Success Stories
View Printer-friendly Version
June 15, 2006   Michael’s Story
When first asked to write down a success stories that directly relate with the Archery in the Schools Program I was at a loss, not because I couldn’t think of any but because I didn’t know which one to choose. After careful and exhausting thought I would like to tell you about Michael.

Michael is an 8th grade student that has been a member of the South Middle School Archery Team for two years. Michael arrived at South on a trial basis from Central Learning Center, an alternative school, where he had been a student for 3 years. His placement at this school was due to his disruptive behaviors in the classroom and blatant disrespect for authority.
Michael had expressed an interest in bow hunting to the teachers at Central when they began to make plans for Michael to return to South, I was called and asked about the Bulldog Archery Team. The teachers at Central thought that this would help him with his transition back to a regular classroom. I agreed to meet with Michael and explain the rules and what it would take for him to be a part of the team.  Michael became very excited and proved to be an outstanding archer. His grades improved from a 2.0 to a 2.7 and his behavior was outstanding, during archery season (6 months) he had only one office referral.  Teachers were so impressed that a recommendation was made that he be allowed to come for a full day instead of half a day.  It seemed as things where finally headed in the right direction for Michael.

Unfortunately after our National competition, his teachers noticed a drastic change in his moods and his attitude toward his school work.  They came to me and asked when archery was going to start again; this seemed to be the only thing that he cared about.
The next year Michael didn’t even try out for the team and his year was a disaster, His parents called and asked me to talk him into trying out for the team just to regain his focus, but he refused and had one of the worst years possible. He had even been recommended to return to CLC. At this point I had finished with football and was asked by his transition teacher to speak with him about archery, I did and to my surprise Michael showed interest and said that archery was the only thing that made him come to school and that he had made a mistake by not trying out for the team. I made a deal that if he got his act together he would be allowed to participate in archery next year. His attitude changed, his grades improved and his mom was overjoyed.
This year Michael is an 8th grader and one of our team leaders.  Michael has maintained a 3.0 grade point average with no office referrals. His parents where so pleased that they rewarded Michael with his own bow, something he cherishes dearly. He has a younger brother that wants to shoot; I overheard Michael telling him that he must stay out of trouble and keep his grades up in order to be a part of the program.  
This is just one of many success stories that are a direct result of the Archery in the Schools program. I must admit in the beginning I thought that this program would never last but after positive experiences like this one and several others; I know that it will. We currently have a competition team and an archery club. Students come from all backgrounds. The Archery program provides an opportunity for good clean fun in a competitive environment and gives students a sporting activity they can enjoy for lifetime.

Jimmie’s Story
When Jimmie came to our school in second grade he had been home-schooled all his life and had severe learning disabilities, including a mild mental disability, which had never been diagnosed. By the time he was in fourth grade and began coming to our after-school program, he was pretty much mute by choice. He walked through the halls with his head down and never spoke without prompting. When you would ask him a question, he might answer in a mono-syllable, but he would never look and remained 'hunkered' down to try to disappear. 

At the end of fourth grade, we began the Archery in the Schools program, and Jimmie was one of the first to come into the after school program to try out our new sport. Although I was skeptical and stayed near him in case he needed extra assistance, I knew it was imperative for Jimmie to be 'like everyone else' as much as possible. Boy, did I find out that I was wrong - he wasn't shooting like everybody... he was blowing them away!  After explaining the shot sequence and letting him cast his first arrow, I stepped back and he grouped all five shots HIS FIRST TIME ON THE LINE! Needless to say, the kids went WILD! Our other coach, Mark, walked next to him to pat him on the back and he flinched away from him...it was like he had never been patted on the back or didn't know what praise was all about. He had been flying under the radar so long, he thought he was invisible. 

However, archery changed all of that. He became the top shooter the FIRST week and soon after zinged his first 'Robin Hood' during practice.... and Jimmie changed. Personally, we began to see him interact with children during practice. They were giving him 'high fives' and cheering for him and he was soaking it up like a sponge. When a new child would come into practice, Jimmie would go stand next to them and help them understand the rules and shot sequence - he was finally the 'leader' and the 'expert' in an area - something that had never happened in his young life.

Then the teachers began calling wanting to know 'what in the world did you do to Jimmie?' I was caught off guard and immediately began to think something was wrong. Then the teachers continued - Jimmie was a changed boy. He was listening in class. He was answering questions and about two months after archery began, he slowly raised his hand to ask a question in class - the first time he had ever voluntarily asked anything. The teachers in the room had to leave to hide the tears in their eyes.

So a year later, Jimmie was in the middle of the state mandated testing and was assisting with the daily 'fun shoots' we had for testing rewards and we knew things had turned around for him but we still didn't know how much they had. However, when the results of the testing came back in, we knew. Jimmie had scored PROFICIENT (which for you non-Education, non-Kentucky) people, is a 3 out of 4 scale on his Practical Living/Vocational Studies test and the Apprentice on the remaining tested areas (2 of 4) when the year before he had score only Novices (or one of four). 

