Although archery is not sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the sport is alive and well in the state's schools as thousands of students take part in various tournaments. And the Hunger Games movies ain't got nothing on the Billings school district.
"When the Hunger Games first came out, it had a huge impact," Billings archery coach Joyce Burton said when discussing the effect of the movie on team participation. "Especially the girls. The participation went up."
There are 575 schools in Missouri who participate in the National Archery in the Schools Program sponsored by the state's conservation department. And Billings is one of the best with 60 archers from grade school through high school. And 36 of them from grades four-through-eight have qualified for the national tournament in Louisville, Kentucky in mid-May.
"You can be any size or any shape," Burton explained. "And any gender obviously because I have boys and girls who all shoot at the very top."
The state and national competitions involve shooting at both bullseye and 3-D stuffed animal targets. And the precision and discipline needed to compete can be a true test of nerves.
"I just take a deep breath and just cancel out everybody else," seventh grader Colton Plowman said when talking about how he handles the pressure.
"When I think about losing or messing up or really being terrible I just kind of put it out of my head and I shoot good," adds sixth grader Emma Dateman.
"I've got students here who seem to be wild in the classroom or even hyper," explains Burton. "But when they get up to that line and focus in on what's going on with that target, all their nerves calm down and you see that come out in their dedication and focus on hitting that target."
But there is also a physical side to the sport.
"When you're first starting out your back will hurt, your arms will hurt, and you might have big red marks on your forearm," said seventh grader Skylar Metscher.
"The strongest shooters we have are the ones who have been in dance or gymnastics," Burton said. "They already have their core really strong. Another misconception is that people think that pulling the bow has to do with arm strength. But it has to do with the back muscles. If you pull it straight back, the shoulder blades will actually come together, and that's where their strength comes in."
From their stance to using their dominanat eye, there's a lot of technique involved in this sport. But even if you don't finish in fourth place at state like Skylar Metscher did, there's something more important.
"I usually beat by brother though," she says with a smile.
