ARCHERY COACH HONOURED AT SPORT LEADERSHIP AWARDS GALA

Canadian Archery coach Joan McDonald (Richmond Hill, ON) was one of a number of Canada’s top coaches that were honoured at the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala, hosted by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), this past weekend in Calgary. McDonald was a recipient of the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award. This prestigious award recognizes coaches whose athletes have excelled at World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Special Olympics World Games.

McDonald is the personal coach of Crispin Duenas (Toronto, ON), who won the bronze  medal in the Men’s Recurve Bow category at the 2013 World Archery Championship in Belek Antalya, Turkey (September 29^th – October 6^th). The bronze medal marked the first time in 42 years that Canada had finished on the podium at a World Championship in the Men’s Recurve individual category.

McDonald has been personal coach to Duenas for the past 13 years. She is also the founder and Head Coach of the Bullseye Buccanneers Archery Club in Richmond Hill, Ontario.  McDonald has been instrumental in the development of Duenas as an archer from the ‘Learn to Shoot’ stage of Archery Canada’s Long-Term Archer Development (LTAD) model through to the ‘Shoot to Excel’ stage. “Joan’s confidence in my abilities and her keen attention to the coaching of the technical and psychological aspects of archery, have led to my steady progress and success at the national and international levels”, said Duenas.  “I have no doubt that without Joan’s coaching and guidance, I wouldn’t have been on the podium at Worlds. I’m also sure that under Joan’s continued coaching, I’m on the path to a long and successful career as a high performance archer.”

“I’m thrilled and honoured to have won this prestigious award. Crispin is a tremendous young man and athlete with lots of potential”, said McDonald. “My sincere thanks and appreciation to Petro-Canada and the CAC.”  Archery Canada

Congratulations Joan!

Want to get better at Archery?

I have been asked by many people, how do I get better at archery? The answer is simpler than you think. Practice properly with expert guidance. Target archery is all about consistency since the target is not moving and you are in the same spot. The more consistent you are the better your scores will be.

If you want to get better then there are five areas of archery that deserve your attention.

Equipment

Ensure you have the right equipment for you. Find the right bow, proper mass weight and draw weight for you and your size. If you are unable to hold or draw the bow you are not going to be able to practice very long. Also arrows need to sized according to your draw/bow weight and draw length. Shooting arrows that are incorrectly sized will not perform well and will be very frustrating.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Mark Twain

Form

Focus on consistent archery form, pay attention to the minor details such as your exact stance, exact hand position, your exact anchor point, etc. Replicating the exact same form every time will improve your performance and accuracy. Some people blame their equipment for malfunctions which can be true however more often than not it is your form. Focus on to your form not your equipment.

“There is no spoon … Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”  Spoon Boy. The Matrix

Practice

Practice, Practice and when you are done practicing, practice some more. It takes thousands of arrows to make a difference.

“Practice is the best of all instructors” Publilius Syrus

Remember when practicing adjust one thing at a time until you have corrected it, and then work on the next thing.

Guidance

Nothing can replace proper guidance from a good certified coach with years of experience. Coaches are another set of eyes with knowledge to help you make those adjustments that will improve your shooting. So find a local archery shop and sign up for regular lessons.

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” John Wooden, basketball coach

Fun

Remember the reason you got into archery in the first place; it is fun.

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” Michael Jordan

My Coach Honoured

This past weekend was the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala, hosted by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), at The Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto. My coach, Kathy Millar of South Nation Archery was honoured as one of Canada’s top coaches and sport administrators for her coaching efforts with World Champion Archer Christopher Perkins.

The prestigious Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards recognize coaches whose athletes have excelled at World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Special Olympics World Games.

“Petro-Canada has supported the recognition of Canada’s coaches for 11 years and has recognized over 200 of Canada’s best. This year, as in years past, there is an incredible list of talented coaches that we are very proud to celebrate,” said Steven Keith, Director, Loyalty and Marketing Partnerships, Petro-Canada, a Suncor Energy business.

“The Government of Canada is pleased to support the Coaching Association of Canada and the 2011 Petro-Canada Sport Leadership sportif Conference as we recognize the critical role that sport leaders and coaches play in the development of athletes and sport inCanada,” said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport). “I commend their commitment to Canadian amateur sport and to achieving sport excellence.”

“Each one of these coaches exemplifies what the Coaching Association of Canada stands for,” stated John Bales, Chief Executive Officer for the CAC. “They are dedicated individuals that push themselves harder and harder each day by planning, researching, and actively listening so that they can be better for their athletes. We are truly proud of these award winners.”

The excerpt above is from Coach.ca.

