A Week With the Resident Athletes

Miranda Leek

I recently had the opportunity to train alongside the Resident Athletes apart from the Junior Dream Team in order to make up for a JDT camp that I could not attend.  I was able to shoot hundreds of arrows each day and spend hours focused on improving my technique, which is something that I take for granted while there and genuinely miss when I get home.  Coach Lee, Coach Guy, and all of the RA’s were there to help me further understand certain aspects of the BEST Method, and they were all willing to assist me in making improvements.  I learned a lot during my week-long training session and enjoyed it very much.

One of the first things that I realized while I was there was basic fact that now is the time for training and form improvement, not so much a time for accuracy on the target.  It’s the off season; that means that, generally speaking, the target is going to get worse before it can get better.  It is important to accept this fact and move on with training.

With that in mind, the RA’s and I shot around three hundred arrows each day, at blank bale as well as at a distance.  We all had something specific to work on each arrow we shot, and the coaches were there to remind us when we started “slacking.”  We concentrated on our archery when we shot, but we enjoyed the camaraderie and time spent together as a group when we retrieved our arrows.  Life at the Olympic Training Center isn’t all work; there is also time for friends and free time afterwards, which provided for a welcomed balance.

When we weren’t shooting during our training regimen, we did form master exercises, bow release drills, and SPT’s each day.  Although doing these types of training activities isn’t as entertaining as actually shooting is, they are a necessity in the long run.  Being at the OTC helped me to remember the importance of the “boring training” and helped me to complete the exercises and benefit from them.  Training is so much more fun and easier when you’re surrounded by others with the same interests and goals that you have.  The fact that the OTC provides just that, the many RA’s training for the Olympic Games, is one of the main reasons why I love to go out there to train.

Of course, when considering what I like about the OTC, I cannot leave out the coaches.  Coach Lee and Coach Guy know everything there is to know about the technique and if I needed any help, all I had to do was ask.  Once I voiced a concern, they both did everything they could to help me understand a concept and get me to do what I needed to.  I go out to the OTC to train under the schedule they provide and the help they have to offer, and I do not leave for home empty-handed.

Overall, I found my time spent at the OTC with the RA’s very productive.  If given the opportunity to do this again, I would accept it without any hesitation.  My form definitely improved from my stay there; undeniably because of the time I was able to invest in my training and the many helpful people there.  The OTC provides for a perfect trifecta of training, physical exercise, and camaraderie; an atmosphere difficult to achieve anywhere else.

(Editor’s Note:  The following notes were made by Miranda during camp.  Top athletes often keep a journal of each days training to refer back to during later sessions.  Thanks goes to Miranda for sharing this information with us.)

Miranda Leek

Notes

10-19-09 Extended JDT

• Hook: From the beginning, roll the string in from the fingertips inward. Keep this positioning all the way through the shot! Keeping the wrist bent goes with this somewhat – keep the fingers curled around the string the same way and keep the wrist bent. Do not break the wrist and roll out fingers while picking up the bow; maintain the position all the way through the shot!
• Set-up: Get the elbow behind the arrow line. Keeping the wrist bent and the fingers at the same position helps in this effort.
• Breathing: When drawing, breathe in deeply. Then, at anchor or transfer, breathe out a little, to a 70-80% lung capacity. This will help to naturally expand using blood pressure so expansion is not so difficult and muscularly involved. It is important to breathe in and then out, not just breathing in to 70-80% capacity. The outward breath allows holding to be true to its meaning; a decrease in intensity.
• Posture: Keep the hips tucked under and bring the bow to you; don’t go out with the chest to the string while drawing. Keep the vertebrae stacked evenly on each other. Stay compacted.
• Target line: The line to the target needs to be more in front of the feet, not under. The line should be around two inches in front of the lead foot. This keeps the center of gravity in a place where you don’t want to fall backwards once you’ve achieved good posture. This allows for a good ear to toe line also.
• Keep compact. This relates to posture, but concentrates on keeping the body, the foundation of the shot, connected with itself. Don’t stand up. Keep the head positioning the same from set to follow-through.
• Bow arm: Keep the tricep tight. This allows for the pump jack motion, which pushes the bow arm outwards. The pump jack motion is important to achieve a stronger and faster expansion.
• Hook (again): Hold the thumb and pinky in a way that looks like they’re holding a chick. Don’t touch the thumb to the pinky nail; just pull them both back to break the wrist. Keep both fingers pulled back in order to keep the bent wrist position.
• Sit: Sit! Straight down! Not so you’re pointing to the right.

