(bright upbeat music) - Hello, and welcome to "The Journal."

I'm Steve Kendall.

When we think of school-related sports and activities, there's probably one that for a lot of us probably has flown below the radar.

But that's not the case if we talk some of the folks from Patrick Henry Local Schools in Henry County.

We're gonna be talking about archery.

We're joined by the coach and some of the members of the Patrick Henry Archery Club, Coach Todd West and club members, Ashlyn Mullins, Kelsey Schwiebert, Mackenzie Whitman, and Dylan Morris.

So welcome everybody to the journal, appreciate you being here today.

So thanks for coming on with us.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah, and Coach West, I guess, talk a little bit about the program, its origin, how long it's been going on.

Just give us some background on this, because I said for a lot of folks, archery is not something that we typically think of when we think of sports that kids are involved in at the school level.

- Sure, sure, I graduated from Liberty Center in '89, and I remember our gym teacher teaching archery during PE class.

And you're right, I think education got away from it for a while, but 15 years ago, our Phys Ed teacher, Mr. Jim Krieger found a grant through the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and he filled that out, applied, and received about $3,000 worth of archery equipment and targets and arrows and whatnot, safety nets.

And a number of the kids really took to it during gym class and liked it.

And they knew that I was an avid archer and approached me about maybe helping supervise and organize a little after school club, maybe a couple hours a week, and it grew from there and what wound up 15 years ago being just maybe a dozen high schoolers went to middle school and then maybe four or five years ago, I brought in grades four and five.

So, now we have a complete program, grades four through 12, this year we had 141 kids in it.

- Yeah, now, and I guess when you talk about that, the other thing that I found when I was doing a little background research on this is, there are a lot of schools, you compete with a lot of schools from Northwest Ohio and all over the state obviously, and that's something again that I don't know that a lot of people are aware of.

So a lot of other schools also have these programs, full scale competition.

You had one just a couple of weeks ago out there.

- Yes, yes, we hosted our 14th Annual Archery Invite here at PH and Patrick Henry is part of the Black Swamp Archery League.

All the area coaches in the four county area got together, I can't even really tell you how long ago, but we organized ourselves, came up with a competition schedule, and we communicate and know each other well, it's a good place to be.

- Now, when you talk about, this is a club sport I'm assuming, which is supported to what degree by the school system or to what level is it supported or not supported?

Is this more of a, everyone who participates pays their own way or is it some school subsidy as well?

- Well, definitely the district supports it.

They've been very good over the years and know the niche that it fills.

They've supported us as coaches with facilities, time, and transportation.

- Okay, so yeah, that's good to know.

Now, we're joined on here, and I mentioned at the beginning of the program by two eighth graders from the middle school at Patrick Henry and two high school seniors.

We'll talk a little bit, I'm gonna actually, I've got Kelsey and Ashlin who are together and also Dylan and Mackenzie in one of the other photos there, but obviously as you mentioned, the program goes from fourth grade and I saw the photos online, the group shots, which it was quite impressive.

Ashlyn or Kelsey, whichever one wants to jump in first, talk a little about your involvement, how you got started, what attracted you to the archery program to begin with?

So whichever one of you wants to jump in.

- Okay, I'm Ashlyn, and I have been in the program since the fourth grade.

So now that I'm an eighth grader, I've been here for about four years, and I've really enjoyed this sport and all the friends and fun that came along with it.

- Yeah, I started when I was in the fifth grade.

So I've only done it for three years, and I've been involved in a lot of other sports during the time that I've done archery.

And Todd has been very good at letting us do those sports over archery, and he still understand that, we'll put in time to work on archery.

- Yeah, we've definitely been able to work with archery around our busy schedules with other sports, and the coaches have been nothing but helpful working around them.

And we still always try to find time to practice archery and come at the meets.

- Yeah, now, with you two, and I'm not gonna leave you guys out, Dylan and Mackenzie, we'll get to you shortly.

In terms of Ashlyn and Kelsey, what are the things that you took away from that?

Was there just something when you first started that surprised you about archery or did it just seem like a perfectly natural thing to do with the first time you picked up a bow and all the other equipment that you use?

- Well, like I said, I was a fourth grader, and archery seemed like a pretty cool sport at the time.

And I just decided to try it out because why not?

And I ended up really liking it and it just felt natural.

- Yeah, so my family, some of my family hunts a lot and it just seemed like a fun thing to do.

So I went out and tried it and it was just really fun.

- Yeah and obviously, you have a lot of your classmates who join you in this, because when I looked at the photos online and it's a big group of people from the middle school.

Obviously, you guys are closing in on not being middle schoolers anymore.

So you're already probably thinking about high school, but obviously, it's a real long program.

Real quick, we'll jump over, Dylan Morris and Mackenzie Whitman, talk a little about your experience, how you started.

