• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Learn About NASP
        • Bring NASP To Your School

          Bring NASP To Your School
        • What is NASP

          What is NASP (Mission and Principles)
        • Why NASP

          Why NASP
        • Active NASP School Map

          Active NASP School Map
        • Magic of NASP

          Magic of NASP - By the Numbers
        • Student Survey

          Student SurveyIcon
        • Annual NASP® Review

          NASP® Annual ReviewIcon
        • ATA Safety Brochure

          ATA Safety BrochureIcon
        • Find Your Local Coordinator

          Find your local Coordinator
        • Message from NASP® President – Tommy Floyd

          Message from NASP® President - Tommy Floyd
        • Promo Videos

          NASP Promo videos
        • Adaptive Archery

          Adaptive Archery
        • Active NASP School Criteris

          Active NASP School CriteriaIcon
        • Curriculum – Elementary School

          Curriculum ElementaryIcon
        • Curriculum – Middle School

          Curriculum Middle SchoolIcon
        • Curriculum – High School

          Curriculum High SchoolIcon
  • Tournaments
        • Tournament Website

          Tournament Website
        • National Event Calendar

          National Event Calendar
        • Download our App – Android

          Download our App - Android
        • Download our App – Apple

          Download our App - Apple
        • Do I Qualify for Nationals

          Do I Qualify to for NationalsIcon
        • Do I Qualify for The NASP Championship

          Do I Qualify for The NASP® ChampionshipIcon
        • National Tournament Registration Schedule

          National Registration ScheduleIcon
        • National Scholarship Information

          National Scholarship InformationIcon
        • National Bullesye

          National Rules - BullseyeIcon
        • National 3D Rules

          National Rules - 3DIcon
        • Sample ScoreCard

          ScoreCard SampleIcon
        • How To Bubble a Scorecard Properly

          Scorecard How ToIcon
        • National Participation Certificate

          National Participation CertificateIcon
        • State Participation Certificate

          State Tournament CertificateIcon
        • State 3D Participation Certificate

          State 3D Tournament CertificateIcon
        • NASP 300 Club

          NASP 300 Club
  • Archer-Parent
        • Archers

          Archers

        • Archer to Archer

          Archer to Archer
        • Archery Tips – Videos

          Archery Tips - Videos
        • NASP 300 Club

          NASP 300 Club
        • Senior Spotlight

          Senior Spotlight
        • More Archery Opportunities

          More Archery Opportunities
        • Parents

          Parents

        • Is our coach certified?

          Is our coach certified?
        • On Target for Life

          On Target for Life
        • Academic Archer

          Academic Archer
        • Scholarship Payout Rules

          Scholarship RulesIcon
        • Scholarship Payout Request

          Scholarship Payment RequestIcon
        • Team Funding Ideas

          Team Funding Ideas
  • Instructor(BAI)
        • BAI Login/Report/Manage

          BAI Login/Report/Manage
        • Academic Archer

          Academic Archer
        • On Target for Life

          On Target for Life
        • Coaching Videos – Learning Center

          Coaching Videos - Learning Center
        • Instructor Liability Insurance

          Instructor Liability InsuranceIcon
        • Verify BAI Certification Status

          Verify BAI Certification Status
        • Curriculum – Elementary School

          Curriculum ElementaryIcon
        • Curriculum – Middle School

          Curriculum Middle SchoolIcon
        • Curriculum – High School

          Curriculum High SchoolIcon
        • NASP Training Requirements

          NASP Training RequirementsIcon
  • Equipment
        • store_product_notice

          NOTICE: ORDERING EQUIPMENT FROM NASP IS FOR APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS ONLY!!!! All pricing disclosed on this site are to approved organizations only and not to be resold. By submitting an order to NASP®, you agree these items will stay the property of the organization and will not be resold.
        • Equipment Overview

          Equipment Overview

          Learn more about our equipment.

        • Online Order/Quote

          Online Order/Quote

          Here you will be able to create a quote or place an order for your school.

