By Jerry Long, July 1, 2010   

Coaching the next generation of archers. 

When I think of a Super Slam archer someone who teaches 4H archery really isn’t what comes to mind.  However, friend and Super Slam archer Gary Martin has run the 4H program at West Allis Bowmen for seven years.  I met outdoors buddy Seth, see The Foundation of an Outdoors Person, while coaching him in 4H archery back in 1995.  After that Uncle Sam pulled me away and career progression seemed to keep me away from the program.

Shooters “on the line”.

   

This year Gary asked me if I’d help out and I thought it was about time.  I’ll be honest, though.  As many of you who participate in volunteer organizations will attest, they are, well, all volunteer organizations.  People get done what they can get done how they can get it done.  I was not looking forward to going back for 4H volunteer orientation.  My first exposure to it back in 1994 was enough to leave an indelible “beware” stamp on my brain.  Orientation is just painful, awkward.  I’ll sum it up into two sentences, “Don’t touch the kids,” and “Report it if you think someone else is touching the kids.”  There we go, 59 minutes, 30 seconds, saved. 

These archers are working that bear over.

I also was not looking forward to National Archery Association (NAA) Level 1 re-certification.  Although I didn’t have a brain stamp I’ll say maybe it was just a wrist stamp…    Summing up Level 1 certification, “”Say, “Hold your bow this way,” not “Don’t hold your bow this way.”"  Anyway, I suffered through another round of unavoidable volunteer orientation, but was able to avoid NAA Level 1 re-certification since I’m just assisting, everyone else is certified and I won’t be alone with the kids while shooting is going on.   

Interestingly, in an environment where it seems us sportsmen are always under attack, the shooting sports programs are the number one participated projects in the county.  Number one.  West Allis Bowmen is one of four local archery clubs with 4H archery programs (note that each club’s is the “best”, of course).  There were 106 young men and women signed up.  Seventy-nine ended up shooting and while I don’t have exact demographics I would say there were about 35-45% women.  I’d sure like to know where they go after 4H as we could sure use the varied demographic in our sport. 

Young archers are taught to pull their arrows without poking their (or their friends’) eyes out.

Here’s how the program works.  We do two orientation sessions per night for three nights.  These sessions lay out the rules, go over equipment and then discuss basic form.  The archers are broken up into beginner and advanced levels.  Then we shoot two lines per night on Monday and Wednesday nights for four weeks during the month of June.  The course of fire consists of shooting 4-arrow ends at five burlap targets of varying distances from a close line.  Then they repeat the course of fire from a far line.  The targets are animal outlines on burlap with 5-point “kill” and 3 point “body” scores for a possible 200 points. 

The bear was the longest shot for the beginners at 10 yards. 

Archers must shoot six “shoots”.  Their ribbon award is determined by comparing their last shoot (the fair shoot) to the average of their first five shoots.  If it is within ten points they receive a blue ribbon.  The “the fair shoot” is no longer shot at the fair for whatever reason.  Gary has the program set up so that food is provided in the two middle weeks.  A cookout of burgers, dogs and brats on one night and frozen pizzas the next.  The nights are swapped the following week, pizza on the Monday and cookout on the Wednesday.  Gary the silver tongued devil talked me into cooking this year.  I’ll give you the high lights of that – grill don’t work, go home get mine, get late start, Mrs. dustyvarmint lights bad grill on first try, flaming gas grill at over 800 degrees singeing hairs off my arm, 7 pizza ovens scattered around the club to avoid popping breakers cooking 44 frozen pizzas in one and a half hours.  Need I say more?  I’ll stick to coaching next year…   

Form – the good, the bad, the ugly – let ’em fly.

 

The program has about eight Mathews Genesis bows, arm guards, finger tabs and a slew of arrows.  That isn’t nearly enough so participants bring in their own equipment.  As somewhat of a bow “techy” I spent about 35% of my first couple nights tightening screws, fixing peeps, determining bows were incapable of being lowered in weight, looking in astonishment at compound bows so old I’d never seen such a weight adjustment systems, fixing string stops and more.

Lots of different bows here.

Coaching here is a delicate balance for me.  I want the kids to be successful, but I want them to have fun also.  Some don’t want help, some don’t have the attention span to accept help, some have parents who don’t want their children to have help and some have parents that are so over bearing the kids develop target panic before they are taller than the bow.  There are others that are naturals.  You also see where equipment plays a significant role in the sport.  I had a hard time getting my little buddy Joe to develop good form with the Genesis in bare bow style.  After visiting a local shop who sets up and rents bows to the 4H kids Joe returned with a full modern “rig” and shot “lights out” the rest of the time.  It warmed my heart and I shook his hand with vigor.

4H archery is another opportunity to give something back to the archery community.  Only one of the five coaches has kids in the program so don’t let a lack of little ones stop you from participating.  I just wish I knew how to recruit larger numbers of this generation into long term participation in our sport.

happy hunting, dv 

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