We would like to thank our sponsors, including Easton Foundation and TaxMasters for lending financial support helping to cover travel and registration costs, Nike for the apparel, and Easton and Hoyt for their support in providing the Junior Dream Team Program with equipment

“And Now Announcing…Team USA…”

Chula Vista, CA
June 23, 2009
Text and Photos by Coach Dee Falks

The broad expanse of laser-level, emerald green field that lay before me was breathtaking in itself and I had been marveling at how small the two lone target mats seemed as they stood between the perfectly straight, parallel,  painted white lines that ran toward the northern horizon.  The sun was so bright that the concentric circles of gold, red, blue, black and white glistened as the pennants attached to the tops of the mats fluttered in the stiff afternoon breeze.  The dull roar that had been at the back of my mind grew louder and louder until it was a deafening crescendo of music and voices and gongs and drums and screaming men and women.

Jr. World Team Round Simulation

It had been a long, hot day and I leaned against the spotting scope in my right hand to steady myself.  One of the three men to my front turned to me and flashed a toothy but nervous grin and then turned his head to the front, leaning forward and yelling something into the ear of his team mate.  I couldn’t hear what he said for the din around us but the second man passed the message to the one in front of him, who turned and flashed me a nervous smile of his own.  Across the backs of their navy blue shirts were stenciled, in white so bright that it was almost blinding, the letters “USA”.  Above that were their names, Blakley, Kelchner, and Henslin. I tried not to look at the team to my left, but trying to not do something is the best way to insure that you certainly will do it.  The men to my left seemed supremely confident and each man’s gaze was steady, focused on the back of the neck of the man in front of him.  The red, white, blue and black of their uniforms was spectacular.  The names were foreign to me and I wondered at the pronunciations, but the letters “KOR” stenciled across the back of their shirts told me that pronouncing names was the last item on our agenda for today.  I was thankful for my sunglasses which hid the nervousness my eyes would have betrayed. The crowd was on its feet, swaying and singing along, at the top of their lungs, to an old song that was blasting over the speakers, performing a strange, multilingual karaoke, “Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around?  And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call baby when you say you will…”, the words faded and the crowd quieted as the microphone crackled to life and the baritone voice of the master of ceremonies announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, for today’s Gold Medal match…” Three days before, we had begun this competition with warm-ups and practice as the USA Archery Junior Dream Team (JDT) arrived at the Olympic Training Center (OTC), Chula Vista, CA for the final competition training camp before a busy summer of National and International Championship competitions.  Fully half of the JDT had earned positions on the Youth World Championship Team and others had earned positions as alternates and would be making the trips with the team.  Other JDT archers would be making international competition trips of their own, on other traveling teams, and this camp was specifically designed to provide training for those events.

FITA Ranking Round

The weather was spotty Sunday with strong winds from the West, low clouds, spitting rain and high temperatures in the low 60′s.  We had landed in the middle of the “June Gloom” and the forecast didn’t look much better for later in the week.  The first half of the FITA ranking round was shot on Sunday afternoon and the scores were low for most archers.  Gusting and unforgiving winds made the long distances difficult.  The second half was shot on Monday morning in slightly better conditions and some archers managed personal best scores at their short distances.  Still, hopes were high and the JDT archers were confident that they would prove themselves as worthy competitors against the some of the best archers in the world. We retired to the OTC dining facility for lunch on Monday and when we returned to the venue we were greeted by a spectacular sight.  Coach Guy Krueger had converted the range into an Olympic competition finals venue.  The field was painted, the bleachers were set and the PA system roared to

The Venue

life as we walked onto the field.  The Roadrunner Archery Club was in support with concessions and spectators.  They also provided arrow runners to the field crew.  We could all see that this was going to be an event to remember as most of the JDT archers looked at a Team Round finals venue for the first time in their lives. The first event simulation would be the Team Round.  The brackets were posted and the Team USA Junior Men were ranked 2^nd behind Team “Korea”.  One of our teams was ranked either first or second in their respective brackets and we knew that if we could survive the quarter final eliminations we would surely see “Korea” in the medal matches.  The venue was set and the crowd had gathered for what promised to be an exciting afternoon of competition as the team rounds unfolded. Coach Guy Krueger, Tournament Director for the event simulation and Assistant Coach for Youth World Championship Team USA, had spent weeks promoting this competition event simulation designed to prepare our Youth World Championship Team for the upcoming competition in Ogden Utah scheduled for July 10-20, 2009.  This event was designed to prepare our recurve team for the pressures of international competition on a venue that resembled the actual World Championship finals competition site.  Coach Guy had outdone himself this time. The Team Round and Olympic Round brackets began at the quarter finals level and advanced through medal round match play.  This was head-to-head, arrow for arrow, elimination competition against an opponent that we had not counted on at the beginning of camp.  Coach Guy had recruited the Resident Athletes to act as our opponents in semi-final and gold medal matches.  If our Youth World Team archers could hold their own through the quarter finals rounds they would compete against the top Resident Athletes for the Gold. “…representing ‘Team Korea’ on target number one, Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski and Tyler Schardt.” There was a deafening roar from the crowd and the music blared as the three confident men to my left picked up their bows

