Who can participate in Outdoor Practice?
For me outdoor practice and outdoor tournaments are a dream of green grass, warm sunshine, gentle breezes, no snow and a target far away. The reality is different. The grass may be wet from rain or dew. The wind may be blowing, sometimes above 10 mph and it may be filled with raindrops. There may be clouds to dampen the light and your spirits, and the target always seems too far away.
Outdoors is where true archery occurs. The distance and the weather require your skills to be at a whole new level. Not only do you need to perform a good shot cycle; but you need to read the weather. Between the distance and the weather you need to kick up you skills.
Don’t let the environment intimidate you. The distance is the same for everyone. The weather is the same for everyone. The difference is in your attitude. Will you shoot a good shot or will you allow intimidation and fear to enter your mind and allow yourself to shoot poorly?
What is needed for Outdoor Practice?
What do you need to shoot outdoors? You need a stronger bow. You need outdoor arrows that match your bow and you. You need a quiver, arm guard, bow stand, finger tab, arrow puller, arrow lube, sunscreen, bug repellant, a hat and closed toe shoes.
Since most people will be shooting longer distances than indoors, you need a stronger bow to power the arrow to the target. You need skinny arrows that offer little resistance to the wind. Since you are walking a long ways, a quiver is required for safety, and closed toe shoes.
Always shoot with an arm guard and a finger tab. Since no outdoor venue has bow stands, you must bring a bow stand for your bow. Since the target mats are very dense foam, you need an arrow puller to remove the arrow from the target mat and you need arrow lube to prevent the target foam from sticking to your arrow. You also want something to eat and something to drink. The sun and wind steal energy and water from our bodies.
Since you are pulling a stronger bow, you need to be in better condition. Your endurance must be higher and your strength greater. Don’t worry about that, Coach Tom will make sure you are in good condition for outdoor archery.
Are you ready for some fun? Do you have your own equipment? You can join in for outdoor practice starting on 4/12/2015 at 8:30 am at the Mansfield Memorial Park Practice Field. You are welcome to come and join in the challenging fun of outdoor archery!