Bullseye!

Archery had interested Jared for a while but finding a place close to home where he could learn was no small task, so we stopped looking close to home.  In May, he started lessons at First Flight Archery School, NE of Raleigh.  It's a hike from the house but well worth the trip.  The indoor facility is clean and quiet.  I find taking him to lessons quite relaxing compared to the noise an activity of the rest of my days.  

After his initial introductory lesson, he was hooked so we search Craigslist that night, found a good deal and negotiated it into a great deal the next day.  He shoots a compound bow and has competed at both indoor and outdoor tournaments for his JOAD team, the Raleigh Revolution.

After one month of shooting he got his first "Robin Hood" ie. one arrow hitting the other arrow.

Over the summer he competed in a USA Archery Outdoor competition where she scored 2nd in the nation in his division.

For fun he also competed in an outdoor field archery tournament, where you walk to different targets along a trail and each target is set up different, sort of like golf.

Shooting side by side with his coach.

As of today, he has advanced to his six star blue pin in Indoor competitions.  You can only move one pin per tournament, so that is a ton of advancement in seven months.  Today he had to score a minimum of 200 out of a possible 300 points (30 arrows max 10 points each).  He scored 217.  This was a nationally ranked competition but we won't get his standings for a month or two.  However, earning his six pin also earned him the right to start training with the advanced Archery students at his school.  His next pin may take a bit longer, as he will have to shoot 240, each pin dials in the need to more precise with each arrow and the wiggle room for even one mistakes goes down dramatically, but I know he'll get it.  Jared has a real natural talent for Archery.