ADAM Vella did not take the conventional route to the sport of shooting.
Growing up in the south-eastern suburb of Keysborough, he did not have to hunt to survive, nor was there room in his backyard for target practice.
“I didn’t grow up on a farm,” he said.
“It was my father, uncle and grandfather that got me into shooting.”
Vella happened to be raised within minutes of the Frankston Australian Clay Target Club in Carrum Downs. It was on the insistence of his elders that he tried his hand at the sport.
The sharpshooter was instantly hooked.
“I just loved the smell of gunpowder,” he said.
Vella would rise up the rankings in the trap and double trap.
He peaked at the No.1 spot in both events.
A glittering career has seen Vella carve out a nice living from the sport, running a coaching business and taking corporate groups into his unique sport.
His wife, Fiorella, has been a big support in his career.
She was pregnant with their second child, Adriana, now seven, when Vella claimed a bronze medal in Athens.
They already had Alessandra, now 12, but she was not old enough to understand the importance of dad winning an Olympic medal.
“It would be nice for the kids to experience me winning a medal,” Vella said.
“The kids love the attention, the newspaper articles and when it’s on TV. I often say to them how long they want me to keep shooting and they want me to keep going.”
Vella will have his mum Margaret and dad Joe in London for the competition.
He says they will be the two most nervous people at the range.
“They’re chuffed,” he said. “It’s important for them to see their child do well. They get really nervous, more than what I do.”
