Outdone by the skills of youths: Our writer revisits archery

It’s easy to get back on a bicycle even if you’ve not done so in years. But I’m here to tell you not all sports are as easy to resume when you have been away from them for a few decades.

As a teenager, I taught archery at a summer camp, a sport at which I can’t say I ever excelled. But I could hold my own, which is more than I can say about most other sports I tried back then.

Skiing — first year a legitimate beginner; second season, having purchased all the equipment, I expected a more promising results than sliding down a small hill backwards and bent over, tripping little children on my way. Needless to say, there was not a third year.

Last Saturday morning I joined archers aged 9 to 13 at St. Gabe’s field to witness their skills and test my own.

Confession: I would give myself a D or maybe D-minus as I discovered everything I thought I would remember about archery has changed. Not an F? No, because a former employer watching me play badminton at a company outing once remarked that what I lacked in ability I made up for in enthusiasm.

Start with the equipment. Back in the day, we used rather simple wooden bows. Today’s bows, especially designed to teach young children to shoot are far more sophisticated, not that I’m blaming the equipment for how inept I was.

The simple truth is it’s absolutely not just like riding a bike. After learning differences posed by today’s bows, I assumed my position, managing not to destroy my hands by inappropriately placing them on the new bow in a place they’d be injured by an arrow as it departed from the rest on the bow.

But one factor kept me optimistic. The distance between the line on which I stood and the target did not appear very long.

Shot one — completely missed the target, something none of those young archery  students had done under the careful tutelage of Julia Weisenberg, a member of the Town’s Deer & Tick Committee and a talented bowhunter.

Shot two — still not touching the target, but at least closer than shot one.

The next couple of shots my arrows touched the target, but not with enough force to stay there. A few more and I actually got a couple to hit the target, but nowhere near a bullseye. It seemed the more I shot, the farther I got from that elusive bullseye. I’d like to think with practice I might get more adept, but likely not ever a match for any of the young kids whose abilities I witnessed.

Take Lucas Reiter, a 12-year-old archer who said he was motivated to learn archery at the request of his grandfather, Dan Picket, from Cherry Valley, N.Y. Mr. Picket is an avid gun and bowhunter who wants Lucas to hunt with him. Lucas may be young in years, but he’s wise enough in valuing the opportunity to spend time with his grandfather.

Sarah Vanderbruggen, 13, performed well in a recent tournament. “I just always liked archery,” she said. She recalls her brother having a toy bow and arrows when she was younger and that sparked her interest.

Makayla Cronin, 13, said her mom signed her up for what she thought would be a single session, but Makayla discovered the training was fun and that motivated her to continue.

The aim of the program is a recreational sport for students, Ms. Weisenberg said. She and Doug Sherrod, a member of the Town Water Advisory Committee, are certified by the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) to instruct students.

Certification to become an instructor currently requires a trip to Staten Island for a day-long program with a certified master trainer. It involves teaching a demo class and passing a written exam. Ms. Weisenberg and Mr. Sherrod made the trip together this year.

Ms. Weisenberg was leading the session with daughter Regina Kolmogorovoa-Weisenberg and friend Rosie Hanley, young but experienced archers who helped the students. “Archery is a skill that needs to be refined and constantly worked on, even for experienced archers like myself and Doug,” Ms. Weisenberg said.

She worked with a coach for more than a year to improve her skills and rid herself of bad habits that affected her shots. The value of the sport for young persons is boundless, Ms. Weisenberg said.

“We pride ourselves on offering this course to summer and full-time residents. It helps them learn focus, patience and confidence,” she said. “I am really passionate about archery.”