Archery is a slow-burning beat. Beating and beating like the rhythm of my heart. I enjoy the simple complexities and consistent pattern even with its sudden rushes and slows. Archery is a space like nature – calm with storms, everything within a cycle of its own. It is similar to life itself, and that’s what it is to me.
My name’s Mack and I live in the hills of Kentucky by the Ohio River. I spend a lot of time outdoors. Hiking, swimming, archery, and foraging plants are all on the list of activities I love to do. I also enjoy learning new things and with the ever-expanding amount of information for free, I’m constantly shoving my brain with more knowledge. There are many things I love learning about, like languages, cultures, history, science, design, and many more. As I enjoy art as a hobby quite a lot, anatomy and photography are regular topics I explore. Seeing and understanding how the body moves, and then capturing it is truly alluring to me.
This is my third year of archery under the NASP® program. I was interested for years but only had the courage to join in 7th grade. It started when my friend pushed me to start it with her, but then she ditched me after the first meeting and I decided to follow through. Even though she left I still thank her because without her I would have never found out how much I love this sport. Ever since my brother and I joined archery, my family has become quite involved in it as well. My mother is currently a coach and my father actively supports us on the sidelines. We help with the tournaments hosted by my county and try to spread archery awareness to more people within our area. So we take photos at these tournaments and then post them online for parents and others to see. We also try to contribute to our team as much as we can, like with the program my mother and I have started to encourage competition and good habits in my fellow archers. With this you can see archery is pretty intertwined with my life as of now.
This year there are many things I want to accomplish. I want to understand the muscle groups and how they correspond with archery. I also want to get what most archers want- a new personal best. As of yet, my highest is a 291. I would love to become more consistent overall and with more practice, I plan to achieve it.
