On target: from Olympic shooting to breaking mental health barriers
- Brooklyn Autenrieth
- 25 minutes ago
- 4 min read
With the cold aluminum butt of a 10-meter air rifle pressed to her cheek, Sofia Ceccarello is exactly where she feels best mentally and physically: the University of Kentucky rifle range.
Originally from Ravenna, Italy, she had picked up a rifle solely for the sport’s solitude at just 12 years old. Ceccarello and her mother searched for a sport that wasn’t dependent on a team.
“I wanted to try something different,” Ceccarello said. “I didn’t really like it that much at first. It was a good chance to try out an individual sport but still be around people.”
Her mother knew a few coaches in Ceccarello’s hometown, and quickly, sports shooting engulfed Ceccarello’s time and energy.
She dedicated countless hours to Olympic preparation and international competitions. She started winning medals in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) competition and made it to the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
There she represented the Italian Police Team, or the Fiamme Oro, earning 10th in the women’s 10-meter air rifle.
“It was the moment where…all the effort that I put before was sort of worth it and everything,” Ceccarello said. “And I was 18, so it was kind of unreal at that time.”
Two short weeks after the intense pressure of the 2021 Olympics, Ceccarello’s plans to attend university in Italy felt too intense and hasty.
“I just accomplished something really big,” Ceccarello said. “The last thing I want to do now is to go to college.”
Ceccarello took a gap year and began touring universities in America, hoping to continue sports shooting collegiately.
“Making a decision on moving to the U.S. was something I was really excited about, but it was a big shock,” Ceccarello said.
Ceccarello knew the minute she met the rifle team on the University of Kentucky campus that, although she received the least amount of scholarship from UK, Lexington was the place for her.
“There’s not a day that I regret the decision,” Ceccarello said.
She knew she was going to make whatever sacrifices were necessary for her to be a part of the University of Kentucky Rifle Team.
Ceccarello had to quickly grow accustomed to new practice plans, crowds of unfamiliar people and an abundance of mental hurdles.
“When I first came here, like three years ago now, shooting wise, that was probably one of the hardest times, because everything was just so different,” Ceccarello said.
She found that even in times where she lost passion for the sport that brought her 4,876 miles from home, her teammates and coaches kept her grounded.
“Everyone in the [athletic] department is just so hardworking and caring about your experience, it just creates such a safe and comfortable space for me to just be who I am and develop my passions,” Ceccarello said.
It was the people within the athletic department that made one of Ceccarello’s favorite matches possible.
Although she has competed in a multitude of international competitions, the NCAA championship held in Memorial Coliseum during her junior year is the match she said she remembers the most.
Ceccarello recalled the goosebumps that flooded over her skin as she looked upon the most impressive shooting range she had ever seen and had the privilege to shoot in.
“That was really exciting, just being able to have my people around and being able to feel so connected. I saw the job the staff made, and it was amazing. It was such a great atmosphere,” Ceccarello said.
Although she is dedicated to the physical aspects of sports shooting, she said that to best support her mental well-being, she needs to focus on multiple hobbies simultaneously.
“I’m a strong believer that if you’re just an athlete, I feel like you’re going to get burnout at that point, so I like to just keep two hobbies and two passions going pretty strong at the same time, because they give me balance,” Ceccarello said.
Her second passion is film, but after experiencing how easy it is to struggle in silence, Ceccarello took the opportunity through her internship with UK Sports Video to create an interview project centered around mental health.
“I wanted to use these skills that I have in creativity and storytelling to give the chance to other athletes to tell their own stories,” Ceccarello said. “To inspire people to ask for help or maybe make them feel like they aren’t alone.”
Defeating the stigma surrounding athletes' mental health, she said, begins with managing her own. She works closely with a sports psychologist in Italy, connecting via Zoom once every few weeks, depending on match schedules and stress levels.
“When I understood that I couldn’t do everything by myself, and I started reaching out and talking to people about the struggle and the moment I grew up the most,” Ceccarello said.
Moving across the globe changed more than just her geographical location; it changed who she is in every aspect.
“I know I’m not the same person I was three years ago,” Ceccarello said. “I’m working to be the best self that I can be.”