Carroll County Schools has a new athletic program - Archery.
CCHS teacher Daniel Sandefur, an archery champion in his own right, will coach the new team. It will be part of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP).
“Kentucky has been the place to be for archery,” he said. “Kentucky is home to the world’s best archers.”
Sandefur said archery became popular in Kentucky because of the bow hunting heritage. In fact, that’s how he learned to be an archer before honing his skills at Madisonville-Hopkins County High School.
Last school year, Sandefur heard several students talking about bow hunting and how much they enjoyed the sport and that rekindled his efforts to start an archery program at Carroll County. He began working on the project when he first came to the district 18 months ago.
“I really wanted to bring it to the community because I think the community would benefit from it,” he said.
During his first year, Sandefur wants the team to get to regionals and qualify for state competition. By year three, he wants the team to win regionals and place in the top 10% in the state. And, by year five, he wants his team to win regionals, place in state and attend the international competition.
Practices typically begin in September for archery with the season potentially going through June for the international competition. The team is a little behind, but Sandefur is not deterred.
“Anyone can shoot archery. It’s the most inclusive sport,” he said. “Even if you’ve never shot a bow before, I want you to come out.” He added that archery is great strength practice for athletes of all sports and there are college scholarships for archers.
A parent meeting will be held after Thanksgiving break on November the 30th. Archers must have a GPA of at least 2.5 and be on grade level. They will practice on Wednesday and Thursday from 3-5 p.m. in the Carroll County Middle School gym.