Island Archers Mobile Training

Our Island Archers team needs mobile equipment to instruct and coach kids in archery from 8 yrs old to 18 yrs old.  Island Archers is a part of the Junior Olympic Archery Development program of USA Archery.   USA Archery is the governing organization for US Olympic Archery.

We were organized in 2013.  I became the head coach of the Island Archers in 2017.  I am a level 3 NTS certified coach with USA Archery.  I have been shooting for 15 years, competing for 8 years and coaching for the last 5 years.  I compete in and instruct several archery disciplines: traditional, compound, Olympic recurve, and compound freestyle.  

We have 12 active archers on our team.  One of them is the current national gold medal champion in the women’s bowmen barebow division, for both the indoor and outdoor nationals.  Several others have placed in local competitions in the last 5 years.   The Washington State Indoor competition is coming up in a few months and about half our team will be participating.  

We have been asked to bring our archery training to several locations on Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula but we have not had a trailer and the portable equipment to accomplish this.   This fundraiser is intended to raise funds to purchase: a 5x10 trailer, 4 Rinehart targets, 8 Genesis bows, arrows, quivers, curtain supports, boundary markers, tabs, arm guards, etc.  We already own the recurve bows we need, the curtain, some arrows and misc equipment.  

When I bring archery to a park venue or school I usually ask some of our team members to join me so that they get used to instructing and coaching. 

Why archery?  Archery demands a high degree of determination and perseverance.  Failure is easy, success is hard work.  Our kids are learning this.  Kids learn to focus and not allow distractions to deter them, whether that be noise, rain, insects, heat or cold.  They learn to press on through failures and use discipline to achieve their goals.  They also learn to add up scores quickly in their head because calculators are not allowed at the target line!

We need to bring archery to the kids on Bainbridge and Kitsap!  It’s good for them and it is good for their families and their community.

The Island Archers is incorporated in the state of Washington.