Introduction to Archery

Offered in the spring 2022 semester, Archery has become a popular sport at Sequoyah, especially among freshmen and sophomores. GMC asked students why they joined archery, chatted with them about their experiences this season, and invited them to share their favorite memories so far. 

Sam Biancheri ’25, decided to join archery because it seemed really cool to them. They think that “it’s really cool to do what was done in Lord Of The Rings,” which was the main reason they joined in the first place. They described their past experience on the cross country team two seasons ago as “really fun but…also…exhausting,” and so they wanted something a little bit more low-key. This was Biancheri’s first time picking up a bow and arrow,  and in their opinion, they’re pretty rotten at it. Their craziest memory so far into the season is being at practice and shooting into hay bales right above where there was a sign that said “No broadheads” (meaning that they were not supposed to use those arrows). Additionally, they had accidentally shot the sign, so it had bounced and came within an inch of shooting them. Biancheri will always remember this moment as “A cool thing to talk about.” Archers are continuously reminded to stretch properly before shooting arrows, but because Biancheri hasn’t been stretching correctly, they are often sore. Going forward, they hope to perfect their stance in order to fire their arrows correctly. 

Another student, James James ’25, sought to try out archery because The Medieval Times had inspired and fascinated them for most of their lives. Joining archery helped James to “realize this inspiration but [it] was also just fun and it’s a PE credit.” James has had some experience in archery outside of school but has never done it competitively. Their favorite memories so far include going to practice and hitting a really good shot and it feeling really good. One of the downsides was the large number of archers that decided to play this season, which meant that the group had to be  split into two, which led to having practice only one time a week. They hope to improve their strength, learn more techniques, and continue Archery outside of school as well. 

America Rosales ’25 decided to first join Archery because in her opinion “It was the least active sport,” and she was “desperate for PE credits.” Rosales has some experience doing archery outside of school but has never officially joined a team. Her favorite memory of Archery at Sequoyah so far is seeing her friend Daisy Cano Ruiz ‘25 popping a balloon (the target) for the first time during practice. Rosales’s main goal before the end of the season was to be able to perfect her aim in order to reach the middle of the target, but at the time of this interview, she didn’t think she was very close to achieving this anytime soon.