The Crowd Roars

and strode onto the field.  Their coach seemed confident, his face expressionless and hands clasped behind his back.  “Representing the United States of America on target number two, Forrest Blakley, Peter Kelchner and Aaron Henslin.” Another cheer rose from the crowd and the music rose to an even higher volume as my team, no less resolute than our opponents, picked up their bows and marched to their team box. “Now, introducing the Head Coach for the team representing Korea, Coach Kisik Lee, and Coaching Team USA, Coach Dee Falks.” I turned toward Coach Lee, who smiled and extended his hand.  I clasped his hand in mine and we shook, exchanging a word and a nod before turning to join our teams.  That was the last moment of absolute silence that we would know for the next half hour.  The match began as the noise level rose to the point that you had to yell into the ear of the person standing next to you to be heard. “Ladies and gentlemen, Team USA will open the match on target number two.  The order is Henslin, Kelchner and Blakley.  The field is clear and the line is ready.  Judge, are the competitors ready?” Judge Jim White signaled the DOS that we were ready to begin by raising his left arm to shoulder level and two beeps sounded from the timing system horn.  Aaron Henslin stood his ground, waiting for the single beep signaling the beginning of shooting.  The match had started as quickly as that.  The seconds wound off of the clock in an agonizingly slow progression until finally, “beep”. The horn sounded a single beep and Aaron Henslin stepped across the waiting line to shoot his first arrow.  Now

Aaron Helslin

the clock was racing and the tenths of a second unwound with a dizzying speed.  His arrow arched through the air and before it had reached the target he had already turned and was crossing back behind the waiting line.  Peter Kelchner waited patiently then took his place on the shooting line as the timing clock wound down to 101 seconds and the MC shouted “9″ into the microphone.  Peter’s shot was followed by Forrest Blakley’s and we scored another “9″ and a “10″.  The crowd was helping both sides with noise and distractions aimed at the other and I thought that our 28 points was a good start. I glanced at Coach Lee, captive in his coaching box as I was in mine.  He grinned and motioned that I should watch his team.  The timer stopped on the Team USA side at 66.4 seconds and immediately began on Team Korea’s side with a beep and 120 seconds.  I swear their clock was running slower than ours had.  Brady Ellison was impressive, leading off with a “10x”, but the remainder of his team scored “9′s” to match ours.  Jake Kaminski finished his shot and returned to the waiting line and our clock immediately began winding down again.  Our team had exchanged info about the wind and target conditions while our opponents were shooting and made good use of it as they shot another solid 28 points.  When we finished our arrows our opponents’ clock began to unwind again and they shot their final 3 arrows of the round.  The official score for round one was a tie at 56 each.

Cadet Women: Michelle Gilbert, Kiley Larrick, Miranda Leek

There had been many memorable matches already today.  The Cadet Women had bested everyone except the Junior Men and Junior Women.  The Junior Women had only gained a one point lead in the last end to take that round.  Of course the Cadet Men and Women had competed against the Junior teams at the Junior Distance of 70m, so kudos to the Cadets.  Now the match against the Junior Men and “Team Korea” was under way and the crowd was excited.  Everyone on the JDT had been working for years to make it to this match and we were pulling out all the stops.

