The
Allen County Intermediate Center (ACIC) has a “hit” on their hands. Launched at
the school in the 2014-15 school year, the Sharp Shooters archery program has
blossomed into a highly successful program which---for the first time---will result
in archers competing in the state elementary championships at the end of the
month in Louisville.
The ACIC archery program is a part of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).
The program started on March 3, 2002 in 21 Kentucky middle schools and has
grown to include schools representing 47 states and 10 other countries. In
Kentucky, more than 600 of the state's 1,275 schools have adopted the program
with the number of archers and schools involved growing larger every day.
“The National Archery in the Schools Program
is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among
students in grades 4 through 12,” noted ACIC archery instructor and sponsor
Tracy Butler. “Students are learning focus, self-control, discipline, patience,
and the life lessons required to be successful in the classroom and in life. It
is an activity that doesn't discriminate based on popularity, athletic skill,
gender, size, or academic ability.”
For a school to be eligible to compete in
NASP events, the school must offer archery lessons during the school year,
typically during a physical education class.
“Coach Michelle Rich has taught archery in
the curriculum for PE all four years of our program,” Butler explained. “She
teaches archery at the beginning of each school year so we can begin practice
after fall break.”
Any student at ACIC that has learned about
archery in PE class, is eligible to join the Sharp Shooters. Due to fundraising
and generous donations, the school can have the program and provide all
equipment for all students at no cost. All that is required is for the
archers to commit to after school practices and participation.
“We began practicing the week following Fall
Break,” Butler explained. “We have two coaches available each
day, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We had over 100 students
sign up this year, so we split them up between the three days. Each archer was
getting about an hour-and-a-half of practice each week. Our regular season runs
from October to March. When we ended our regular season this year, we had 84
current archers and we have competed in eight tournaments this school year.”
An archery tournament consists of eight
rounds. The archer will shoot five arrows to complete each round. The first is
a practice round shooting at 10 meters. The next three rounds are scoring
rounds at 10 meters. The fifth round is a practice round at 15 meters with the
last three rounds being scoring rounds at 15 meters. Each round is worth
50 points. An archer can achieve a perfect score of 300. The top scores this
year to date have been Quinn Hartman earning a 265/300 and Ryan Wolfe earning a
261/300.
“It is here in competition that they put
their focus, self-control, discipline, and patience to the test as they get to
perform for their parents, family, and friends through competition,” Butler
added.
Last month, 24 archers from ACIC qualified
to advance to the state tournament during regional competition. The list includes
Quinn Hartman, Ryan Wolfe, Aubrie Naiser, Braxton Patrick, Andrew Woods, Gabby
Corbett, Rhett Bratcher, Owen Talbott, Landon Witt, Ty Jones, Cole Jackson,
Eli Stamper Ethan Stinson, Levi Temple, Weston McCoy, Caleb Underwood, Haiden
Brown, Kash Taylor, Hunter Threet, Caden Meador, Dusty Overman, Tugra Semerci,
Erin Penny, and Joseph Hunley. The alternates will be Emma Gammons, Shyla
Houchens, Allie Matlock, Hayley Ditlevson, Jayden Stephens, and Hunter Constant.
The accomplishment has left the qualifying
archers and alternates preparing for the state tournament later this month.
“We stopped our
regular season a little earlier this year to spend the month of March focusing
on our team that made it to state,” Butler said. “We have had weekly practices.”
The additional practices returned dividends
this past weekend at the Warren East State Warm-up event---an event in which
the state-bound archers took part in in preparation for the championships.
“We claimed the second-place trophy for our
Elementary Team with an overall score of 2,683,” Butler noted. “We will have
our last tournament before state this coming weekend at Chandler's Elementary
School in Logan County. “
Students have embraced the program and the
competition.
“My sister started shooting when it started
in the school and I thought it would be really cool to try it out as well,”
explained Quinn Hartman. “Trying to hit the target and get the best score intrigued
me.”
Sharp-shooter Ryan Wolfe explains that he
remembers seeing the sport in the Olympics in 2016.
“I watched archery a lot when the Olympics
were on,” Wolfe said. “I was like I want to do that spot someday. I like the
competition. It’s a fun experience to go different places and compete against
other shooters.”
“I started last year because I wanted to bet
my sister’s scores,” added Gabby Corbett. “I like the fact that we can do
tournaments and practice to get better.”
Like Corbett, Kash Taylor likes the
competition---and his own personal competition with his older brother.
“I like the fact that I can be like my
brother and go to state,” noted Taylor. “I hope I can do this for years to
come.”
Fifth-grader Cole Jackson is looking forward
to the state tournament---a trip that he almost made last year.
“It’s just a real fun sport to do,”
explained archer Cole Jackson. “Hearing the sound of the arrow hitting the
target is really satisfying. It’s a great sport to be in. I would like to do it
through high school and maybe in college. I missed qualifying last year for
state by 14 points so I’m excited.”
In addition to the athletic competition
aspect, NASP also has an academic side to the program. In 2015, NASP created an
incentive to recognize and promote academic achievement among participating
NASP students by creating the Academic Archers recognition. Those students
having all A's and/or B's on their report card are recognized by NASP with a
certificate and sticker for their achievements.
“Here at ACIC, we have 49 current Academic
Archers for this school year,” Butler said.
Helping Butler with the Sharp Shooters are
co-sponsor Mary Carter from ACIC as well as coaches Julie Hartman, Steve
Hartman, John Jackson, and Jonathan Temple.
The state tournament will take place on
Saturday, March 31 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville.
The Sharp Shooters are scheduled to start the tournament at 8:45 a.m. (CDT).
Butler points out that efforts are underway
for the start of an archery program for students at the James E. Bazzell Middle
School with hopes of a high school archery program within a few years. Archery
is a Kentucky High School Athletic Association supported activity in
conjunction with NASP.