COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho. – Daphne “Deadeye” Garberoglio, 17, is rocking the term “girly girl” in a whole new way. In April, she will be representing the Gem State at the 2024 USA Shooting National Junior Olympic Rifle and Pistol Championship. “It really is my life these days,” Daphne “Deadeye” Garberoglio said.
Garberoglio, from Post Falls, wears dresses and puts flowers in her hair. She loves to read and play the piano, but when she was 15, she fell in love with something quite unique, shooting a rifle.
Five days a week, she trains at the Coeur d’Alene Rifle and Pistol Club. And across the Inland Northwest, she competes in various competitions, taking first place, a lot.
“It’s fun to explain to people what marksmanship is, and they go, ‘wow really? that’s cool,’ and it is cool,” Garberoglio said. “I got first at the Junior Olympic tryouts. I have gotten first in the Inland Empire.”
After taking home the trophy locally, the 17-year-old is strapping up to soon represent Idaho on a much bigger stage.
“Every time there is a win, we set a new goal and a new challenge, and I’m back to working on it,” Garberoglio said.
Deadeye Daphne is headed to the 2024 USA Shooting National Junior Olympic Rifle and Pistol Championship in April. The anxiety is sinking in, yet Garberoglio is not letting that stop her from living out her dream.
“I’m ignoring it and focusing on the baby steps,” she said. “It’s the working up to it that you kind of have to take your mind off of.”
The date is set, but the training and learning never stops.
“We’re always kind of two steps forward, three steps back,” Garberoglio said. “It never gets boring.”
While the young shooter has qualified for the Junior Olympics, she and her family are in a tight spot financially. The competition requires specific equipment and gear, which Garberoglio doesn’t have all of yet. The community has already provided tremendous support, but there is a long way to go.Alicia Garberoglio, Daphne’s mom, said the family is short around $7,500. On this Facebook page is a link to a fundraiser for Deadeye Daphne, if you would like to help contribute! Her mom beams with pride, not just because of her daughter’s success, but because of her character that has gotten her this far.
“When she’s not on the line, she’s still Daphne, just an adorable girl,” Garberoglio said.
From wearing a pink knee pad to a tutu at competitions, Garberoglio is bringing a little bit of girly shine to the sport of shooting.
“A rainbow tutu with glitter and sparkles, and Daphne wore it to a competition, and it made some of the boys unhappy, but she doesn’t care,” Alicia Garberoglio said.
Although the rainbow tutu might not make it to the Junior Olympics, Deadeye Daphne’s smile and spunk sure will. And she said, the boys will just have to deal with it.
“You can’t really blame them, but I wasn’t looking for an opportunity for them to look down on me,” Garberoglio said. “I was just looking for someone to help pull me up. I did beat them.”
