Alayna Musson, February -There are a lot of steps to follow when it comes to stepping onto the range with bows and arrows, especially safety rules. But there are also some personal steps to remember in order to lead yourself to success…
The chitter chatter of the crowd and the small talk I make with my friends, I overhear the whistles (toot toot). I slowly walk to the bow racks, making sure that I grab the right bow. I grip the handle of the bow and walk up to the line and take my stance. I wiggle my feet around a bit so they are comfortable and I imagine, in my mind, that I glue my feet to the floor to ensure they don’t move at all. I hear yet another whistle (toot) and only seconds later the people on both my sides, and down the line, are shooting arrows down range. The soft thuds sounding the room. I grasp the arrow in front of me and nock it, waiting for the click to sound the room (okay that is so over-exaggerated…). As I draw back the weight of my bow while breathing in, the range suddenly comes into focus as I aim. I close my left eye and focus on the one spot that will lead my arrow down range to land on a ten, but let’s not fast-forward that much. As the tip of my arrow bobs up and down, I finally get it in the right spot and release with a breath out. As it flies off of my bow, my drawing hand flies backward in a motion that almost paints my face. The arrow lands on the target with success and I continue to shoot the rest of my arrows with ease.
It is very important for me to follow my steps in archery in order to get the score I am hoping to achieve. Everyone has different steps they follow in order to achieve their goals but everyone. s are also so similar. Everyone should know that it’s okay to have the same steps as someone else, if it is able to help them meet their goals.
Sometimes there is an arrow that doesn’t quite go where you want it to. It might frusterate some archers but it’s best to keep following your steps, and sometimes you just need to take a breather. If that’s the case, I set my bow back on my toe and breath. I inhale and exhale while focusing down range going over the steps in my head. Stance, nock, inhale, draw back, aim, release, exhale, continue. I check all of those things off in my head and get back to shooting.
There is one thing that everyone has to remember at all times (and should be on your list of steps), it’s to have fun no matter what!