Our Texas Adventure ~part 3~

God was in control and we were going to need His help to do what we had train months in advance to do. So here we are, the first day of competition. We wake up really early, get ready, and eat breakfast. I look at my food going, there is no way I'm going to be able to eat this. The butterflies in my stomache take up a lot of room. However, I was able to force down enough food to keep me sustained until lunch......maybe.

By the time we get to the FITA field there are already quite a few people there. Thankfully the guys had already brought over our gear so we didn't have to carry it from the car to the tent. Once everyone got there and got gear put together the range official started stating the rules. Now, since this "wasn't a sanctioned FITA event, they didn't have to follow FITA rules." Therefore, you could go up to the line whenever you felt like it, there was no verbal 30 second warning, and you didn't score the 10x's, just the 10's. Now, this didn't affect us, but the compounds only scored inner 10s. So basically what was normally a 10x for them was a 1o and what was normally a 10 was a 9. It was strange. We also only had two practice rounds from 60 meters and that was it. Normally you have two practice arrows from each distance. Nope, the only practice you got was from 60 meters, so you better had every other distance down-pat or you were in a lot of trouble.

So, the first two practice rounds weren't great, and the next round after that wasn't either. But, my second round of three from 60 was AMAZING. God was really looking out for me on that round. I got three tens, two of which would have been "X's" if I had been allowed to score them. It pretty much went downhill from there, which is strange. The closer I got to the target, the worse I got. Now, it was only by about one point each round, but it was still one point worse. When we finially got to 30 meters my score improved. Overall as a team we did really well. I was so proud to be apart of this team. I had pride saying that I came from Georgia (especially to the Texas guys since we were beating them pretty good).

The awards ceremony that night was pretty good. It took them a while to get to recurve archery, but when they did, you could feel the nerves tighten in our section. We were all shaking with butterflies. How did we measure up compared to every other recurve archer in the nation?

They started calling out placing and scores for individuals and it was looking pretty good. The only male on our team got sixth and our top shooter got third individually. That was good. We had two in the top ten. Then they started calling out teams. Fifth and then Fourth. We beat both of those team's scores. WE PLACED!!!! We got third that night as a team. We were so excited! We couldn't believe that we had placed third out of 16 teams in the nation! Because God loved us so much he allowed us to place as high as we did that night. And He had so many more blessings to offer us!

Our Texas Adventure ~part 2~

........but we were excited to be able to see what our competition looked like the next day. We got up really early that morning to see how long it would take four archers and four adults to get up, eat breakfast, and get to the shooting site. After we did that, we had a whole morning to kill. Our coach didn't have to be at the coaches meeting until 1100 Texas time (1000 Georgia time) and it was only like 0800. It seemed like all day before 1000 came around. My dad took us girls to visit a local jewelry store. I've never seen jewelry that expensive before. They were selling one necklace for $4,000 (though, it was all pretty much pure gold and silver jewelry) After that, three of us went to the fitness center for a while and came back and took a nap. Now, this is all before lunch. When our coach FINALLY got back from the meeting we went to lunch and then went to practice.

If you want to meet some picky line officials, go to Texas. There was a certain line that the coaches couldn't cross and there was another line that the archers who weren't shooting couldn't cross. Boy, if you crossed one of those lines you heard it from the line officials.

We had a pleasant encounter with a lady who thought she owned the world and then some. She comes up to the practice range and, before the official blew the whistle, started moving targets. Ummmm, not good. The targets they happened to be moving were the targets we needed to use. When we asked her if she could just leave one target up she said that we weren't even supposed to be there. She told us that we were supposed to be gone by like 3:30 and that she had the range from then till 6:00. Not true, but she ended up moving some different targets that other people weren't using. After we were done practicing we went back to the hotel to drop off our gear and went to the opening ceremony.

