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A Little Archery goes a Long Way
By Rebecca | July 1, 2008
Two weeks ago, I spent five days at Cub Scout Day Camp teaching archery to seven, eight, and nine year old boys. My own archery experience began last year at Day Camp where I was a “walking leader.” As a walking leader, I was responsible for escorting a group of boys from activity to activity throughout the day. One hour each day was spent at the Archery range. One day there was some extra time and the Ranger asked if the walking leaders wanted to shoot. So I shot and had a great time doing it.
Later I was called to be a den leader. Then I got word that “Ranger” training was being held on a Sunday morning in March. So I went. I sat through three hours or so of instruction on how to set up BB and Archery ranges. How to keep the ranges safe and how to engage the boys so that they learned the basics of shooting.
I then sat through several meetings of day camp staff where I found that I understood every word spoken but still had no idea what was going on. I listened as they discussed supplies, locations, and set up.
Then I got to camp early Monday morning. A couple of canopies were set up with foam targets about 10 or 11 yards away. There were no bows, no arrows, no posters and no experienced ranger to take the lead. (The gentleman working with me on the range had taken the training, like myself, but had never actually run a range before.) While I was still trying to figure out how to run a range without bows, about 25 eager little boys showed up.
I began to talk to them about range safety. I asked them to think of rules and tell them to me. Since I did not have a list of our “official” rules of the range, I tried to use common sense. Things like, don’t point your arrow at your neighbor’s eye and always listen to the ranger. We finally scraped up the posters with rules and parts of the bow on it. Then we got some bows and arrows for the boys.
The first day was spent mainly talking with the boys about rules and safety. The boys didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to shoot. By the time we tried to talk about stance and shooting technique they had tuned us out completely. So we let them step up to the line, in turn, and shoot their arrows a the targets. Most of those first arrows made it less than three feet. Arrows littered the ground between the firing line and the targets. A precious few actually stuck in the targets, most of them shot by older boys who had been to camp once before. Almost none went beyond the targets.
The boys had various explanations for their inability to hit the targets. Many of them insisted that they needed a different bow–one that worked better. One boy told me, with an expression of sincere worry, ”My arrow is broken. It won’t hit the target.”
The next day went a little smoother. The boys were a little more attentive when we spoke about proper stance and aiming techniques. They were more willing to let us work with them on the firing line to improve their posture and firing. The arrows went a little farther and few more stuck in the target.
With each passing day we were able to spend less time discussing safety, although we reviewed the rules daily, and more time focusing on the shooting itself. Sometimes, after working with a boy for several minutes–making sure his arrow was nocked properly, pointing his feet the right direction, correcting his hold on the bow and the bowstring, and coaching him to pull the string back and back and back and back just a little more–he would beam with pride as his arrow sailed neatly to the row of targets. Afterward, I would notice the same boy working hard to correct his posture and shooting technique so that his arrow would continue to hit the target.
By the end of the week, three or four arrows lay on the ground between the firing line and the targets. Many were in the targets themselves, some in the large black circle we called a bulls-eye. (In fact, of over 100 boys, we had less than 20 who failed to hit the bulls-eye at least once during the course of the week.) A great number of arrows were stuck in the grass beyond the targets. I wish that I had taken a before and after picture to let the boys see the progress they had made in a single week.
The boys knew the rules of safety by heart. They had also learned the basics of how to stand and hold the bow properly. They had also learned that following our instructions made a difference. Obeying the safety rules kept them safe and allowed them to participate on the archery range. Following the tips on stance, aiming and drawing the bow made their arrows fly farther and straighter and allowed them to hit the target.
That Sunday our lesson was Elder Holland’s General Conference address titled, “My Words Never Cease.” As I read the talk, I couldn’t help but think about my aspiring archers. Like them, I am also aiming for a target. I am trying to live my life the way the Lord would have me live. I am trying to be worthy to return to his presence. And I too have an instructor, a ranger, who can help me to hit my target.
The Lord speaks to prophets. The prophets teach me things that will keep me safe, both spiritually and physically, and they teach principles that can bring me closer to the Lord and nearer to my target. Each time I follow the counsel of the prophet, my aim improves and I come a little closer to hitting the bulls-eye. But, like the scouts, I need practice. Only by continually applying the principles taught, over and over and over again, can I become the type of person that the Lord intends for me to be.
Topics: Christ, Inspirational, Life, Relief Society, Uncategorized, Young Women |
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Great post, Rebecca!