By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
William Tell would be proud. All he needed was to walk into The Barn at Beechwood High School and watch the archery team at practice.
“We have 22 high schoolers on the squad, 25 middle schoolers and 18 from the elementary,” Tigers’ coach Eric Gorlewski told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “The high schoolers practice four days-a-week; the middle schoolers Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the elementary does their practice on Thursday,” the fifth-year coach said.
Logan, Connor and Owen Darnell (Photo by Andy Furman/NKyTribune)
Gorlewski says there’s more teaching with the elementary school youngsters, and more coaching with the high schoolers.
As for the high school archery season, he says the shooting starts in October and cumulates with the Nationals, May 9-11 in Louisville.
And, yes, just like football and basketball there’s pressure in archery. So, coach, what makes a good shooter?
“Passion, dedication and just having fun,” Gorlewski was quick to add. And practice.
Those practices consist of shooting at the target from 10-meters and 15-meters, Gorlewski said. “We use one style of bow,” he said, “The Matthews Genesis Bow. And all the arrows are Easton.”
The Genesis has been utilized to establish more archers across the world than any other bow model in history. The Genesis has just one cam – this means no tuning problems, much less recoil, more accurate shooting and less noise.
The competitions – called tournaments – consist of eight total rounds, the coach explained, and one practice round. “The competitors get five arrows to shoot, and the center of the target is worth 10 points,” he said.
The team with the most points is the winner – and there is an individual champ as well.
Beechwood’s coach says his squad will compete in at least 10 tournaments this season, but he’s more concerned with his kids having fun, and becoming better people. “I certainly want to see us win,” he said, “But having fun is a big part of this.” Gorlewski says the so-called Northern Kentucky power schools in archery are Scott, Ryle, and Conner High School. “They’ve been at it for a while and have created some tradition to their program.”
Gorlewski remembers when his daughter Danica started with the program – in her freshman year – Beechwood couldn’t even field a team.
Danica, now a senior and team captain is looking for a college that supports archery.
Archery at Beechwood has produced some pleasant surprises as well.
Beechwood Archery (Photo by Andy Furman/NKyTribune)
Like senior Ashley Fields.
“I’m new to the program,” she said. “I came out for the team just because it sounded like fun. I did some shooting when I was younger, but I had some friends on the team, and I did get better. I’m pretty good now.”
Good, because she claims she had some anxiety problems prior to her shooting. “I started doing some deep-breathing exercises before I shoot – and they helped me, and helped me to focus, and I’m not shaking anymore.”
Gorlewski seems to be the cheerleader of one happy family at Beechwood. As for the bows and arrows, they’re supplied by the school. “We have a great alumnus as well as support group that helps,” he said.
And yes, there’s some training that goes along with the sport. “We have a strength and conditioning program on Monday evenings,” he said.
Injuries – sure, they happen.
“I tore Cartledge in my shoulder shooting in my sophomore year,” captain Danica said.
The squad is whittled-down for tournament time.
“We take 20 team members to each tournament,” Gorlewski says, “And four of the 20 must be girls. Then we’ll take the 12 highest scores of the 20 to shoot.”
Oh, if you were wondering William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to legend, tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow. You gotta wonder if he’d be good enough to crack thetop 20 at Beechwood.
