Archery programs for Spencer County Schools are on target for a bright future
TAYLORSVILLE, Ky. — Since 2002, NASP, the National Archery in the Schools Program, has stood on the foundation to improve educational performance for students in grades 4-12, where students learn focus, discipline and the patience to be successful both in the classroom and in life. It has become the fastest growing sport nationwide, with over 1.3 million archers participating annually in their school programs.
In Spencer County, for the first time ever, all four schools in the district have archery teams preparing to participate competitively. For the coaches, some new to their roles and some with several years of experience, the opportunity to work together seemed like the most logical approach to get their archers ready for competition.
High school coaches Rose Nash and Jennifer Lyvers realized how important it was for their archers to feel comfortable on the archery range, and worked together with coaches Jess Wood (Spencer Elementary), Dana Garrett and Nick Cravens (Taylorsville Elementary), and Amy Pooler (Spencer Middle) to host a day where all the archers in the county could participate in a tournament setting without the stress that sometimes comes with attending other school tournaments.
The high school archers were paired with newer archers from the other Spencer County schools and assisted with scoring as well as helping on the archery range. This allowed those less-experienced archers to become a little more comfortable before taking on a real tournament elsewhere. They had the opportunity to shoot alongside other archers that they didn’t know or that were taller than them-all scenarios that regularly occur in the tournament setting.
Not only did this inter-county event help with tournament nerves, more importantly, it was the beginning of what all six coaches hope can be a unified group of archers. Developing a sense of community and support between teams will help archers and coaches alike as the programs grow. Looking towards the future, the coaches hope that by fostering this mentality, archers will continue to participate in the archery programs throughout their school career.
The coaches have set some lofty goals for the future. By working together, they plan to host a tournament annually that includes schools from outside the county as their main fundraiser. Other goals include hosting a summer archery clinic and finding a dedicated space where all teams can practice and host tournaments.
Archery in Spencer County is growing, and with the continued teamwork and support of the coaches, students, families and the community, it is on target for success!
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