From childhood days spent shooting together to now competing side by side, sisters Amy and Holly Visconti have worked their way through the range and now compete at a collegiate level. The Visconti sisters are sharing their first season together on the UTEP Rifle team.
Since they were young, shooting has been more than just a sport for the Visconti sisters, it’s transformed into a family tradition and a symbol of love.
“Shooting is common in our family; our dad was our coach, and our older brother shot in college and my dad also shot in college when he was younger,” Amy Visconti said. “My mother also shoots, she got into it afterwards, so it’s been a family thing, our whole family shoots together.”
Their father has been a source of inspiration for the Visconti’s and has helped shape the skill that they have today.
“Our dad being our coach taught us everything we know about shooting, he’s been a big influence for us and been there for us, coaches us and when we come home for the summer, he’s always there motivating us and pushing us,” Amy Visconti said. “We appreciate him and he’s the reason why we’re here.”
Amy Visconti expresses how having her father as her mentor has been a highlight of the journey and has brought them closer together.
“Since my dad has been my coach for so long, I really bonded closer to him through shooting,” Amy Visconti said. “It’s nice to live on his legacy of shooting.”
As the love for the sport deepened, the sisters joined different clubs and school rifle teams to continue to grow.
Holly Visconti was a part of rifle teams throughout her sophomore to senior year in high school, but said most of her experience comes from beforehand, from her local club.
“My sophomore year in high school I was on the Willsboro rifle team, and my junior and senior year we started a team at my local high school, so I was on that team for two years,” Holly Visconti said.
Apart from her younger sister, Amy spent most of her time shooting alone or with family and didn’t shoot in a competitive range setting until entering Georgia Southern’s rifle team.
Amy Visconti spent four years on Georgia Southern’s rifle team before transferring to UTEP for her fifth year of college in 2024, while Holly Visconti entered her freshman year of university at the same time.
“I really enjoy being able to shoot with my sister again. When she was in Georgia Southern, I often shot alone in my local range,” Holly Visconti said. “At UTEP it’s a fun highlight being able to experience college shooting for the first time with my sister and have some familiarity from home.”
Both the sisterly love, and love for the sport makes way for Amy and Holly Visconti to make their mark for UTEP rifle.
Iziah Moreno is the photo editor and may be reached at [email protected].