        • Equipment Order Forms

          Equipment Order Forms

          All public schools and government agencies ordering arrows MUST complete the Federal Excise Tax Exemption Form (FET).

        • NASP Gear

          Order NASP Clothing and Awards
        • FET Form

          Federal Excise Tax (FET) Form - pdfIcon
        • W9 Form

          NASP W9 FormIcon
        • 889 Form

          889 FormIcon
        • store_quote_notice

          Creating a Quote

          Quotes can be created by adding products to the cart. When all products have been added to cart proceed to the checkout and click on Create a Quote Button.

  • Sponsors
  • News
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • NASP® Coordinators
    • Leadership
  • 0 items - $0.00
0 items - $0.00

NASP SchoolsNASP NASP Schools

National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP)

  • Learn About NASP
        • Bring NASP To Your School

          Bring NASP To Your School
        • What is NASP

          What is NASP (Mission and Principles)
        • Why NASP

          Why NASP
        • Active NASP School Map

          Active NASP School Map
        • Magic of NASP

          Magic of NASP - By the Numbers
        • Student Survey

          Student SurveyIcon
        • Annual NASP® Review

          NASP® Annual ReviewIcon
        • ATA Safety Brochure

          ATA Safety BrochureIcon
        • Find Your Local Coordinator

          Find your local Coordinator
        • Message from NASP® President – Tommy Floyd

          Message from NASP® President - Tommy Floyd
        • Promo Videos

          NASP Promo videos
        • Adaptive Archery

          Adaptive Archery
        • Active NASP School Criteris

          Active NASP School CriteriaIcon
        • Curriculum – Elementary School

          Curriculum ElementaryIcon
        • Curriculum – Middle School

          Curriculum Middle SchoolIcon
        • Curriculum – High School

          Curriculum High SchoolIcon
  • Tournaments
        • Tournament Website

          Tournament Website
        • National Event Calendar

          National Event Calendar
        • Download our App – Android

          Download our App - Android
        • Download our App – Apple

          Download our App - Apple
        • Do I Qualify for Nationals

          Do I Qualify to for NationalsIcon
        • Do I Qualify for The NASP Championship

          Do I Qualify for The NASP® ChampionshipIcon
        • National Tournament Registration Schedule

          National Registration ScheduleIcon
        • National Scholarship Information

          National Scholarship InformationIcon
        • National Bullesye

          National Rules - BullseyeIcon
        • National 3D Rules

          National Rules - 3DIcon
        • Sample ScoreCard

          ScoreCard SampleIcon
        • How To Bubble a Scorecard Properly

          Scorecard How ToIcon
        • National Participation Certificate

          National Participation CertificateIcon
        • State Participation Certificate

          State Tournament CertificateIcon
        • State 3D Participation Certificate

          State 3D Tournament CertificateIcon
        • NASP 300 Club

          NASP 300 Club
  • Archer-Parent
        • Archers

          Archers

        • Archer to Archer

          Archer to Archer
        • Archery Tips – Videos

          Archery Tips - Videos
        • NASP 300 Club

          NASP 300 Club
        • Senior Spotlight

          Senior Spotlight
        • More Archery Opportunities

          More Archery Opportunities
        • Parents

          Parents

        • Is our coach certified?

          Is our coach certified?
        • On Target for Life

          On Target for Life
        • Academic Archer

          Academic Archer
        • Scholarship Payout Rules

          Scholarship RulesIcon
        • Scholarship Payout Request

          Scholarship Payment RequestIcon
        • Team Funding Ideas

          Team Funding Ideas
  • Instructor(BAI)
        • BAI Login/Report/Manage

          BAI Login/Report/Manage
        • Academic Archer

          Academic Archer
        • On Target for Life

          On Target for Life
        • Coaching Videos – Learning Center

          Coaching Videos - Learning Center
        • Instructor Liability Insurance

          Instructor Liability InsuranceIcon
        • Verify BAI Certification Status

          Verify BAI Certification Status
        • Curriculum – Elementary School

          Curriculum ElementaryIcon
        • Curriculum – Middle School

          Curriculum Middle SchoolIcon
        • Curriculum – High School

          Curriculum High SchoolIcon
        • NASP Training Requirements

          NASP Training RequirementsIcon
  • Equipment
        • store_product_notice

          NOTICE: ORDERING EQUIPMENT FROM NASP IS FOR APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS ONLY!!!! All pricing disclosed on this site are to approved organizations only and not to be resold. By submitting an order to NASP®, you agree these items will stay the property of the organization and will not be resold.
        • Equipment Overview

