I got my first bow the summer before I started High School. I wasn’t a very good shot, but I wanted to Bowhunt. I got confident enough with practice to do some hunting that fall and actually got a doe! It was also that fall a family friend and P.E. Teacher in our Middle school contacted me about helping with an Archery Program, maybe even competing. Her name was Tina Davis- she was Trigg County’s middle school P.E. Teacher and the reason we have NASP at Trigg County today. We were selected as one of the Ky Pilot Schools with KY Fish and Wildlife to try the new program. We attend the first state tournament at the Ky Horse Park, the tournament looked a lot different than it does today, it’s neat to see how much the program has grown and how many kids it has impacted. The first state tournament was neat as well because no one there knew what to expect, there were no regionals or local club fundraiser shoots so we really had no idea if we were competitive or not.
I shot in the NASP program all the way through High School, I was fortunate enough to win some scholarship money over the 4 years that I participated in NASP that helped pay for my college. I was also on Mathews National staff and Pro Staff for several years, while on Pro Staff I competed in the Limited Pro or finger shooter class, I never would have tried shooting without a release had I not shot in NASP. I have friends all over the state and country I’d have never met if it hadn’t been for NASP and the other opportunities it provided me through archery. NASP helped me to be a better example to others especially the younger archers, sometimes you don’t realize how much impact you have others till you see a younger one that picked up one of your bad habits. To me the best part about the NASP program is it is available to all students, and it puts everyone on an equal playing field, we all shoot the same bow, the same arrows, and the biggest strongest kid just might have it handed to him by the smallest kid in the class or maybe even by a girl! The NASP program allows everyone an equal chance to excel if they put in the effort and time- they could be as good as anyone in the room. I have worked with our 4-H shooting sports kids some the past few years and that is a fine program, but it’s not as inclusive as the NASP program. To me they are complimentary like scholastic 3D, one might lead to another but it should never be one or the other. That being said I don’t think there is a better platform to introduce kids to archery in any other program.
I graduated from Murray State with a M.S. in Agronomy and precision AG. I worked in Ag retail for 5 years before coming to work for UK’s Cooperative Extension Service in my hometown of Cadiz. Now I’m the Ag and Natural resources agent in Trigg County (County Ag Agent). I work with farmers and homeowners to help them with growing most anything and everything. We also help with pest issues, scouting and soil testing recommendations. I married my wife – Terah- in 2012. We have a small cow calf farm in Cadiz. We recently had our first boy and he is the love of our lives –Benjamin- born December 27th 2019. I don’t get to shoot like I used to, I still hunt every once in a while but at this point- I’m really looking forward to introducing Ben to Hunting and NASP when he’s old enough or as soon as he can hold a bow!
