My Son Qualified for Bavarian State Championships!

[Flint Hills Tex]

Sorry, guys, but I gotta brag!

My son is shooting FITA indoor this winter in the 13-14 yr. old class (Schüler A). He placed first out of 14 boys in November at regionals (444 out of 600), then made 12th place out of 31 boys at provincials (492 out of 600) in December.

The State Championships are set for February 6-7, and we are really hyped! It will be tough for him, since he'll be up against the best from around the state, and there are 43 competitors in his class. But the experience will be wonderful, and they will be shooting at the Olympic Shooting Sports Complex in Munich (built for the '72 Olympic Games, where archery was back for the first time as an Olympic sport).

What has me really excited is that the head coach of the provincial team approached our club coach about having my son try out for the team in the fall of 2010!

Anyway, I'd appreciate all of y'all wishing him lots of luck for the Championship. Thanks!

[Short Draw]

Congratulations.

Looks like an up and comer to watch for at the Olympic Games.

Great shooting.

Erich

[stevelong]

FLINT, FORGET SORRY, be proud & know we're rooting for him, and what an experience!!

[van_fl]

Congratulations. The best to him

[steve morley]

COOL


:highfive:

[Sam Dunham]

Hey Steve, he has the benefit of a Great Coach in the family along with a great Dad! I wish him well!:)

[Flint Hills Tex]

Well, we were in Munich last Saturday for the State Championships. In the weeks running up to the tournament, I think some of the folks at our club got a little over-zealous ("You've got to attend EVERY practice session, and you'd better start scoring >500 or you won't stand a chance!"). My son was feeling the pressure, and just 2 weeks prior to the comps, he totally broke down, scoring only a 284 out of 600. That really freaked him out.

Well, I suggested taking a break, and once we started praticing again, I said, let's just shoot without a target face, blank bale, and work on form. So, on Saturday, February 6, we made the 2 hour drive to the Olympic Shooting Sports Center north of Munich.

I think he did just fine, even though he has done better. He placed 40th with a score of 433. I was proud of him! He would walk back after shooting with a real look of contentment when he shot a good end, and he could usually pinpoint his errors when an end turned out not so good. He didn't let the pressure get to him and just enjoyed himself, displaying good sportsmanship throughout the shoot.

I mean, there were other kids there who were crying because their parents or coaches were giving them hell about their scores. I don't get that...sure, I love to see my son excel, but I also want him to enjoy archery, and I don't want to sacrifice the enjoyment for success. Don't get me wrong; I understand that you have to work hard to achieve some goals, but I don't know if chewing out a 12 or 13 year old is gonna help. They all worked hard to make it to the State Championships, and only the top three get a medal. The 12-13 year old male class was the second largest represented, and the top 15 all had scores between 500 and 550!

But my son's coach warned me that, once you reach state level competition, the parents can become viscous! And sometimes it rubs off onto their kids. One of the other boys shooting on a nearby target told my son that his father taught him how to mentally undermine an opponent and totally shake his confidence using verbal cues and jabs.

I know that good sportsmanship is not dead, but it is definitely an endangered species!

[ben maher]

well done to both you and your boy ...

[Flint Hills Tex]

Thanks to all you guys for your support. I was reading an interview with Ann Weber Hoyt and found the following quote, which I think puts it in a nutshell rather nicely:

Archery is a way of life for me. I eat and sleep archery and all the time I'm working at it or with it. The essence of archery is not in winning a tournament but in the enjoyment of participating and of sharing in the spirit of sportsmanship and fellowship as manifested by the archers. The reward perhaps of personal efforts is a victory.