Barrhead students hit the target

BARRHEAD - It is only time that Barrhead Composite High School's (BCHS) archery program begins targeting the best archers in the province – at least, they will if they continue to progress at their current pace.

BCHS teacher and archery club coach Andrew Ashley said the club's archers have already made tremendous progress in just over one year.

However, he said that is not necessarily surprising, adding that if one is focused and dedicated to learning the sport's nuances, archers can progress quickly.

"The smallest details can make all the difference," he said.

The club is now in its second year and started last year, in January, with four students.

"Most of our archers only picked up the bow less than a year ago, and many of them are already competing on an equal footing and scoring higher than people who have been shooting for much longer," he said.

Ashley said at last year's National Archery In Schools Program (NASP) provincial championships, sponsored by the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors Association (AHEIA), BCHS for shooters finished in the upper tier of competitors. JayJay Palma finished 95th out of 256 high school boys and 140 in the overall boys' category. In contrast, Locke Montgomery finished 155th out of 256 in the high school boys category, 47th out of 91 for Grade 9 Boys and 254th out of 761 in the overall boys' category, and Hayden Rochon placed 76th out of 91 Grade 9 shooters or 516th out of 761 in the boy archer category. On the girls' side, Jemiah Sarmiento placed 516th out of 755 girls.

At the end of last year's archery season, Ashley invited interested Barrhead Elementary School (BES) Grade 3 and up students to join the club, which started back up in early November.

Barrhead's archery contingent has upwards of 30 students, about half interested in competing in tournaments.

The group practices twice a week in BCHS' centre gymnasium, shooting from two distances, 10 and 15 metres.

In tournaments like the one BCHS will host on Feb. 14, shoot three five-arrow rounds at each distance, not including any practice rounds (usually one for each distance).

The tournament, BCHS's first, will be virtual. Barrhead archers will participate in person, while competitors from other schools will compete at their sites and submit their scores.

"The tournaments are over pretty quick," he said. "Usually, around an hour."

Ashley said the club is working with the traditional circle targets, but hopes to expand to more elaborate 3-D animal targets.

The Barrhead Fish And Game Association has invited the club to use its 3-D game archery course, but Ashley said the archers were not quite at that level yet.

Ashley said it isn't the first time he has set up an archery club, noting he set up a similar one when he taught in Youngstown.

He said the Grade 1 to Grade 12 school only had 65 students when he was there.

"Much too small to have the population to have traditional basketball or volleyball teams," Ashley said. "But we had a student that wanted to do this."

He said he had never picked up a bow, let alone coached archery, at the time. Ashley added that the study represented Canada at an international archery tournament in South Africa.

"She wasn't what people would traditionally consider to be an athletic person, and she beat out the most athletic people in our school,"  he said.

Ashley added that is often the case, saying the sport historically attracts people who do not go out for or are involved in traditional sports.

He said NASP also tends to attract neurodiverse kids.

"Those who are on the Autism spectrum or have problems connecting with others, learning disabilities, kids that have had issues with bullying," Ashley said. "It is a wonderful program for them."

He said one of the things that attracts students, especially neurodiverse students, is that it revolves around routine.

"[Kids] who are really self-reflective about what they do can be tremendously successful," Ashley said, adding that this emphasis also helps level the playing field and allows elementary school kids to compete and often better much older high school rivals.

Ashley has also found that students who participate in archery also benefit academically.

"It is something I was told would happen when I took my coaching training, and 'you say sure' but think they are trying to sell you a bunch of snake oil," he said. "But it is definitely true."

Ashley believes that archery teaches people to focus on the small details.

"The difference between being happy or unhappy about an outcome usually comes from a series of small things that don't seem that important, but when you add them up, make all the difference," he said. "When you learn that in archery, you can apply that in other parts of your life, including academics."

Ashley said one of the archers who has learned that lesson especially well is Rochon, who also serves as a mentor and assistant coach to the other shooters.

"He's become very, very confident, and the kids really respond to him," he said. "Not only that, but he's very perceptive and often notices things I don't."

For those unfamiliar with archery, the first time they witness a practice, or especially a competition, it is a different experience than any other traditional sport.

"It is so quiet," Ashley said. "It's the strangest thing."

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com