Nathan Goodridge will travel to Melbourne for a shot at representing Australia in shooting

Originally from Narromine, Goodridge will travel to Melbourne later this week to compete in the Victorian State Shooting Titles as he aims to qualify for the Australia team to compete at the World Cup and Championships.

Goodridge has Erb's palsy, a common neurological birth injury which causes muscle weakness in the shoulder mainly and admitted his fascination with shooting began back in 2020 when much of the world was locked down.

"I got my rifle licence in 2020 which was basically a .22 calibre," he said.

"I started watching the Tokyo Paralympics and thought I could have a crack at this, I don't have the body for a swimmer so I thought maybe pistol or air rifle shooting.

"I had a good at pistol shooting and got brought back to earth pretty quickly, I didn't realise how hard it was. At 25m, I was lucky to hit the target, so I decided to take up air rifle shooting in SH-2.

"That's the category for muscle weakness, I've got Erb's palsy which is a weakness in the arm."

While he may be on his way to representing Australia at some point, Goodridge confessed it hadn't all been smooth sailing to start his journey, overcoming a few obstacles.

"I've only had my quality air rifle target since May last year, I've been training very hard," he said.

"I competed in the Sydney Cup last year against all the able bodies but it was another shock to the system.

"I went down there pretty cocky as you do and once again got brought back to earth, I had a look at the people I was competing against with guys like Dane Sampson who just returned from the World Championships.

"There were eight of us and about six of them had just got back from World Championships, I then went to the NSW State Championships and won so I thought 'right this is what I'm going to do'."

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Representing Australia in any sport is something which takes a lot of sacrifices and Goodridge said he has been in touch with professionals to help his mental and physical health be stronger.

"I've been training roughly about five or six times a week, I'm heading to Melbourne and if I go alright there I'll go to the qualifications for the World Cup and World Championships team," he said.

"From there, if everything goes to plan I can qualify for the Paralympics which is a reasonable goal, I've just got to get through Saturday first."

Should he make the Australian team for the Paralympics in Paris next year, Goodridge would be the athlete from the Western area to make it to one of the biggest stages in sport, joining the likes of Ben Austin and Jamieson Leeson.

Looking back to where his journey began watching the Tokyo Games, Goodridge admitted it was a bit surreal to see just how far he had come.

"It is actually, it's a bit of a shock to the system but I've been working very hard," he said.

"I've only got my father Dave Goodridge who is my sort of coach, I've spoken to a lot of support staff all over the world who have helped me out.

"I think mentally I'm ready to go, it will just be up to me on Saturday. I know I can do it but it's just about stopping the nerves and doing it."

He may be solely focused on this weekend in Melbourne but Goodridge still wished to thank a few people in particular.

"After this, I'll go Nationals in Perth in April," he said.

"I'd love to thank my family and friends who have supported me as well as my job at Marathon Health plus the people at Gun Pro and Precision Health.

"I would like to see more sporting and other activities for people with barriers in the Dubbo community, I think Dubbo has the ability to be a hub for sports and events that cater for people with barriers, as we have the best facilities in Central West."

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