Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas –
One of Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Youth Programs’
summer camps hit the bull’s-eye last month for more than a dozen boys and
girls.
Conducted June 22-26 near the youth baseball fields on Fifth
Street East, the youth center’s archery camp attracted a group of 9- to
12-year-olds who learned the basics of a sport that is booming in popularity.
The camp proved to be a hit for the young students as well.
“This camp has sparked an interest in a sport that is
uncommon in this area,” Amanda Ozuna, 502nd Force Support Squadron Youth
Programs sports director, said. “Many of the kids have already asked their
parents to get their own bow and arrows and go to Bass Pro Shops where there is
an archery range. I also had five kids ask if we could extend the camp for
another week.”
Taught by certified instructors Amy Forbes of Shakopee,
Minn., a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve who founded the archery program
at Wake Forest University, and Kylie Knigge of Verdigre, Neb., a National Field
Archery Association employee who teaches at state parks in Nebraska and South
Dakota, the camp allowed participants to learn the 10-step National Training
System and provided them with benefits beyond the basics.
“The youth were able to work on hand-eye coordination,
following rules, self-confidence and teamwork,” Ozuna said.
Instructors used the National Training System – which goes
through steps ranging from assuming the proper stance to aim, release and
follow through – to teach the students the right way to shoot an arrow.
“We walk them through it for the first hour and a half on
the first day,” Forbes said. “We want them to have a strong foundation.”
As the children gain more familiarity with the bow and
arrow, they are introduced to a variety of target games to add more fun to
their half-day of instruction.
Safety and following the rules are important components of
the camp, Forbes said.
“We spend 20 minutes going over safety and we constantly
quiz them on it,” she said. “If they are not shooting, they must stay behind a
waiting line. If they break a rule, they must sit out one shoot.”
The last day of camp featured a quiz on the different parts
of the bow and arrow – with award pins going to the students who passed the
test – and a tournament that determined the camp’s archery champion.
Knigge said “The Hunger Games” and other movies that feature
archers have helped spark archery’s recent spike in popularity.
“Archery is growing dramatically,” she said. “The National
Field Archery Association has 4,000 new members in the last two years.”
Outreach from organizations such as USA Archery, the
national governing body for the Olympic sport, has also contributed to
archery’s boom, Forbes said.
“I think a big part of it can be credited to the recent
popularity of books and movies, but I think another large factor are the
efforts of USA Archery to make it more accessible,” she said. “It’s also a
sport that attracts individuals who may not like the more rough-and-tumble
mainstream sports. For girls, I think they see it as a really empowering sport,
especially with role models like
Katniss from ‘The Hunger Games’ and Merida from
‘Brave.’”
Ozuna said the instructors were “wonderful.”
“They did a great job keeping the kids interested and
interacting with them,” she said. “The children all had a great time.”
Forbes, who took up archery at age 7, said her favorite
aspect of coaching is “watching the finesse of the shooting form and steps
finally click with kids and they understand how to group their arrows.”
For Hannah Arends, the 11-year-old daughter of Tech. Sgt.
Jason and Lorna Arends, that process was more difficult than she thought it
would be, but she persevered.
“I didn’t know it was going to be so hard, but once you get
the hang of it, it gets easier,” she said. “I have learned all the parts of the
bow and arrow and learned how to aim and shoot.
“I have had so much fun, and I’ve been able to make some new
friends,” Hannah said.
Forbes offered her assessment of the camp participants.
“The kids at JBSA-Randolph did an amazing job,” she said.
“There was boundless enthusiasm and even after three hours of shooting every
day we had kids asking if they could keep shooting.”