MONROE COUNTY, WV (WOAY)- “Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or even advanced archer, archery will give you something that’s almost impossible to find elsewhere.” – USA Archery.
Well, that rings true at Monroe County schools, as students of different ages and skill levels will compete in the West Virginia State Championship this weekend.
James Monroe High School and Peterstown Middle School qualified in the teams division, and five students from Mount View and Peterstown Elementary Schools qualified as individuals. The head coach says the season has been great, as archery is a sport for everyone.
“It’s really good because anybody can do it. It doesn’t have to be an athlete,” said Kelly Jewell, the head coach of the Monroe County Schools archery team. “We do have a lot of athletes that do [archery]. We have baseball and football, and the cheerleaders all do [archery], but if they don’t play any sports, they can still come out and shoot archery. There’s no physical requirement as long as they can pull the bow back.”
The students will compete against others across the state to gain the opportunity to compete at a national level. Each student competing for Monroe County has a variety of experience in archery, even 5th grader Ronnie, who just started archery this year.
“Feels amazing [to qualify for the competition]. Especially for it being my first year and knowing nothing, almost nothing, about archery,” said Ronnie Flynn, 5th grade first-time archer. “When I first started it, I started doing it and started getting yellows and reds. Then they’re like, ‘Have you ever done this before?’ I was like, ‘No, I’m never really shot like an actual bow in my life.’ You know, they’re like, ‘You should do it next year.'”
Having archery in their schools means so much to these kids in different ways.
“Honestly, it can. It helps me to relieve stress and just calm down a little bit more,” said Brycen Adkins, a 10th-grade archer.
Senior member Michael Balboa is especially grateful to have this opportunity in school, as archery has led him to a college scholarship.
“It means part of the world to me. I mean, I love archery and strive to challenge myself in ways that I never thought I could,” explained Michael Balboa, a 12th-grade and soon-to-be collegiate archer. “I’ve also gained many friends and, you know, Heather [one of the coaches], she’s helped me out so much throughout the past three years, and I couldn’t be any more thankful than I am now.”
The students will continue to train for the rest of the week and prepare for the competition on Saturday.