Ms. Millar is the personal coach of Christopher Perkins (Athens, ON), who won the gold medal in the Men’s Compound Bow category at this year’s World Archery Championship.  At 19 and still a junior age athlete, Perkins was competing in his first-ever Senior World Championship. Using the momentum of his gold medal performance, Perkins and his two teammates captured the bronze medal in the Compound Bow Team event.

Ms. Millar has been personal coach to Perkins for the past five years. She is also the founder and Head Coach of the South Nation Archery Club in Winchester, Ontario.  Millar has been instrumental in the development of Perkins as an archer from the ‘Train to Shoot’ stage of Archery Canada’s Long-Term Archer Development (LTAD) model through to the ‘Shoot to Excel’ stage. “Kathleen’s confidence in my abilities and her keen attention to the coaching of the technical and psychological aspects of archery, have led to my steady progress and success at the national and international levels”, said Perkins.  “I have no doubt that without Kathleen’s coaching and guidance, I wouldn’t have won the gold. I’m also sure that under Kathleen’s continued coaching, I’m on the path to a long and successful career as a high performance archer.”

“I’m thrilled and honoured to have won this prestigious award. Christopher is a tremendous young man and athlete with lots of potential”, said Millar.  “My sincere thanks and appreciation to those that nominated me, the CAC and Petro-Canada.”

The excerpt above is from Archery Canada.

Kathy Millar truly exemplifies what it means to be a true top coach and in my opinion, no one I know deserves the recognition more. Congratulations!

Intermediate Level Coaching

This past weekend, I took the next step to my goal of a national level coach by attending the Intermediate Archery Coach Certification course held at the Archers of Caledon.  This two-day course builds on the foundation established in the Beginner Archery Coach Certification course.  The intermediate course digs deeper into the technical requirements for more accomplished and competitive archers, covering finer details of form and detailed tuning techniques for both recurve and compound bows.  Similar to the beginner course, it entails in class education as well as workshops and presentations. It also included group work and video for detailed analysis for form issues and fine-tuning.

A couple of months earlier, I completed course requirements and was Certified as Beginner Archery Coach. After completing this two-day National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) course,  I am now a Trained Intermediate Archery Coach and now have a couple of steps to complete for certification including my intermediate workbook, developing  a training plan for an immediate archer and having my training facility inspected.

If you are interested in becoming a coach, and getting more involved in archery, you can contact your local archery association.  In Ontario, contact the Ontario Association of Archers.

Beginner Coaching

Last weekend I attended the Beginner Archery Coach Certification course in Toronto, held at the Ontario Centre for Classical Sport.  This two-day course provides the foundation for persons who want to develop the necessary skills for training beginner level archers. It covers how to create and manage a sports program while working with entry-level archers. The course entails both in class education as well as workshops and presentations that cover instructing basic archery skills including giving constructive feedback, properly selecting and maintaining archery equipment while instilling safety and range etiquette.

The course also covered setting up a class and developing practice plans however it also dives deeper into training and motivating your athletes, how to analyse their form, both basic skills and long-term athlete development, including athletes with disabilities and dealing with delicate and emergency response situations.

After completing the two-day National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) course you are a Trained Beginner Archery Coach and you have a couple of steps to complete to become certified. You need to teach an archery class and have three students, two coaches complete a survey on your performance and create an emergency action plan which includes a practice plan.

Once complete you are a Certified Beginner Archery Coach, receive your official certificate and are able to begin training entry-level archers.  If you are interested in becoming a coach and getting more involved in archery you can contact your local archery association.  In Ontario, contact the  Ontario Association of Archers.

Great Coaching and Guidance

Everyone needs guidance and coaching from time to time, no matter how long you have been in a sport.  You need someone you can trust and has the knowledge and experience to provide quality advice specific to you so you can meet your overall goals.

This is especially important for archers new to archery and looking to find the correct equipment for them.  It is important to consult a qualified archery dealer with knowledge and experience of all types of equipment.  They can help you to select the appropriate size and equipment for your shooting style and body type.  They can also show you how to properly setup, maintain and use your new equipment.

Often, young archers are blinded by the glamour of the latest and greatest new toy for their bow and rarely consider whether adding or changing equipment is going to produce the desired affect or increase their accuracy. An experienced coach and dealer will ultimately save you money and heartache by providing the proper guidance to your purchases.

I am very lucky to have found those types of coaches in Kathy Millar and Larry Smith, of South Nation Archery Supply. With a combined 60 years of experience, they have been providing guidance to thousands of local, national and international archers over the past 30 years. If you live in eastern Ontario or Western Quebec, you will certainly benefit taking a drive to meet them.

This year marks the 28^th anniversary of their shop in Winchester, Ontario. I wish them congratulations and hope they are around for another 28 years.