We'll probably have to skip out because we're running around a little time here in this segment, but talk a little bit right now about how you got started, what attracted you to it and how you've grown into this sport as you've participated.

- All right, so I've been in archery since my seventh grade year.

I got into it because all of my other siblings were in archery and I would always be at the after school practices and I'm like, "Oh, I wanna try that out."

So my seventh grade year I tried it out, and I liked it and I stayed in there ever since.

- Yeah, and Dylan?

- Yeah, I started seventh grade too.

Back when we started, they didn't have any of the lower grades in it yet.

So we had to start out in seventh grade, but it was still really awesome.

I always grew up shooting bows for hunting and just for fun, so it just seemed like a good program to get involved in and ever since then, I've just loved it.

- Yeah, great.

While we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about that, 'cause I'm interested to see, now, obviously some of you had experience before you joined the program doing things outside of it with regard to using bows and arrows, but I'm interested to see how good you were the first time you picked it up.

So we'll talk with you about how much improved you've been over the years.

So back in just a moment with members of the Patrick Henry High School Archery Club and their coach here on "The Journal."

We'll be back in just a moment.

Thanks for staying with us here on "The Journal."

We have members of the Patrick Henry School's Archery Club with us.

We're joined by Ashlyn Mullins and Kelsey Schwiebert, they are from Patrick Henry Middle School, also Dylan Morris and Mackenzie Whitman from Patrick Henry High School, and the head person at the program, Todd West, who also in his spare time acts as a guidance counselor at Patrick Henry High School.

So yeah, his main gig.

Ashlyn and Kelsey, talk to me about the equipment and the terminology and things, because as I say, I'm totally, archery, I've seen it, I know what it looks like when I see it, but talk about the skillset and the equipment, what it's called, the different techniques, and that thing.

- Okay, so obviously you have the bow and arrow.

And then, how can I do that?

The school provides you with those if you don't have one, but you can always get your own personal bow if you like, and arrows can come with that too.

- Now, are there gloves and things that you wear, certain things you wear on your hands, are there other things that are involved besides just the bow and arrow?

- Yeah, you can wear stuff on your fingers to help them not get blisters, 'cause I know I get a blisters on my finger right here.

And then you can also wear an arm sleeve because when you let go, the string can hit your arm and it hurts.

And it just helps prevent it from hurting really bad.

- Yeah, so it's possible to get something like archery elbow, if you're careful, if you're not wearing the appropriate sleeve and things?

Okay, yeah, interesting.

Kelsey and Dylan, obviously, you're a few years older, Mackenzie and Dylan than Ashlyn and Kelsey.

So talk about yeah, your experience 'cause obviously you have a few more years in this.

But are there certain techniques, are there certain styles of shooting that you use or is everybody pretty much doing the same thing?

- I would say that everybody pretty much follows the same stuff, but there are a couple things that everybody does just a little bit different.

Some people use different parts of the bow or different parts of the arrow to help them aim.

Everybody it's just a little bit different.

Personally, I use the arrow and the bow, just a little bit of a combination, but like I said, everybody's got their own way that works for them and helps them out.

- Yeah, and Mackenzie, obviously everyone has their own personal preferences or like, I guess for softball and baseball players, you have your own personal bow just like they would have bats and gloves and things.

So is there difference in tension on the strings and things like that that for each person has their own set of personal setup for their bow and that thing.

- Yeah, so the elementary little kids, when they first start, we give them a bow that's dialed all the way down, so it's like easier for them to pull back.

And then as the season goes on, Mr. West tries to dial them all the way up.

So, yeah.

- Yeah, and there's obviously, this is measured in what?

Some pounds pressure, something like that in terms of the bows, the tension on the string, I guess if that's what it is, it is the bow string, is that what we're calling this, that's an appropriate term?

So yeah, you start out with a lower tension and work your way up.

When it comes to aiming, obviously, we were out at the event a couple of Saturdays ago and watched people do this.

When you set up to aim, you obviously have to know the ballistics of your arrow, all of that thing.

Over time, how have you learned to adjust like when you're accounting for the ballistics of the arrow, that thing 'cause it doesn't go perfectly straight for its entire distance.

So are there certain techniques you learn over time to know how to aim and make sure you are putting the arrow where you want it to go.

- I guess over time, it just becomes natural to you, that first year that you start out, it's pretty tough.

You're not gonna know exactly what to do when you're shooting, but Mr. West has always helped us all.

He always tells you just move it a little bit this way or move it a little bit that way, and then over time, like I said, it just becomes so natural to you that you don't even think about it anymore.

You just pull back, aim, and if it goes where you didn't want it to, you just adjust for the next arrow and just shoot it one arrow at a time.

- That rarely happens, it goes where you do don't want it to go, right?

If you're comfortable with that, yeah.