          Equipment Overview

          Learn more about our equipment.

        • Online Order/Quote

          Online Order/Quote

          Here you will be able to create a quote or place an order for your school.

        • Equipment Order Forms

          Equipment Order Forms

          All public schools and government agencies ordering arrows MUST complete the Federal Excise Tax Exemption Form (FET).

        • NASP Gear

          Order NASP Clothing and Awards
        • FET Form

          Federal Excise Tax (FET) Form - pdfIcon
        • W9 Form

          NASP W9 FormIcon
        • 889 Form

          889 FormIcon
        • store_quote_notice

          Creating a Quote

          Quotes can be created by adding products to the cart. When all products have been added to cart proceed to the checkout and click on Create a Quote Button.

  • Sponsors
  • News
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • NASP® Coordinators
    • Leadership
  • 0 items - $0.00

Games to play at archery practice

Madi Rinevault April –In my experience, people lose interest when they aren’t having fun. This was the case for our archery team about halfway through the season last year. We practiced several days a week and the team was tired of the repetitive, boring practices. Then our coach got creative and made up a new game. Suddenly, our archers were interested in shooting and they were having loads of fun at every practice.

We have too many archers for them all to be on the line at once so we have group 1 and group 2. The coach went down the row of archers on the waiting line and assigned targets to the shooters in group 1 and then did the same for group 2. At this point, the archers had been made into teams with one shooter on the line at a time. He asked for a number between 1 and 20 and 17 was chosen by another coach. The object of the game was to shoot the number called with the combined score shot by you and your teammate(s).

The game can be played with up to four archers per target and on the same team, obviously waiting behind the line until summoned by the whistle commands. When we had uneven numbers some of our coaches joined the games which was a lot of fun for our team. Each archer only got to shoot one arrow which made accuracy a factor of maximum importance. To this day the other kids on the team still call it, “The game” and often beg the coaches to play at each practice.

“The game” was an important tool for the coaches because it forces the archers to aim very minutely so as to hit a ring that is less than 2 inches wide. The game that archers loved and enjoyed was really tricking them into aiming and focusing better when shooting. Other than improving their form, the game allowed our archery family to grow. Archers were divided into teams randomly so they were forced to shoot with kids that they otherwise had no experience. This method allowed our archers to grow closer and become more focused on their team members which reinforced the idea of being an archery family.

We play many games at practice including seasonal fun shoots with corresponding targets such as paper pumpkins for fall and balloons that look like Christmas ornaments for winter. If you hit the desired target you win a piece of candy while improving your skills as an archer. Candy prizes are reserved for fun shoots which only happen a few times a year. I personally found a few of our other games to be more challenging and beneficial for the team, despite the lack of Kitkats, Snickers, and Milkyways.

One of my absolute favorite games to play at practice is called, “Knockout”. The archers are called to the line and told to shoot one arrow. If at 10 meters they must hit in the yellow and if at 15 meters they must hit at least within the red rings. If they miss the red or yellow they put their bow on the rack and are replaced by another archer in order to allow everybody to play. If you make it, you stay until there are only 5 kids left on the line. Then, if at 10 meters you have to shoot a ten, and if at 15 meters you have to hit a yellow ring in order to move on. The game is nerve-racking as you watch other archers get eliminated with each passing round and you have to shoot as literally all of your team including elementary, middle, and high is watching. This continues until there are only two archers left, in which case they have to shoot a ten to continue playing. It is at this point in the game that all the other archers in the waiting line are told to, “Make some noise!”. Then, the final two have to shoot through the screams and chants of the team all while trying to hit nothing less than a ten and win Knockout.

