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!!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
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."
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."
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