Now Ashlyn and Kelsey, so what distance are we talking?

When you guys line up for competition, how far away is the target when you set up to do this?

- Oh, you start.

So the first time you shoot, you start at 10 meters away from the target and you do that for four rounds, 'cause you have a practice round and then you have three scoring rounds.

And then after 10 meters, you go back to 15 meters, and then you do the same thing, like... - It's just from a farther distance.

- Yeah.

- Okay, in a typical competition, so like the event that was a couple of Saturdays ago, which was a large event, what does this work in terms of the sequence of shooting?

You get so many shots and that thing, so take us through what a competition was like, Mackenzie or Dylan in terms of what you do that day to perform, to compete with other folks in this sport.

- You good, just run through, yeah.

- So during practices, we just try to prepare for the competitions.

And we all have five arrows that we get to shoot and... - [Dylan] And you shoot.

I believe you shoot your five arrows around and then you get like they said four rounds per 10 or 15s, and then that's just, we practice like when we compete.

There's no difference in between our practices and competitions and that really makes it nice because then you know exactly what to do with the meets and you know exactly how it's gonna go.

We use the whistle every practice, we get to learn the commands the first couple years and after a while, it becomes natural to you.

And like I said, we just practice exactly how we're gonna compete.

- Now, when you're in this competition, is there any gamesmanship that goes on, obviously, you're competing with dozens and dozens of other competitors.

Anything you do, your own style to get in their heads or anything to say, oh, don't even bother to shoot, there's no point in you guys shooting, we got this.

Anything you do to psych the other people out in any way?

- Not really, I guess sometimes you see somebody that's shooting really, really good that day and it gets a little, you feel overwhelmed trying to compete with them, but you just gotta focus on your own target and just focus on your own arrows and then that really helps.

- Yeah, so in a way, it's almost like golf, you're really competing against, it's you and the target not necessarily you and the person beside you.

But you're aware of what they're doing, but it's not a one-on-one thing, yeah.

And obviously too, and Ashlyn and Kelsey, you can jump in here.

You compete, obviously, as you mentioned, there's a league, the four county league that you're in, but the competition goes beyond that just the local level.

There are state tournaments and regional tournaments and things like that.

So have you guys experienced that so far in your career?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, I have.

I went to State my first year and then I didn't go any other years, 'cause I have other stuff going on and then COVID happened and everything just went downhill.

Then this year I get to go to State.

- Yeah, one of the things with State is most of the time you'll get to go if you qualify.

So it depends on how well you perform out of your meets through that season.

If you perform well, then you're most likely gonna go to State and shoot, and you can only take the top 25 or so kids.

- Okay, well, when we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about this 'cause I'm interested to see a little bit more about the background of the program and how you recruit for this too, because obviously you've got a significant number of the totals students in the elementary, the middle school, and the high school participating.

So back in just a moment with members and the coach of the Patrick Henry School's Archery Club here on "The Journal," back in a moment.

Thanks for staying with us here on "The Journal," our guests tonight are the members of the Patrick Henry Local School's Archery Club.

And obviously too and again, we've talked about the events and things like that, but Coach West, are you guys actually in season right now or what is the timeline for this?

Because obviously all sports, all activities have windows of time when they're going on.

So where are we right now in the archery sports schedule?

- We are in the home stretch that is for sure.

Usually round about the end of November, I'll call a parent meeting and we start up the first week of December.

We won't have our first competition until mid to end January, and then February and March are pretty much packed with archery events.

- And so when will the tournaments, the state actually, that title thing take place?

- State tournament is in two weeks.

It'll go the 19th and 20th of March.

And that we've had all the Black Swamp Archery schools have their own individual tournaments leading up to that.

Once the state meet happens, if I have a team that wins a team trophy or if I have individuals that win something, then there are other options as far as nationals go and even world tournaments.

- Ah, wow, okay, yeah, it's just similar to every other school activity or sport.

There is that whole list of things to do.

Back to you guys as students, obviously you are in the program, Ashlyn and Kelsey, do you have brothers or sisters or they've either following you or have been ahead of you in this?

So talk a little about that because obviously it's like a lot of things, it becomes a family activity as well.

So, do either of you have brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, things like that that are involved?

- Well, I don't have any family that's involved, but the way that my feeling got involved with it, with me was my dad, he built something down in my basement that helps me shoot if I miss practice or something, and I can practice in my own basement.

And that's how they got involved, and then some nights we just do competitions to see get a better score and it was always fun.

- Yeah, okay, yeah.

And I think you were mentioning too, I think you have somebody who's following in your footsteps, I believe, right?

- Yeah, I have a little brother named Maddox, he's in the fourth grade.

So this is his first year in archery.

He has some older friends in archery as well.

So having me in it and his friends, obviously he wanted to try it out, and this season he's actually doing really good for his first year.

