Getting Youth Involved in Archery
Getting youth involved in the sport of bow hunting is not always an easy task. I always hoped my daughters, ages 8 and 5, would share my love of archery and the outdoors in general. Fortunately for us, the Rod and Gun club that we belong to has an amazing program to help teach and develop youth who are interest in shooting bow and arrow. Youth archers are divided into two groups, traditional and compound; this allows for the instructors to focus on the different aspects of each type of shooting style.
This was my older daughter’s first year in the compound bow group and thanks to the instructor she has made an impressive increase in her skills. At the beginning of the program she could barely hit the target, now she is consistently hitting it and loving every minute. When we started this program I thought that she would learn to shoot at targets, however what we experienced this year has far exceeded my expectations. Rewind to Day 1, before the children even picked up their bows her instructor made sure the basics were covered. From range rules, to safety, to the “Archers T”, each archer knew the proper form and why it was needed before a single arrow was sent down range. Laying this groundwork was key to the vast improvement I witnessed, in my own daughter and all the young archers, in the program.
Archers met once a week, on Monday evenings, for an hour and half practice. Before practice began a review of what was covered at the prior practice was covered to make sure everyone remembered the basics. The group of compound archers averaged around 10 kids each practice with ages ranging from 6-14 years old. As you can imagine there was a wide range of skills in the group. Archers shot in groups of 2, and the more advanced shooters helped to teach and encourage the newer, younger shooters. It was awesome to see everyone engaged and helping each other improve. The coach focused on 1-2 archers a week to make adjustments to their stance, anchor points, form or sights to get them zeroed in.
What impressed me the most about the instructor was that it wasn’t just good enough to let the kids shoot; he taught them about being responsible hunters if they chose to pursue that avenue. He went over proper shot placement on the animals to make sure a clean, ethical kill was accomplished. He also covered how to adjust your aim on the animal if it wasn’t a perfect broad side shot. This is something all hunters need to know but it wasn’t something I was expecting him to go over at this point in her shooting career.
To keep the young archers engaged the instructor made it interesting for them. There were some days where they would be shooting at 3D targets standing in a field, and other days where they would actually be in the woods on the clubs 3D course. He even had them stand on picnic tables to get the feel for different angles. The kids loved being able to tackle the challenges and welcomed it with excitement. To close each practice the instructor set up a “shot of the night”, which would challenge the accuracy of the archers. A favorite was the “cheese-it challenge” where a cheese cracker was placed on a 3D target and the archers would try and break the cracker with their arrow to earn a candy surprise. My oldest daughter got the “shot of the night” one evening by making a nice shot on a cookie. She got to keep the cookie as well as receiving the extra special treat.
Even some of the younger siblings were able to take part in the fun. A small group 5 year olds, including my younger daughter, were able to shoot in a special traditional style group. The instruction was still the same, focusing on safety and learning proper form but the length of shooting time was cut shorter.
In my opinion the fun learning environment will keep the kids coming back year after year. I know our family will be back for sure! As a matter of fact, because of this awesome program, both of my girls have now expressed interest in hunting one day. I’m thrilled to have some future hunting buddies in the house.
-Adam Sites, Fall Obsession Field Staff