Summer archery program is right on target

Stephanie Mahaffey isn't likely to soon forget her first day of shooting a bow. Mahaffey, a student at Olympus Junior High, didn't do anything as dramatic as hit the bull's-eye on her first try.

Instead, her arrow took on a life of its own and imitated a boomerang.

"It somehow ended up coming back and hitting me," Mahaffey said. "I think it hit the wall and it bounced back and it hit my leg."

After enduring that shaky start, she soon got her technique down enough to hit a couple of strategically placed balloons on her target before the day was over.

Mahaffey, like several other junior high and elementary students in Salt Lake County, is getting her first taste of archery this summer.

All of the students are taking weekly lessons through the Salt Lake Archery Co., based in Sugar House, as part of a Summer Works camp program sponsored by Rowland Hall-St. Marks.

Participants in the camp go to weekly two-hour classes, either on Tuesday or Thursday afternoon, where they learn the basics of archery.

Beginning archers start out with a lightweight recurve bow and are taught techniques such as how to properly hold a bow and the correct way to release an arrow. They can move up to a more complex bow over time with development and refinement of their shooting skills.

Getting down the mechanics of archery is a simple thing for many of the students because it is designed to be that way.

"You start off really close and then you go farther away, so you're building up skills," said Chris Toth, another participant in the Summer Works program.

Students participating in summer archery classes at the Salt Lake Archery Co. benefit from the tutelage of longtime archery coaches Randi and Larry Smith.

They have run the Junior Olympic archery program for the past two decades and, along the way, have developed a number of elite American archers — including 1992 Olympic medalist Denise Parker. Randi also doubles as the coach for the U.S. Paralympic team.

Besides these summer classes, the Smiths also teach year-round classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings where children or adults can come in and shoot.

Archery, according to Randi Smith, is not a difficult sport for the average person to pick up.

"If you want to be competitive and go to the Olympics, it takes a lot of practice and a lot of time," Smith said. "But just to come in and have fun, it's really quick and easy."

Smith acknowledged that she tends to see a greater number of people who pursue archery as a purely recreational interest rather than a competitive sport. Much of that has to do with the nature of archery, which tends to be much more drawn out and require more patience than more prominent sports such as football or basketball.

Even after committing to the requisite time and practice, those who have done the sport for a longer period of time find out they still can't expect perfection on every shot.

"Some days you're off. Some days you're on," said Emiliano Mendez, a 12-year-old student at Our Lady of Lourdes School, whose first exposure to archery came three years ago. "But you've got to stay concentrated."