On occasions, I have found archery to be quite a lonely sport where, standing on the shooting line with a target in front of you, you have no other opponent but yourself. Nevertheless, you are not alone as there are many other archers training with you at the archery field.
Although my initial contact with archery was via a club whose coach pitted one archer against the other, thus creating a constant tension which the coach believed would bring out the best in each archer, I have long since realized that the coach was wrong. But, archers soon realized that no matter how much they tried to shoot a higher score than other club members, what really mattered at the end of the day was whether you enjoyed what you were doing or not.
And it is not surprising that only after a year or so, the archers in the club quit, the coach was out of work and the club was disbanded and today it exists in name only. What we all missed was a sense of camaraderie, that feeling of friendliness and sociability which comes when people with the same interest and passion come together to improve their skills.
Performance in archery still depends on the archer’s commitment and the guidance of a good coach, but we, as people, are “social animals” and most of us feel the need for fruitful interaction. After a disappointing experience with my first archery club, I took a few months off from archery, floating in and out of the archery field without really knowing if I was ever going to come back or not.
Luckily, other archers at the archery field knew me and understood my situation and invited me to join them on the shooting line. Little by little, I rediscovered both my form and confidence and am now part of a group of dedicated archers who have no hesitation in helping each other. And when you think about it, we all belong to several clubs and during competitions we shoot together and against each other only to shake hands once again the following day during training.
Of course, over time an archer builds a special relationship with other archers (and his/her coach) and one tends to filter the advice and suggestions received accordingly. This special rapport that archers build at the archery field carries a lot of weight when it come to both self-motivation and outside support. We all have our bad times, our moments of doubt, when we ask ourselves if we’re really walking down the right path and, at such times, all we need to do is look around ourselves and feel the great vibes that our fellow archers project.
On top of the moral, technical, and sometimes even financial support that a “band of archers” can give each other, there comes the time when, together with your team, you participate in an archery event. I believe that no matter whether your team loses or not, the bond created during such matches, when each and every archer fights not only for himself but for his other two team members is priceless.
Although archery can also be a team sport, a win or a loss cannot be put on the efforts of one and only person. There’s no such thing as “I scored three goals/points and you didn’t score any!” or “We lost because you didn’t pass the ball.” The fight is fought within each archer and the win can only be achieved if each archer finds his/her best form and shoots his/her best score. I want to emphasize here that no one expects you to shoot only 10s, but rather your team members expect you to shoot your best. If your average shot is in the red circles, then a 9 pointer barely on the line is what your mind should aim for.
Like any other exciting moment in your life (graduation, bachelor’s party, or archery event) the days and weeks following this event are spent reminiscing what you and your mates went through, the ups and downs, the wins and the loses. During this time, the feeling of camaraderie is at its highest and even though sooner or later archers move back to their daily routine, the bond between friends has already grown stronger.
