Bella Nottnagel, June – This past archery season has been packed with growth and memorable experiences. I became a NASP Student Contributor, qualified for national championships for the second time, and made some truly lasting memories. It’s been an incredible year, and I’m excited to share some of my favorite moments and valuable lessons that I’ve learned.
One of the biggest challenges that I have had to face this year was target panic, which taught me how important it is to trust yourself and your skills. I have also learned how important it is not to focus on tournament scores. When I start thinking about numbers, I notice my target panic tends to creep back in. So, I constantly remind myself to focus on form and breathing instead.
Beyond these lessons, this season has created a lot of fun memories. This year, while my team was in Utah for Western Nationals, we got to tour the Easton Arrow Factory and learn about how our arrows are made. I was also inspired by the story of Doug Easton, who started his archery career at fourteen! It was interesting to hear about his story and how his dreams have built the archery world we know today.
I was also beyond excited to visit the Easton Archery Center again. But this time, we actually got to shoot on the practice range! It felt pretty amazing to shoot where so many of my archery heroes have practiced, like Brady Ellison, Jahna Davis, and Lim Si-hyeon.
This year, my team adopted the fun tradition of having a fifty board. We have monthly draws and prizes for the people who have shot fifties. This month, however, the board has a fun twist. Instead of writing our actual names, we write the nicknames that we’ve come up with for each other.
Another one of my favorite memories from this season was when my friends and I found out that we all qualified to go to the National Championships. Our goal from the beginning of the year was to all qualify and go together, so the shared excitement remains one of the happiest moments of this year for me. I’m proud of us and everything we’ve achieved.
Thank you so much for reading! I have really enjoyed writing these articles, and I hope you enjoyed reading them too. Overall, this season has been unforgettable, and I can’t wait to see what next season brings! Good luck, archers!
