
What Happens Next?
by: Mike Longnecker
Stage time is worth its weight in gold, hard work promises progress, and listening to turkeys is of paramount importance. These are the three main things I learned this contest season. I found that I nearly eliminated my nerves through stage time. While my parents did at times have to suffer through two or more hours straight of me practicing at home, I strongly believe that I did not practice enough. And lastly, the more I listened to real turkeys, the better I called! I went to bed most nights with my iPod playing tracks from Tree Top Turkeys or Lovett Williams.
This season I won money, trophies, and most importantly, new friends. Several fantastic callers and men took me under their wing so to speak and offered me much advice on my calling! I was able to meet new people at nearly every contest, and hang out with old friends from past contests. Social networking connections such as Facebook helped us keep in contact with each other and talk about results, scores, and calls. It was great to meet you guys!
I competed at the Harrisburg Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, the Grand National Decorative Striker making Division, the PA State Calling Contest, the Southern Clarion County (SCC) Outdoor Show, and the Kettle Creek Outdoor Show. Harrisburg was an interesting contest to say the least. I went to originally compete in the Open, Friction, and Owl Hooting divisions. When I arrived, I was told that the Open and Friction were only open to callers ages twenty-one and older, but this information was not available online. So, after a short discussion (not wanting to lose my testimony or create a scene), I was moved to the Youth Division. I honestly believe that I did not call very well thanks to it being my first contest of the year, and having a call too soft for the terrible acoustics of the room. I ended up in 4th place, behind three great callers, Dakota Chamberlain, Corey Chamberlain, and Hunter Wallis. Congrats, guys! At first I was rather upset. But after watching the video from the competition, I realized that the batwing I ran was just dead in a room with such high ceilings. I then competed in the Owl Hooting Division, and took 2nd place behind Ralph Zorn; congrats Ralph!
Next, I competed at the PA State Championships. The divisions were well organized, the acoustics fantastic, and the callers many. I ended up in 4th place once again in the Intermediate Division behind Hunter Wallis, Dakota Chamberlain, and Hunter Croman. These younger callers have been kicking my butt! Hunter has a huge future ahead of him in the sport. Dakota can run a box call better than anyone I know, and Hunter Croman has vastly improved on a box call in the last year. Congrats, guys! Next, I competed in the Amateur Division and won it! Finally, my first win since winning a youth division in 2010. I was very happy to say the least! I also called in the Open and Friction, and while I called decently, there were many other callers there that definitely beat me! For the first time, the PA State contest had a Head to Head Division! Twenty callers signed up, and we ran a single elimination bracket. I beat Corey Chamberlain in the first round, Gary Musselman in the second round, and Pat Strawser in the third round. Next, I was up against Jarod Paronish. He called very well and beat me, but I was still qualified for 3rd or 4th place, so I had one round left. I was matched up against Shawn Waters, who beat me as well. Congrats, guys! I ended up in 4th place. This was a very long day of calling. Next I called in the Owl Hooting and the Gobbling Divisions. I did not place in either of these, but it was great to watch the guys call! Lastly, Chad Claycomb and I teamed up in the Team Challenge. We did not place, but definitely became better callers and friends because of it. What a day it was! We arrived at the auditorium at I believe around 9 A.M., and did not leave until past 5 P.M.
Next was the SCC calling contest, where I competed in the Jakes, Amateur, Open, and Friction divisions. This contest had excellent acoustics and fantastic judges. I called better than I ever have at a contest, with my best score being a 282/300 in the Amateur, pulling a 97/100 from one of the judges! Quite a few great guys were there, and we had a blast. I took 2nd in the Jakes between Corey Chamberlain (1st) and Dakota Chamberlain (3rd). After winning the Amateur Division for the second time in two contests, I placed 2nd in the Open and 2nd in the Friction. It was a fantastic day for me, and I was very grateful to God!
Just this weekend I ended my calling season by calling at the Kettle Creek Outdoor Show. I have been calling at this show since 2009 when they first started having a calling contest. The contest in 2009 was actually my very first one, but definitely not anything special. I took dead last in 2009 in the Youth, and won it in 2010. In 2011, I took 3rd in the Friction Division and missed placing in the Open by one point. This year, I tied for 1st in the Open! We had a call-off, my friend Lawrence won, I took 2nd, and Jeremy Pollock placed 3rd. I used three mouth calls that I stretched myself, and one that Scott Hook made for me. I also called in the Friction Division, and took 3rd once again behind Dakota Chamberlain (1st) and Ben Chamberlain (2nd). I think my favorite part of this contest was seeing the look on Dakota’s face after he beat his father. It was priceless! Congratulations to all the callers.
I ended the season with a 6th place at the Grand National Decorative Striker category, three 4th places, one 3rd place, five 2nd places, and 2 wins at calling contests. I had an absolutely amazing time, made many new friends, and increased my calling skills immensely. I am very grateful to my parents for driving me to contests, to Scott Hook for all his mentoring and support, and most importantly to God for all the opportunities He gave me. I cannot wait to call at Grand Nationals next February! Have a fantastic Easter, and don’t forget the real reason we have the holiday-Christ’s death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection three days later!
“A Caller’s Journal” chronicles competitive caller, Mike Longnecker’s journey from the beginnings of contest calling and hopefully to a future, NWTF GNCC win.
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