Hope me find an archery coach?

June 20, 2012 1:58 AM

How does one find an archery coach?

I live in CNY, near Syracuse. I've done a bunch of searching and I've found archery ranges (usually attached to gun ranges and/or affiliated with hunting clubs) and places to buy bows that will help you fit a bow, but no actual instruction or coaching so far. Listings at the national archery associations didn't turn up much for my region that seemed appropriate.

I'm only interested in target shooting and would probably feel uncomfortable in environments devoted to hunting. You can rent bows at one of the local parks, but I'm fairly certain that my 2 weeks of instruction in middle school in the late 80's would not serve me well. I'm envisioning accidental dry loosing or some other awfulness that would harm me, the bow, or random passersby. :)

Ideally I would like to learn how to select and care for a bow, use it safely, and entertain myself with hours of shooting targets not made of pixels surrounded by crosshairs centered on glowing screens.

If I can't find a coach, is there another option?

posted by xyzzy to sports, hobbies, & recreation (3 answers total)

Is there any reason not to call the ranges/clubs/stores and ask? Perhaps you could see if a compromise is possible--meeting at the local park instead of at the range.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:11 AM on June 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Are there any archery competitions in your region? I found my coach for a similarly specialized activity by networking at a local competition.
posted by telegraph at 5:22 AM on June 20, 2012

I would go ahead and call or visit some of the local ranges. My kids and I have done archery at a local place here that has a gun range as well as an indoor archery range. It also has an outdoor shooting range with animal-shaped targets. But my kids and I just go into the indoor archery range and shoot at your basic circular targets. The staff have been really great talking to us about bows and technique.

It's been very easy and comfortable to just go and participate in the way we're comfortable with. So you might find that if you visit a few places you will find one that you're comfortable with.
posted by not that girl at 7:42 AM on June 20, 2012