Now, when you put a bunch of teenagers in a hot room with nothing to do while the adults try to get everything in order, you get chaos. The Louisana kids started throwing Mardi Gras beads around, and then everyone joined in. A couple of fights almost ensued when a couple of our archers were pelted in the head. The ceremony itself was pretty cool. The speechs afterward, not so much. One old guy talked for at least 45 minutes. We were bored to tears, and you could tell NO ONE in the audience was listening. You couldn't hear him anyway. When the guy FINALLY finished his speech, he got a standing ovation. When we got back to the hotel we mentally prepared ourselves for whatever tomorrow was going to bring. God was in control and we were going to need His help to do what we had trained months in advance to do.

Our Texas Adventure ~part 1~

Just this past Saturday we pulled out of the Stephens' driveway to make our two-day trek to Kerrville, Texas. It was a LONG journey, but it was WELL worth it. The hotel we stayed in, The Inn of the Hills, was pretty nice. We got in Sunday evening and relaxed. On Monday we had equipment check and unofficial practice. The FITA field was in a valley, with trees on either side. When the wind got into that valley there was nothing there to stop it so it was completely unpredictable. It helped to be able to see what it was going to be like shooting in those conditions on Wednesday.

Later that day we went to a ranch to practice 3D on hills. As you may well know, Georgia is completely and absolutely flat. Texas, on the other hand (especially hill country) is NOT. It took a little while, but we finally kinda got an idea of what it was like to shoot uphill and downhill. After we left we were a little nervous about how we were going to shoot compared to everyone else, but we were excited to be able to see what our competition looked like the next day.

Wow!

This past Saturday the girls of our 4-H archery team went to the local Bass Pro Shops to raise money for our team to get to Texas. We spent the better part of six hours literally begging people for money, asking them to donate whatever they could to our cause.

While a fellow team mate of mine and I were standing at the exit with a jar, we asked a father passing with his son to donate money to our cause. "I only have a dollar," he said. We told him that was perfect, that every little bit helps. His son, who couldn't have been more that six, looked up at us with big eyes and blond, curly hair. "Here, you can have my quarter." It was one of the most heartwarming experinces I've ever had. It also reminded me of a bible story. The one where all these rich men are giving loads of money to the church and this one poor lady gave only a little, but it was all she had.

That one quarter was more meaningful to me than all the twenties and tens we got that day (though we are very thankful for all of those!!! they most certainly got us closer to our goal!!!) He didn't have to give, his dad already did. He wanted to give all that he had. He could've gotten himself a gumball at the candy machine but he gave his quarter to us. You never have to look very far to see the wonderful power and strength of God's love for his children!

Latest News

So, here's what's been happening. For those of you who don't know, I recently sustained a shoulder injury. The doctor said that I have loose shoulders and the muscles in my left shoulder have weakened substantially. So, I have been going to physical therapy to strengthen the muscles to their former capabilities. It hasn't been fun, but it has worked REALLY well. I also went to see a local chiropractor who worked magic on my shoulder. It wasn't cured, but he adjusted it back into it's socket and gave me some pointers on how to strengthen it. He was a HUGE help. When I walked into his office he told me that he would get me to Nationals and I remember thinking: "You know, that's the best news I've heard all day." And you know, he was right. I was able to shoot all six arrows today, at full draw (more or less), for all of the rounds we shot. I was SO excited! I could physically see the progress I was making. The day before I was lucky to hit the target twice from 60 meters and today I missed a total of two times from 60 meters.

Recently our archery team stood before the County Commission and told them what we were about and what we did. Shortly after our appearance, they donated support to our cause. We also got an article put into the Coastal Courier. It talked about what we did and what we were about. I have posted the link to the website where most of the article is posted. Thank everyone for all of their support and prayers!!

Nationals!!!!!!!

Our 4-H archery team is headed to Nationals in four weeks. For everyone who doesn't know, being able to go to Nationals is a HUGE deal. It's as close as you can get to being in the Olympics without actually being IN the Olympics. The team is REALLY excited, but we're also starting to feel the pressure. To compete in Nationals, we first have to get there. That is going to be the hard part. Having to raise so much money in so little time isn't easy, especially when the town you live in has a population of five (just kidding, it's more like ten!)

