The kid is sitting on the couch when you come home from work. He doesn't seem to even know you walked through the door. Thank God for the dog--at least he greets you as if he is glad to see you. Thankfully, dogs can't play video games! “I'm going bow hunting tonight son. Do you want to go?” you say. The response is the same. “I don't know.” Which translates, “No, but I don't want to hurt your feelings.” So you put on the camo and go off to your stand by yourself.
Has this happened to you? Some say it is just the world we live in and others say learn to play video games. If this is just not acceptable to you as an avid outdoors man or woman, then lets look at two programs that is teaching kids the life long skill of archery and getting them off the couch! They are called the National Archery in the Schools Program and Centershot Ministries Archery in the Church Program. If you haven't heard of these programs, you will. The National Archery in the Schools Program was started as a pilot project by the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Game to help recruitment for outdoors sports. Since its inception in 2002, schools in at least 46 states and a number of foreign countries are teaching Target archery in their physical education classes. Centershot is a church based archery program that teaches the life long skill of target archery and introduces the students to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The results are staggering. Over 4.6 million boys and girls have completed their first classes with their grades; attendance and satisfaction with school showing marked improvement. Centershot Ministries is a church-based program that is tagging along and filling in after NASP classes are finished or unavailable. The Michigan DNR is taking notice. For instance, in my home state of Michigan the average age for hunters is 41. This is not good for the future of hunting. The MI. DNR is providing grants for half the equipment costs if a school will commit to doing NASP. Many organizations such as the Wild Turkey Federation and Safari Club International provide funding to pay for the other half so the schools will have no out of pocket expenses. Even teacher training is paid for by the state. Do you think they are doing it because they want to sell bows ? No, they know the power of archery to move kids from the target range to the woods. Even Michigan State University has added a 3 million-dollar shooting sports arena and is offering scholarships for the archery, pistol and rifle shooting sports.
Yet while discussing this subject on Bowsite.com with a Michigan Bowhunters member, the question was asked, “Why support it when it has nothing to do with bowhunting?” Of course, most hunters aren't that shortsighted. The Michigan Bowhunters along with The Michigan Longbow Association sponsor a program called Camp Wilderness that teaches young people archery and hunting skills. Students are able to qualify for hunter and bow hunter safety certificates at a minimal fee. The way to preserve our bowhunting way of life is by involving others. NASP and Centershot get the ball rolling but the next step is to get hunters involved with mentoring new hunters. The Explore Bowhunting program sponsored by the Archery Trade Association is another way to make the connection between target archery and hunting. Mark Copeland, store director of Jay's Sporting Goods in Gaylord, MI says, “I see a direct correlation between the NASP and Centershot programs and the numbers of hunting bows we are selling.”
Statistics have proven this out. After a NASP class, 33% of students look into buying their own
equipment with 26% actually doing so.
I believe a man should own up to his mistakes, and what I did wrong with my kids is try to get them started in archery with equipment that didn't fit them and wasn't very accurate. Since then I have been trained as a basic archery instructor and our church has purchased a number of Genesis bows made by Matthews Inc. and we have turned kids into shooting machines. Over the last three and a half years we have trained several hundred youth--both boys and girls--how to shoot target archery. Our goal in the first session is to teach the fundamentals of archery so that they can safely hit the target before they leave for the day. I tell the kids that we guarantee they will be hitting the target before they leave. Not only do they learn the archery skills but we tell them about how God loves them and sent his Son! We have done one day Centershot programs where we do a target range , a novelty shooting range and a spiritial station. Throughout the day the students rotate from station to station learning proper form , safety and the Salvation poem. Lunch is served by the host church at noon and a tournament is held in the afternoon , with awards , prizes given out and an invitation presented. In the last two years in one church alone 25 young people have given lives to Christ! Everyone comes away with something and many parents hang around to watch their kids shoot. It seems that so many kids lack confidence in the outdoor sports that if they can't do it the first time their attitude is “I'm no good at this.” After one session, the grandson of a friend of mine told me, “I finally found something I'm good at!” Bullseye! Another one hooked! This is happening all over the US in the NASP and Centershot programs. Recently the Roscommon group is flying 3 missionaries from the Czech Republic to Michigan to learn how to do Centershot in that up until now “impossible” country. “The missionary told me that they have a high number of sports lovers and especially hunters.” Says Ritchie “ He feels so strongly that Centershot will connect with the people there he is willing to fly here and take the 3 days of training.”
So what does this have to do with bow hunting? So far over 4.6 million youth have been through the two programs, so the only thing lacking is enough hunters that would be willing to take these kids out hunting. Explore Bowhunting is a relatively new program that makes the transition from the archery instruction to teaching kids about how to identify tracks, runways and stand locations. Many other aspects of safe, ethical bow hunting are covered during the sessions. Copeland sacrificed his early bow season last year to instruct 25 youth, stating “I received more satisfaction from getting those kids into hunting than arrowing a deer myself.” My Centershot partner Dan Holbrook and I have taken out two youth from our program out hunting and they love it. Yes, they still sit on the couch playing video games, but when we ask them if they want to go hunting they say, “When can we go!” I do have go give up some of my own hunting time, but the rewards of seeing them enjoy themselves is a greater trophy than I have ever shot! Unfortunately both kids started off shooting 8 point bucks. Now they tease me that they shot bigger deer than I have and they are right.
Do NASP and Centershot archery programs have anything to do with bow hunting? It all depends on mentors to take the newly addicted archers out there with us. Uncle Ted is quoted as saying “Take your kids hunting and you won't have to hunt for your kids.” I wish my children had been through the NASP or Centershot Program but maybe there is still time.
To find out how you can get involved logon to: www.nasp.org, www.centershotministries.org, www.archerytrade.org and www.thesalvationpoem.com