Knockout is a great game because it allows kids to be competitive in a friendly way while also helping to improve their form. In order to move on, archers must hit select rings on the target which pushes the idea of maximum focus especially because they are watching their teammates get eliminated with each passing round. It is also a great tool for improving accuracy because as archers move on they have to hit a smaller and smaller area. If they make it to the final five, archers go through “nerve training” and have to shoot with almost 50 pairs of eyes on their backs which helps them learn to block out distractions when shooting. Then the final two archers are forced to shoot through the various whoops and cheers from their teammates which allows them to face and overcome distractions and onlookers when shooting. Knockout gives archers the most important skills for maintaining focus on the line and if you happen to be the last man standing, bragging rights as well.

The games we play at practice are really just the coach’s way of helping us to improve our skills. Whether it teaches us to focus or better the accuracy of the shot, the games are super important for the improvement of the team and the bond between archers. Although it may be a sneaky trick by the coaches, the games are still super important. When we play we reengage in archery even if it’s been a long season, and best of all, we have fun!

Some of my favorite memories of archery were made when playing the games. The excitement on the faces of my team members is probably my favorite part. I’ve seen archers who never talk to each other, jumping up and down with smiles on their faces because they just got that impossible point that they needed to get this round’s lucky number. I’ve watched a grin appear on the face of a friend who made the top two, shooting through seemingly nonviable shouts and stares pushing their limits, and winning the round. I see the archers that are eliminated, realizing what needs to be improved, as the fire lights within, and they decide to try harder and shoot better so they can win next time. Those are my favorite moments. Those moments when everyone is screaming with excitement and laughing and egging on other archers because that is when a team is made.

I’ll be honest, I’ve won quite a few game rounds, but watching my team improve and have fun is loads better than the win. That’s why the games are essential. Because with every shot, with every smile, and with every happy archer walking off the line, our team improves and our archery family grows closer. So, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to try archery, and for those that do, try playing some games at your next practice, happy shooting!

Madi Rhinevault is a 2023 student contributor.

« Using a String Bow ™
The physical and mental benefits of archery »
NASP NASP Schools

Footer

 

Equipment

Equipment

Online Order/Quote

Online Order/Quote

Here you will be able to create a quote or place an order for your school.

Equipment Order Forms

Equipment Order Forms

All public schools and government agencies ordering arrows MUST complete the Federal Excise Tax Exemption Form (FET).

My Account

My Account

My Account

My Account

Request a Quote

Request a Quote

Checkout

Checkout

About NASP

About NASP

What is NASP

What is NASP (Mission and Principles)

Bring NASP To Your School

Bring NASP To Your School

Reducing Barriers

Reducing barriers

Reducing barriers so more students can experience NASP®!

Impact/Success

Impact/Success

Archer to Archer

Archer to Archer

Why NASP

Why NASP

Where are they now? See what these successful NASP alums are doing today.

NASP Coordinators

NASP Coordinators

Find NASP Coordinators

Sponsors/Donors

Sponsors/Donors

Sponsors

Sponsors

Sponsorship Levels

Sponsorship Levels

Would like to assist current and future student participants of NASP®

Become A Sponsor

Become A Sponsor

Contact us

Donate

Donate

Help support the growth of NASP® in your area.

Other Archery Options

Other Archery Options

More Archery Opportunities

Get More Involved With Archery

Collegiate, USA Archery, IBO, NFAA, Archery Canada & Pope & Young Club

Tournaments/Events

Tournaments/Events

National Event Calendar

National Event Calendar

Tournament Website

Tournament Website

NASP 300 Club

NASP 300 Club

National Bullesye

National Rules - BullseyeIcon

Learning Center

Learning Center

Copyright© 2025 · Nasp Schools · Log in

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Returns Policy
  • Shipping Conditions