Cadet Men: Daniel McLaughlin, Nathan Yamaguchi, Matt Zumbo, Coach Falks

“The field is clear and the line is ready.  Archers, move to the waiting line.” Beep, Beep…Beep, we were shooting again and the arrows flew, scores were called, wind information was shouted on both sides, high 5′s exchanged and at the end of the round we were still tied with 108 points each.  The shooting continued along with the music, singing, gongs and drums.  “Team Korea” gained 3 points on Team USA in the third round and four more points in the fourth to win the match 217 to 210.  The last arrow struck the target and the MC called the final score.  Pandemonium broke out across the field.  Three High School kids had held three of USA’s top 10 senior archers to a 7 point lead over a 24 arrow match.  We congratulated our opponents, thanked the judge, and exited the field with our heads high to the applause of the crowd and a rousing rendition of “Buttercup”. On Tuesday we contested Olympic Round competitions from the quarter finals through the medal rounds.  JDT archers shot in their regular divisions during the morning, and in the afternoon our Cadet archers stepped up to the junior distances to practice for some of the international competitions we will be attending later this summer where they will have to compete as seniors.  The day ended with an OR match between Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski.  The lead changed each end, arrow for arrow, until Jake finally won the match by one point on the last arrow. This had been a great week and a fantastic experience to prepare the JDT members for international competition and the pressure that the crowd can place on the team.  Youth World Team member Jessica Gibbs accepted the invitation and came to the OTC to train with the other Youth World Team recurve archers during this camp, further solidifying the team building experience.  Eleven of the twelve archers on the Youth World Championship recurve teams were able to train together and Kristin Braun, a member of Senior World Team USA, stood in for Kala Debord, who was unable to attend the event. But, you can only have so much fun during one week and on Wednesday the JDT Camp training schedule resumed its normal pace.  We met for cardio and endurance at 7:00am, shot 200 arrows in form practice and ran the Beep Test.  The team hadn’t had enough so we went back to the field after the Beep Test to train until dinner then returned to the venue to shoot 100 more arrows before calling it a night and packing for departure. It had been a great week.  JDT archers had averaged over 200 arrows a day at distance, competed in an event simulation that was identical to international competition Team and OR medal rounds.  The Youth World Championship Team Coaches had been able to work with the recurve team for three full days of intense competition and training.  This Junior Dream Team camp was the third successive competition training camp in 2009 and we were now ready for a summer full of national and international competition. As I loaded my bags into the OTC van on Thursday morning, exchanged goodbyes with the archers and coaches who were leaving later, and was greeted by our driver Michael, I experienced the same feelings that I always have when I leave the OTC.  From the greeting on the back wall of the Athlete Check In (ACI), that “It’s not every four years, it’s every day!”, to the reminders in the dining facility, that “Every athlete has a choice, and every choice makes a difference!”, there is a feeling, a sense, of belonging to something greater than yourself and that what you have accomplished over the past week has made a difference and effected a positive change in an archery athlete’s performance.  It’s this feeling that has kept me coming back, and will keep me coming back as long as I’m invited.

Coaches Guy Krueger, Terry Laney, Mrs. Lee, KiSik Lee, Linda Beck, Dee Falks, Bob Romero, Jim White, Alex Meyer

During the week of October 10-17, 2009 there will be a JDT “Candidate” Camp.  Anyone wishing to try out for a position on the 2010 JDT can fill out and submit a Junior Dream Team Application, which can be found here: JDT Forms. If accepted to the October camp you may earn a position as a JDT Archer for the 2010 season.

We would like to thank our sponsors, including Easton Foundation and TaxMasters for lending financial support helping to cover travel and registration costs, Nike for the apparel, and Easton and Hoyt for their support in providing the Junior Dream Team Program with equipment

The Finger Sling

Did you know you can make an excellent sling in just seconds? Making a finger sling is very straight forward and provides several advantages over other slings. For starters, finger slings are very comfortable, inexpensive, easy to make. More importantly, finger slings let the bow pop cleanly out of the hand, and allow the archer to have superior control over the bow during follow through. Not bad for a buck!

To make the shoelace finger sling, first start with a flat, wide shoelace made of a soft material such as cotton. The type of lace is important. The flat wide surface will distribute the weight of the bow over a larger area than round or narrow laces and will be much more comfortable. Be sure the lace is made out of a soft fabric with a high percentage of cotton. These laces will provide the maximum comfort for the fingers while staying firmly in place.

Start by folding the lace in half and tying the loose ends of the lace in a knot. You will want to form a loop which is approximately 12″ end to end. The exact size of the loop will depend on the size of your hand, your particular equipment and personal preferences. The length of the loop can be adjusted by changing the position of the knot.

The rest is easy to follow in the following video:

To see a properly adjusted finger sling in action watch the following video:

“Relationships Determine Results”

“Relationships Determine Results”

By

Coach Jim White

One of the best managers I ever worked for had those words engraved on a plaque sitting on his office desk.  Whenever I had a meeting with him, there it was, staring me right in the face as I sat across from him.  Since I worked in a Corporate Human Resources department as an HR Manager, those words had special meaning in our line of work because almost every situation we dealt with had to do with relationships.  My manager believed in that phrase and used it as his guide in everything he did, both on and off the job.  He said the phrase had proven itself to him over and over again throughout his career.  He was a very successful manager, so those of us who worked for him adopted the same thinking in our training.  After 25 years in the Human Resources department, I found that no truer words were ever spoken when it comes to dealing with people.

