and most of us now can hold our own on a state, zone or even Grand American level. Those shooters that attend schools that do not offer the club sport can/will get discouraged very quickly.
If your group did not have this, then the timeline returns back to the 15-30 years after they turn 18 to return to the sport. My wife and I married a little later in life (25 years old) and started the family a little later also (29 years old). Having the second one on the way November 6th, I can't imagine trying to shoot solely from an economic standpoint if it weren't for the ability to get my professional legs for a couple of years before starting the family. Again, looking down the barrel of competing the with Rickys and Leos of the world adds another level of frustration to the equation. Once the shooter can get the kids into the 9-10 year old range (now THEY can start shooting) and the shooter is a little more economically stable, we will start seeing them re-enter the sport.
I know that everyone will howl at adding another trophy to the mix, but to some of the people I have spoke to about this subject, there were always several reasons of why they were not currently shooting. The common item amongst ALL of the (11 people to date) was "I am just not competitive anymore". When asked if a designated trophy for collegiate shooters would help, about 1/2 said that it probably would.
How to police this? Simple -- prove your class load to the ATA. Set it at so many hours from an accredited institution that you have to the ATA each semester and you keep your status. My suggestion is that this can be done up to 23 years of age.
Something to ponder...
John