Personal Entry 2 - A Hidden Talent

A lot of my youth opened my eyes up to the things this world has to offer. This included hobbies and things to do to pass the time. My father is a huge influence for a lot of the things I do in my life, and I thank him for not being a drug addict for that reason. One day we wanted to try something new and get out of the house for a little bit. Next thing I know, he has the sudden spontaneous idea to try archery and go to this range out east that was well hidden under a shopping center. Looking back at it, this range was the most sketchy place you could imagine. We had to walk over giant cement blocks to get to this door that was all rusted and had paint chipping off it. There were no signs letting us know it was even a range. Had it not been for the other archers with their bow cases waiting outside the door before it opened, we probably would have never found it and left. My first day shooting was exhilarating. I started shooting on a compound bow with little iron sights that kept falling and becoming loose, but I shouldn't have expected much from a rental bow. The owners of the range were an older married couple who would go around, looking at all the archers and giving little tips or making tiny corrections on people's form. Then I saw one of the most amazing things; some kid a bit older than me shot a robin hood - which is where you shoot an arrow into the back of another arrow.

I never imagined that it was even possible but seeing it before my eyes made me try only that much harder to focus on the target and take each shot one at a time. When they got to me and saw my grouping, especially for the first time I had ever shot a bow, they were amazed. I had already shot groups of 10 and 10x where kids and adults that were going there for weeks, months, and some even years weren't as consistent. We went to that range a couple times after and ended up taking a year and a half break from it. No reason, we just stopped going. Then one day I was reminiscing with my dad and brought up the time we went shooting at the range and suggested that we should go again soon. He was excited to get back into the sport so we decided we would but we would have to find a new range. We found C&B Archery in Hicksville and decided we'd give it a shot (I swear no pun intended). We already knew this range was more professional not only by the size of it, and the cleanliness, but the owners wouldn't allow anyone new in their range to shoot without taking a 20 min safety course where one of the instructors just lectured on how to properly store your bows and when to retrieve your arrows. Back into the game, they started me at only 5 yards, which was an absolute joke. After having tight groupings of 10 and 10x, they decided to move me up to 10 yards and then 15 yards. By the time I was at 10 yards, my dad and I had both bought our own bows. At this point I was seriously interested in the sport and decided I was going to compete in a tournament the range offered. I went up against kids of all ages, some older some younger. One of the days of the tournament, I wanted to fool around a little and not shoot on one of the big targets. The range offered little targets about the size of a post-it note which counted at 10 if you even hit it remotely close to the center. Then it happened, I shot my own robin hood.

I remember the Asian man next to me just casually say "Nice. A robin hood". I was in complete disbelief, looking at the arrows from each side of the range, just waiting for the instructor to call "Lines Clear" which allowed us to retrieve our arrows. Sure enough, when I went up to the target, I saw what I had done. I shattered the back of the first arrow open and had the second lodged into it. Not only did it count as two 10's to go up on my score card for the tournament, but I also got my picture taken with it, and praise from the other archers in the range. To this day, and for as long as I live, the joined arrows will be hanging up in some room of whichever house I move into in the future. To make matters all the better, I ended up winning first place in the tournament and never felt so happy in my life. Archery for me is relaxing and heart-pumping depending on what type of mood I want to set myself in. I still shoot to this day and only look to further hone my skills and compete again in the near future.