Bookaar clay target shooter Penny Smith halfway through 2020 Olympic Games selection process

Most of the time she is thinking about the next shot.

But, on the rare occasion, the Bookaar clay target shooter allows herself to dream about what it would be like to represent Australia in Japan.

"You've got to get there first," she told The Standard.

"I've seen pictures of the village and I've seen what it could be like and we have small discussions at home about whether the parents would come (to Tokyo) or they wouldn't come and that sort of stuff.

"But the key focus at the moment is just getting through the selection. I sat down with my high performance managers in Melbourne (earlier this year) and we only planned up until March until after trials because I didn't want to get ahead of myself.

"You can't jump the gun too early in the piece but you do have little smirks to yourself and think 'yeah, it would be nice to give back to the community for all the support'. It's hard not to think about it, it still runs through your mind."

Smith is fighting for one of two spots on the Australian women's trap team.

She has excelled in the first two selection trials and has two more to come - in Melbourne later this month and Sydney in mid-March.

Smith, 24, said she felt "really positive at the moment".

"The first matches went pretty well but it's not over until the last shot is fired at the end of March," she said.

"It is all on a points system so your qualifying scores are really important. The first person ranked top is automatically in the team and the second person is at their discretion."

Smith is training up to five days a week. Her parents Kim and Michael and brother Andrew are doing their part to help her book a ticket to the 2020 Olympics.

"Shooting was never in our family so dad has picked up the ropes over the years and mum has as well," she said.

"They are making sure my technique is right. They don't really say too much but if they pick up on something I am doing wrong they will tell me.

"To have someone there watching you train is always nice. They do a bit of video analysis so that helps so I can send it to my coach if I need to."

Andrew, 27, is an esteemed clay target shooter in his own right and a source of inspiration for his younger sister.

"Andrew hasn't been doing as much shooting just because he's busy with his work and at a different stage of his life," Smith said.

"He's engaged and they just bought a house but if I need anything or something is going bad I can always call on him to help me out.

"He's very good with the technical side of things and we have a bit of banter between us but at the end of the day, he's always the better shot than what I am. He's very natural."

Smith has not forgotten where she started and gave a one-hour presentation in front of 60 budding athletes at South West Academy of Sport's induction day on Sunday.

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