21. Archery

My summer camp memories of archery include standing in the hot sun with a heavy bow, getting thwacked on the arm with the bowstring, and arrows flying past my target or landing on the target next to mine. Also the great feeling of hitting a bull’s eye, or getting close; on the rare occasions that happened, it had way more to do with chance than skill.

Boy, the sport has changed.

My daughter and I joined an Orientation Class at Archers Artemis in Amesbury, MA. Coach Ricci, one of five certified Level 4 archery coaches in Massachusetts, trained with the head coach of the U.S. Olympic team. She became an instructor and a coach to help more girls and women participate in the sport. In her no-nonsense way, Coach Ricci made the class fun and ensured the safety of all 14 participants.

The first thing she did (after talking about the importance of safety) was determine our eye dominance. In the same way we’re left or right handed, one of our eyes is more dominant than the other. Coach Ricci had us make a diamond with our hands and extend our arms in front of us; then, while looking at her, we slowly brought our hands close to our face, looking through the “hole” in the diamond. By looking at where our hands landed, she could tell if we were left- or right-eye dominant. If you’re interested, you can self-test for eye dominance.

Interestingly, both my daughter, who’s right handed, and I (left handed) were the only two out of the group whose eyes were cross dominant. She had us both shoot lefty.

Once sorted into lefties and righties, we geared up: arm guards, quivers holding arrows, and bows. We learned all the safety rules: where to keep our feet to remain out of the line of fire, when it was okay to shoot, signals for when we could retrieve our arrows, what do if we drop an arrow (leave it on the ground until we hear the signal that it’s okay to retrieve).

Coach Ricci taught us how to load the bow, where to hold our fingers, how to hold our arms, and how to aim.

She talked about visual learners, who will quickly pick up techniques by watching her; aural learners, who will get it from listening to her instructions; and kinesthetic learners, like her, who will feel inept at first. When she saw me trying to load my bow, she said, “You’re a kinesthetic learner.”

Great.

Still, the first time I shot, I got a bull’s eye. Beginner’s luck, I guess.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go so well after that. When we tacked balloons to the target, I was one of the few who didn’t hit it and had to move closer. Only from the “baby line” did I get the satisfaction of hearing that pop.

Even if I couldn’t hit the balloon from afar, I was amazed that none of my arrows landed on my neighbor’s target or flew far from where I aimed. Using our dominant eye and shooting with Coach Ricci’s instructions, all of us hit our target or close to it.

My daughter and I both had a good time. I can see how a deep dive into archery could lead to the gratification of gaining skills and the development of a Zen-like focus. Although I’m on to other adventures, I recommend Archers Artemis if you want to give it a try.

Archers Artemis Orientation Class: $25 (I had a Groupon, so paid $29 for two people)