The sound of the arrow rushing out of the bow, the feel of your bow string as you release, and the thump of the arrow hitting target. There is nothing like the feel of shooting a bow. Archery is a very unique sport, usually referred to as “the bow and arrow sport”. There is a lot more to archery than people think. Focus, accuracy, traveling, and having fun with the sport.

Archery is a sport where you have to be constantly consistent and have focus. You have to be consistent, because if you change one thing while your shooting it could possibly throw you off completely. Which, if you compete, it could cost you a medal. Plus, part of being consistent, you have to really focus on what you’re doing. It may also help you in your life. “Concentrating during archery practice can help you focus better in other areas of life too” (Allison Jasper, paragraph 1). These “other areas” could be at home and school.

If you decided to start shooting, start at home or an archery shop. But when you feel ready you can try tournaments. There is a lot of traveling. When you first start, stay in your state. But when you get comfortable, you can also go all around the United States. One of the biggest shoots in the United States is The Vegas Shoot. Hundreds of people compete from all around the United States at this event, even a couple of Olympic Archers. Altogether, if you start to compete there is a ton of traveling involved.

Aside from focus, accuracy, and all the traveling involved, the most important thing about archery is to have fun. Having fun with something is usually makes you want to do something more. “Preparing fully, in any context, is difficult to do if we are not enjoying the journey that we are on.” (Warrik Wood, paragraph 2) this shows that it is important for us to have fun with a sport or else we won’t really want to do it. Cause when you have fun with a sport, it pushes you so much more with the sport. Archery is a lot of fun, since you get to go everywhere, so you get to meet a lot of new people all the time. You would be surprised how many people you could become friends with at these tournaments. Plus, you get to see a lot of new places, which is another fun thing. It’s always a fun experience to go somewhere new.

As you see, there is more to archery than shooting an arrow at a target. With all the focus it takes, all the traveling and new places you will see, and of course the fun there is probably more than most people think. More than what meets the eye. And who knows, maybe archery can be something new you will try, and maybe you could possibly be the next one competing.