We also have to practice......a LOT......to be up to the caliber of shooting that we need to be. Sometimes it's a lot of fun. Other times it's really frustrating. You can get tired really easily, shooting that many arrows everyday. Plus, you can just have one of those days when nothing feels just like it should. Those days are absolutely NO FUN!!! When days like that happen, and they have happened, you have to get refocused. You can't go home that night thinking that you're a bad archer. The second you do that, you start doing what we call "circling the drain." If you can't get out of that down spiral quick, it can hurt not only your shot, but also your self esteem.

Despite all the rough spots we have had and will have in the future, we all fell incredibly blessed to have the opportunity placed at our feet. Not only do we get to travel to Texas, we get to shoot with some of the most talented archers in this great country. And, even if we don't do as well as we want to, we still got there. We still get to share this experience as a family. No matter how well we do or how high a score we earn, God still put us in this position for a reason. And you know what, I'm not going to let Him down by shooting for me, I'm going to shoot for Him!

If you would like to support this Long County Georgia 4-H archery team please contact the 4-H office at: (912) 545-9549. We need all the support we can get!!

Rising to the Top

Our 4-H archery team went to the State competition about a month ago and we kicked butt! However, the conditions weren't all that great. It was pouring rain for most of the time. You know the weather sucks if, when you shoot, you get blinded by a cloud of water that just came off your bow. Despite the weather I think we had a lot of fun. We even had compound shooters shooting THROUGH the target at fifty meters. If you don't speak archery, that is not a very good thing.

To score the competition, they take the top three scores from each team and add them up to determine the final score of the team. The final score for our team was in the seven hundreds. Our individuals placed 1,2,3, and 5 overall. The second place spot's score was in the two hundreds. Our top two archers beat the second place teams total score. We are blessed to have amazing archers and very dedicated coaches. Plus, because we won first in State, we get to go to Nationals in Texas! We have some insanely talented archers on the team and I'm feel very privileged and God-blessed the be able to shoot with them.

In the Beginning.......

Our family is of the military breed. We moved back here to the states from Germany about one year ago. If anybody knows what military life is like you know that there is a transition period in which you MUST find something to do if you wish not to be bored all summer.

My grandfather had just picked up traditional archery so he decided to teach our family. It goes without saying that I was sucked in the moment that arrow left that riser. It is a great feeling. It makes you feel powerful. Archery is a very personal sport. You are always controlling and touching something. The accuracy of your next shot depends COMPLETELY on you. From griping the bow to drawing the string to releasing the arrow you must always have COMPLETE focus for your shot to be accurate. I loved it!

Not to brag but everyone says that I am a natural at shooting a bow. They say I have natural form, which is key to shooting accurately. Because of how quickly I was progressing in my sport, my grandfather wanted to enter me into a tournament the first August I was here. I trained for about one month and won first place in my division. I wasn't actually there for the awards ceremony because I never expected to win anything, much less first place. However, when I found out, the feeling wasn't any less subdued than if I had been there in person.

When we FINALLY moved into our house I joined the local 4-H archery team thinking I was all that and a bag of chips (not really, I was scared to death). The shooting style was COMPLETELY different. Olympic style archery is kind of, like, a lot different than traditional. I had to learn a new anchor point, learn to use a sight (AHHHHHHH!), the whole thing. I had to build up a LOT of muscle to be able to hold up my new bow plus all the extra gadgetry (sight, stabilizers). It wasn't easy but I FINALLY got the hang of it........mostly. I'm still getting used to all the new "toys" but it's a lot of fun. Our archery team is like a big family so that makes the transition a little easier. But it's all thanks to all of my fabulous coaches, most especially my grandfather who first put a bow into my hands and told me......."shoot."