More than the obvious educational benefits, Jimmie has friends now. He talks with them and is one of the 'heroes' on the archery team. He travels with the team to ASA competitions and has raised his head to see the world. He already looks forward to the future in archery and is talking about working in an archery shop when he graduates....  GRADUATES... Jimmie is thinking about graduating from high school....all because of archery.

The Wesson Girl’s

I cannot think of anyone who has benefited more from the experience of NASP than Laura and Rebecca Wesson. Three years ago while serving as principal of Somerset High School, I worked diligently to offer the NASP program to interested students in an after school setting. I opened it to all grade levels and one of the students who showed up was an extremely shy, very quiet girl in glasses named Laura Wesson.  I remember trying previously to make Laura talk to me in the hall and at ballgames where she played in the band.  She was simply too shy to do so. When she appeared for our first practice, I wondered why she had made the effort knowing that she would have to interact and therefore speak to people. I do not remember how many arrows she shot, when it was finally her turn, but I remember that it was not many until she was smiling. Most if not all of her arrows were going where she wanted them to go. She left the first practice smiling. Over the next few months I watched a transition from a shy sedate young lady to an excited encouraging positive young lady. Finally the time came to take the group of archers to the first ever NASP state tournament. It was late in the day when I discovered just how the scoring was going that I realized Laura was doing pretty well. It was just minutes before the announcements that I realized that Laura Wesson would be forever the first girl’s high school state champion! Words cannot adequately express how this has impacted Laura since that day in Lexington. I hope you give her the chance to tell you what she does for everyone. Her story has appeared in numerous publications and newspaper articles.  She is the biggest and best cheerleader on the team. Her grades and her future are looking good. She is simply one of my favorite people to encounter. There is always a hug, a smile and a “How are you doingâ€Â whenever I see her.  Does NASP change people? It changed Laura Wesson.



 



 



 



Following the year when Laura won, her younger sister Rebecca appeared at practice. She was a tiny little thing who could not pull the bow back unless it was at very low in poundage. She participated regularly and soon found Laura’s enthusiasm and excitement. She was simply fun to be around as well.  It was last year at the NASP tournament in Louisville, that NASP bumped full force into Rebecca. Knowing that her shooting was steadily improving, I realized in Louisville that she had shot well enough to possibly make the shoot off for College Scholarship money. Later it was announced that she did. After hugging her and talking to her, I told her to simply do her best, breathe, and enjoy the moment. To make a long story short, everyone there gathered around to a final shoot off which put Rebecca against her cousin, State Champion Ashley Rose, and with the last arrow……Rebecca had won the shoot off!  Her tears of joy have been captured in several pictures and her outlook was now even more positive. She is amazing in her personality. Her plans are to begin working on another repeat as a sophomore and following NASP, she will be competing in state 3D archery events.  She too would be someone that NASP has definitely impacted in a positive way.  If nothing more, the Wesson sisters are super ambassadors for the program!



Jacob’s Story

Our special story and student that has benefited from NASP.  The school is Summit Academy in Louisville, KY, a school for students in grades K-8 who have learning differences.  Our students are smart and are of average to above-average intelligence, but they learn differently and have had
experiences of failure in the 'normal' school learning setting.  The student we have nominated for your consideration is Jacob, a fifth grader who came to us in the middle of the fall semester.  Things were not working out for him at the public school he attended, both academically and socially.  He is small framed and was the object of bullying.  He came to Summit Academy afraid and unconfident, but the first day I was asked if he could join archery club.  He started off doing well and has continued to progress.  He is always one of several students who volunteer to shoot extra whenever we have an open space in practice.   He is consistently good at shooting, but has been a few points behind our 'champion of the day.'  

I wrote to our parents last week asking for any positive feedback they have from their child's participation in archery.  I let them think that it was just an end-of-the-year report to the Archery in the Schools program.  Jacob’s mother wrote back that Jacob was proud that Summit Academy had an archery club that he could join and that he told everyone that his school has archery.  She felt like his attention level increased since his participation in archery and that he had more self esteem.  He was also interested in the Fish and Wildlife Camp Earl Wallace, something that he may not have been confident enough to try before this. 

I asked the teachers a similar question about the archery club students, asking them to note improvements that could include archery as a help.  Jacob's teacher for homeroom, Mr. Wight wrote that Jacob's schoolwork effort had improved and his socialization skills were also
better than when he started at Summit Academy.



 



 



 



 


Home | About | Partners | Curriculum | Ordering | Scrapbook | Instructor Resources | Contact | Tournament Info and Registration | Store | Donate | News
Copyright © 2013 NASP Archery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.  Site Powered by ACTIVEA