Hi, my name is Mackenzie Shaffer, but I tend to go by Mack or Mack & Cheese. I’m in the 8th grade and attend Stuart Pepper Middle School (aka SPMS). I live in the hills and valleys of Kentucky near the river and do many outdoor activities like hiking, swimming, and playing in the woods with my brother and the neighbor kids. I love art, swimming, and making things, as well as many other hands on activities. I also really enjoy archery as it is one of my many hobbies.
This will be my brother and I’s second year doing archery. I started last year but have had an interest in it for multiple years before I was able to participate. I have grown a lot since starting thanks to my amazing coaches and family members cheering me on. I hope to get even better with time and continue learning more about archery and the equipment.
Speaking of which, my mom has recently joined the archery coaching community and became an archery coach to help out the original coaches and support us even more. There were over 200 sign-ups for our middles school team alone this year. With my mom being a coach now, we normally help out during home tournaments by setting up and tearing down the archery shooting range. Since we stay at the home tournament’s all day, my mom started selling archery related things like 3d printed keychains, and I began to offer face painting at our table for the archers and parents at the tournament. Helping spread the word about archery and doing one of the hobbies I love is great!
I have attended many tournaments and have shot both 3D and Bullseye. I personally think I’m better at Bullseye, but I can’t wait for 3D shooting to start this season. My highest score in Bullseye being a 280, even though that tournament was only 10 meters, and my highest in 3D being a 270. My new goal is to hit a 280 score in a 10 and 15 meter tournament, and to hopefully have multiple 50’s in a tournament. I would like to also reach a 275 score in a 3D tournament this archery season.
I’ve started collecting broken nocks for some silly reason, and want to fill my jar of knocks up completely. My collection currently resides in a hot sauce bottle that is slowly filling up and includes the occasional arrow tip, all gathered by myself with some periodic help from my coaches. So far I am about 10% full and hope to get half way or at least close to it this year, but I can only hope!
I can’t wait to see how this season will play out and I hope to see you next time. Hope you enjoyed reading this, and have a great day!
-Mack S. is a 2023 student contributor-
