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Some sports require speed, agility or lots of power to win. But archery is different and requires standing still, eye-hand coordination and control.

About 30 students, ages 8-17, learned these skills, and more, during two, weeklong Youth Archery Camps held July 31-Aug 4 and Aug. 7-11 at the Harker Heights Recreation Center.

Kent Carlson led the camp; hes both a Level 2 certified USA Archery instructor and a merit badge instructor with the Boy Scouts.

Theres an inner challenge of getting better the more you practice, and kids really love the control it takes for archery, Carlson said.

Adapted from the USA Archery Association guidelines, the camp covered basic safety, shooting technique, range set-up and stance and parts of the bow.

Each three-hour class included plenty of shooting opportunities from close range up to 10 yards.

Students started with a recurve bow, the simplest type, and then after building up some arm strength, used a compound bow with a pull weight of 16-25 pounds of pressure needed to shot it.

They shot at paper targets, played tournaments and archery versions of games, like Tic-Tac-Toe and Battleship. On the final day, they took aim at 3-D foam targets of a deer, pig and turkey.

As a self-taught archer, Tim Wise let daughter Angel Wise, 14, take the camp so she could learn the basics.

I like the hands-on training that is teaching her to do archery the right way, Wise said.

While archery is a fun sport, its also a weapon said Angel Wise.

Ive learned not to fear the bow and arrow, and gained some confidence from using it, she said.

This year marked the first time Harker Heights Parks and Recreation Department offered the camp, said Jeff Achee, recreation superintendent. It took a combination of Carlson offering to teach the classes and community support to make the camp happen.

Archery is a niche sport, so we hope to do the camp every summer since this one has been so successful, he said.

Carolicia Roberts, 11, took a breath, raised her bow, pulled back the cord, aimed and released the arrow almost in one smooth movement.

In the blink of an eye, it hit the target. In fact, all six of her arrows hit the target. But perhaps not too surprising since she started the sport two years ago in elementary school.

Im working on my stance and controlling my breathing to keep the arrow straight, said Roberts, who hopes to one day compete in the Olympics. This camp is really helpful; Im glad I took it.

Read the original here:
Area youth let fly at Harker Heights archery camp - The Killeen Daily Herald