South Arrows Archery Club stays on target

SOUTH Arrows Archery Club (SAAC) is staying on target and making a name in south Trinidad.

The two-year-old club has locations in Iere Village, Palmiste and Point Fortin and has participated in several local and international competitions since its inception.

Newsday attended one of its training sessions, at the Point Fortin East Secondary School, on Sunday, and chatted with coaches and players.

Head coach Sherwin Francis told Newsday his interest in archery began when he lived in the UK and completed a level one training programme in 2015. After this, he went to the World Archery headquarters, in Switzerland and was endorsed to do level two.

He is now a US level four coach and returned home to share his knowledge, as he felt coaching education in TT did not meet international standards. Level four is the highest level a non-US citizen can attain, as level five is only applicable to US coaches, who represent their country with its national team. According to US Archery’s official website, “The Level 4-NTS Coach course provides education and training on coaching, communication, sports science in archery, psychology and biomechanics with a large emphasis on the National Training System.”

According to Francis, “If (coaching) education is deficient, that will reflect on the athletes on the field. I saw the potential of the sport in the UK. There’s a large archery community in the UK – recreational and competition. When I came back, I wanted to come to Point (Fortin) first. This is where I grew up (Fanny Village). I wanted to give back to Point and we’re actually one of the biggest organisations in number (in TT) now.”

His club, founded in May 2017, is one of 11 active local archery clubs according to the official website of the TT Target Archery Foundation (TTTAF). There are five rankings/age groups– Benjamins (Under 12), Cubs (12-14), Cadets (15-17) Juniors (18-20) and adults (21 and over). The club begins training from age eight.

Francis said there is a four-point formula to succeed at archery: a willing archer, a supportive family, good coaching, and proper infrastructure/equipment.

“It is a form sport. You may think it’s an aiming sport but that doesn’t get you the goal. It’s about being disciplined and repeating the correct form every time.”

The club uses three different types of bows – Olympic recurve bows, compound recurve bows and full compound bows. Compound bows consist of cables and pulleys/wheels that assist with the pulling of the string and the releasing of the bow, whereas recurve bows do not, and consist of limbs (upper and lower ends where the strings are attached) that curve away from the archer. And as the name suggests, the Olympic recurve bow is used in the Olympic Games.

Equipment can be quite expensive and because of this the coaches provide bows and arrows for its members, who may not be able to afford their own. There is also a payment system/plan. The bow of the person’s choice will be purchased by the head coach and the student and/or his/her family can gradually pay it off.

The coach of the Point Fortin location, Roddie Taylor said the experience has been exceptional thus far. He is ranked 4th in the local Masters (recurve) category. “To be honest, I never thought I could have done archery. But from the moment I started it, it’s like I got addicted. It has improved my mental state because you have to focus. It’s a very disciplined sport.”

For 15-year-old Darnell Garcia, the club was a dream come true. He is now ranked 14th, locally, in the open category and second in the men’s cadet (recurve) category. He said he will continue trying his best as archery is his passion.

“I’ve been wanting to do archery for around seven years before this. My father and I would always try to get to do it but we were unsuccessful in our search in TT, until one day we were passing by and saw that coach (Francis) was out for his first day and we just passed by.

“It’s a mental challenge, keeping focused, not wanting to give up and persevering throughout.”

He placed second in the Central Precision Archery Club’s Last Man Standing Challenge on November 3.

“I didn’t go last year, didn’t think he was ready. I went this year and was aiming for the top 10, tried my best. But I didn’t expect to place second. I had to end up going against some of the best archers in the country.”

Speaking with Newsday via telephone, TTTAF president Gregory Quesnel said the club has been doing well and praised the head coach.

“As a new club, they have advanced and organised themselves quite quickly to come up to par with some of the larger, more established clubs.

“The president of the club, Mr Sherwin Francis, was much more experienced in archery when he set out to form the club and had a much better plan of his course have action. That is what has facilitated them getting to where they are now. They have done well.”

Francis said if it was up to him alone, the club’s success would not have been possible and thanked his team members. While they still do not have a permanent home, he said they are working towards it. He said the club is like a family and he will continue to remain dedicated. Those interested in joining can call 750-1879.