116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Marion prep archers taking aim at nationals
The Nature Call: The National Archery in the School Program has 1.3 million student-athletes, including 1,865 in Iowa
“All in one dollar!” yelled Charles. It was the loudest sound I had heard at practice.
Assistant coach Brett Steffen motioned to come with him to check out the excitement. Charles Clark, sophomore, was wrestling with the arrows in the target.
“See, they’re all in the dollar,” he said.
I saw he was trying to wrap a dollar bill around a grouping of five arrows. As the coach reached to double-check the claim it was clear the dollar didn’t quite meet its ends. Inflation leaves no one unscathed.
Coach and I walked back to the line. He said if you can wrap a five-arrows group in the coach’s dollar, then you get to keep the dollar as a reward. It’s worth pointing out Charles used his own bill so he’d have come away no wealthier.
I was at the Marion High School archery team practice. It wasn’t the full team, about half, the half who qualified for the Eastern National Championships in May.
Wayne Guler, head coach, said about 50 kids participated this year. Last year it was almost 60. Marion Middle School also runs its own team because participation is so high. Guler noted most Iowa schools run a single grades 7-12 team.
These young archers accounted for quite the cross section of the student body. They also participate in show choir, marching band, cross country, wrestling and even drama as someone demonstrated tonight — ducking out of full costume rehearsal of “My Fair Lady” to check in on the gang.
Bi-weekly practices commenced in October. The competitions began in December. They expect to do 10 to 12 competitions a season, all on Saturdays.
Practice wasn’t like a normal teen team practice to me. Here there was no yelling or loud noises. There were no beet-red faces either. I found it to be a surprisingly serene scene.
The kids awaited the coach’s double-tone. At that moment they walked to the rack of bows, grabbed theirs and then walked about 10 more feet to the launching line where the free-standing quivers held five arrows for each.
When the single-tone sounded, the athletes were free to shoot at the targets, some 10 meters distant, others 15.
When I told Coach Guler how calm it all was he grinned and reiterated this was only half the squad, and just the ones who qualified for nationals. Maybe I should have visited in January?
Because the season is over winter, and the emphasis on safety is paramount, the practices and competitions are held indoors. The coaches all are certified for safety protocols as well as trained to attend to the special motivation and support needs of the teen athlete.
Archery, at first blush, seems like an outdoors sport as well as a handmaiden to hunting. Well, yes and no. Olympic archery is shot outside, but as summer event, outside is historic and convenient.
As I asked around, few of the athletes did any bowhunting or even expressed an interest in it. They noted the guilt-free pleasure of guiding arrows into targets in a sport that rewards self-discipline and spurs friendships.
Sophomores Jovi Kellerhals, Savannah Pope and Haylie Fagan agreed that joining the team was made easy by the encouragement of friends as well as the success they achieved in a positive feedback loop of participation.
Marion Independent School District participates in the National Archery in the School Program (NASP). Nationwide NASP reported 1.3 million student-athletes for the last school year, 1,865 in Iowa.
Coach Steffen said the NASP is about pure skill. That is, kids can’t buy their way to better performance. It was an attractive issue for him.
In the program, there are no costs to the athletes. The bows, by rule, are all original-equipment Genesis bows with a draw weight of 20 pounds. The archer must use fingers to grip the string, they can’t add any accessories. Coach Guler said most of the advanced members of the team chose to buy their own bows but it was only out of preference.
Assistant coach Doug Juergens was insistent I understood how welcoming and nurturing the team was. He noted for many kids this was the first sport they stuck with on account of the supportive nature of the program.
Juergens said that while it’s a sport and they keep score, the culture for all the schools he’s seen is one of supporting all archers and cheering for the success of others. Additionally, he noted the program is adaptive so those with physical limitations for most sports can find a way in archery.
The teens loosed their arrows with varying degrees of hold time, though as a group they didn’t seem to dwell on aiming too long. After their five arrows sunk into the 10 meter target, the archers walked back to the rack and deposited their bows.
The coach supervising the line waited until all bows were racked before giving three tones — the cue to advance to the target to retrieve the arrows.
The arrows were pulled and then returned to the free-standing quivers on the line. The students continued to walk until they were behind the rack. Only when the coach was satisfied it was “all clear” did he give the double tone to resume.
Soon the air was filled with arcing missiles, the hushed thump of arrows in the target, and the soft chit-chat of happy teens.
Megan Gearhart, a senior, has been on the teams since seventh grade. She joined because of an older brother, but stayed because “I flourished.”
And flourish they all will, to Louisville and beyond.
Looking up, looking ahead, and keeping my pencil sharp.
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