And Kelsey and my family are really close.

So if we miss a practice from other sports, we just go to her house and shoot and the coach will send Coach West our scores and that's how we reach him with that.

- Now, I'm gonna put you on the spot a little.

So is your brother gonna be better than you or not?

What do you think?

- At the rate he's going now, probably.

- Okay, yeah, well, you'll see, but you still got a lot of years, you still got time to do that, that's good.

Dylan and Mackenzie, what about you?

Do you have siblings that either preceded you or are following you in the program?

- I actually don't have any siblings in the program, but I joined with a couple of my buddies at seventh grade year and it seems like we're all one big archery family.

So even though I don't have any real family in the program, it seems like we're all still family here.

- Yeah, and Mackenzie, what about you?

- Yeah, so I have four older siblings that they're all in archery and I was always staying after school, watching their practices, and so I followed in their footsteps and then I also have some cousins in the program too that's younger than me.

- Yeah, now do you guys think, and any of you can jump in, any of the students, do any of you think, is this something you're gonna continue to do the rest of your life?

Is this like a lifelong sport you can keep doing and you will do it, or is this something you're just interested in right now?

Do you feel it's gonna be something when you're 45, 50, long ways off way beyond what you probably can comprehend in terms of being that old?

Is that something you'll think you'll do the rest of your life as a sport?

- This most definitely is a lifelong sport.

You can start it when you're really young and you can keep doing it for as long as you want, as long as you can shoot a bow, then you can still do archery.

A lot of people hunt into their 60s and 70s and they started when they're 10 or younger.

That's definitely lifelong.

- Yeah, now, and Mackenzie, and I guess Coach West maybe you can jump in real quick, are there college programs obviously too?

So that's something at the college level, if any of you are moving on there, you could probably find college clubs as well or teams?

- Yes, absolutely.

In fact, this year we have our very first alumni who is shooting collegiately, McKayla Panning last year was an excellent archer, she's in our club hall of fame, and she is now, they are just right in the middle of their collegiate season.

I think she was just up in Michigan last weekend competing for her college.

I know next weekend she'll be in Pennsylvania.

So, definitely the opportunities out there.

- Yeah, well, and that's something too, because obviously, if you move into the college level, you still wanna have something that gets you away from just books and studying all the time, and this is a great thing to do as well.

Mackenzie, I didn't wanna interrupt, you've talked about the fact that you had four people involved in this and so obviously in your family, it's a big thing.

Is that something you think you'll be doing if you move on in years ahead to continue to do this and encourage other people to do it as well?

- Maybe, but if I don't, I'll definitely encourage little people, at practices, I go to the elementary practices and I'd help out Mr. West with them learning how to do archery and everything.

So, yeah.

- Yeah, now, Ashlyn and Kelsey, what's the most fun of about this for you?

What's the best part of it besides, obviously, you're very skilled at this and everything, but is there one thing that's like, wow, this is the greatest part of this, the most fun is to go out and do this part of this whole activity.

- [Ashylin] Archery in general is just fun.

But I think for us, it's just shooting together and seeing who can always be the better shooter that day at practice.

We're competitive, so that's probably one of the things that we enjoy the most.

- [Steve] Yeah, and Dylan, Mackenzie, anything that you pick out of this and say, wow, this is the one thing that really has been super enjoyable about doing this?

- [Dylan] I guess they were saying the competitiveness, you can shoot with your buddies and always try and one up each other or whatnot, but then there's always that goal of trying to shoot a 50 or trying to get way up in the 200s, and just always better yourself.

- [Steve] Yeah, that's good.

And Mackenzie?

- Yeah, I have a cousin that's in archery too and we are of competitive and so, yeah.

- Great, well, I appreciate you being on and been obviously educated me great deal on this whole activity, because again, it's something that you're not aware of, you really aren't aware of all the details of it and just how detailed and how exciting the sport actually is and the skill levels that are involved.

So appreciate you guys coming on.

Good luck in your future endeavors in this and everything else that you take on.

Coach West, thanks again for coming on and we appreciate you guys doing this, and yeah, keep us in the loop on how things are going out there, and yeah, it's an interesting thing.

And again, something they say flies below the radar for a lot of us if we don't have, not involved in it at that level.

So that's great.

So appreciate it very much.

Thanks again.

- Just if you could shoot me a heads up as to when the air time will be.

- Yeah, in fact, I'll stick the promo in right now.

This will air this Thursday night.

We're recording this on Monday the 7th, so it'll air on the 10th for everybody will see this over time at eight o'clock here in WBGU.

So yeah, thanks for that.

That's all we have time for right now.

You can check us out at wbgu.org and of course, you can watch us every Thursday night at eight o'clock on WBGU PBS.

Thanks again for being here.

Good night, and good luck.

(bright upbeat music)