Relationship quality is what determines the success of your personal life. This must be true, based on the number of self help books on the subject that I see in the book store.  Think of the relationships you have with your family.  Most are probably very good.  Some may be so-so and some may be struggling just to call it a relationship.  The same can probably be said of your friends, both close friends and casual acquaintances.  The quality of all these relationships usually determines whether you are happy, sad, angry, lonely or just indifferent.

In business, the quality of the relationship you build with individuals dictates the success or failure of the goals you have set for yourself.  Anyone who has ever worked in sales knows the value of a good relationship with potential clients.  Top sales people are masters at cultivating relationships….they have to be…their livelihood depends on it.

Social counselors, clergy, police officers, lobbyists, politicians, medical personnel, teachers and anyone who thrives in the business world, all have to be able to accomplish goals through building and maintaining a good relationship.

The same is true in archery.  As an archer, you must have a good coach to rise to the top of your sport.  I can’t think of any top athlete who didn’t have a good coach that helped them to reach the winner’s circle.  Even Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps have coaches and they are some of the most naturally talented athletes we’ve seen in the last twenty years.  Their natural talent is a blessing, but hard work and a rigid training program is what propelled them to the top.  But most important is the relationship between the coach and athlete.  It must be one of mutual respect and understanding and a willingness to listen and care about what the other person is saying, both verbally and non-verbally.  In a lot of ways, it’s almost like a marriage and it takes not a 50-50 effort, but rather a 100% effort on both sides to make it work successfully.

The selection of the right coach and the trust built in the relationship are the crucial elements in the success of the archer athlete. Both the coach and the archer must agree on the training program and both have to be fully committed in seeing it through.

Just as important is the ability of both to know when to ask for help when it’s not working.  The athlete usually can do this much easier because he or she is in the learning position and is expected to ask questions.  Sometimes, it’s hard for a coach to admit he or she doesn’t have the answer to a problem and needs to seek outside help.  A good coach must have this ability or the relationship will suffer and possibly cause a breakdown in the trust within the relationship.

So, how should an athlete go about selecting a coach?   How should a coach determine if he or she should work with a particular archer?

For the Archer:

• Do your homework – ask other archers who have used a particular coach you are interested in.  Learn about this coach’s style.  Does he/she dictate “my way or the highway” or do they have a style that encourages your input to the training process?

• Does this coach have the knowledge and sufficient training to provide what you need to meet your goals? Just because a person was a good archer doesn’t mean they will be a good coach….and vice versa.  Some of the best coaches were never world class archers.  Also, some coaches specialize in only one area like compound equipment while others only coach recurve archers.  Be sure to ask which discipline your potential coach is most proficient at teaching.

• Don’t expect the coach to make you an Olympic caliber archer overnight.  It’s not magic; it takes time to develop the skills needed to compete on the world stage.  Start with a realistic skills evaluation and then agree to what it will take to get to your goal.  You both have to be in the boat rowing in the same direction.

For the Coach:

• Before taking on the task of coaching an archer, the coach should begin with an assessment of the archer’s skill level and equipment. Then have a conversation.  Ask what the archer’s ultimate goal is and what the timeline is.  Then ask yourself if this is realistic and attainable.

• Determine if the archer has the time available to do the necessary training, the funds for equipment, travel, entry fees, lodging expense and your fee.  These details need to be covered up front so there are no surprises later.

• Based on your skills assessment, sketch out a proposed training plan with goals for the next six months and get feedback from the archer as to the acceptability of your suggestions.  Start with a six month plan; long range goals can be made after you have worked together for a while.  The initial plan will allow time to get to know each other.

For both the Coach and Archer:

• Once the training plan is in place, there must be accountability to follow the program.  The archer should make every effort to follow the plan and to keep good notes.  A report should be given to the coach weekly.

• The coach should use this information to assess the progress of the archer and make modifications to the plan as needed.  The coach should be available to answer any questions the archer may have and communications between the two should be frequent.

• The archer must be able to trust the coach’s instruction and ability and the coach must trust the archer to follow direction and do the work prescribed.  As long as both continue to live up to their promises, a good relationship will prevail.

In the end, it’s all about two people helping each other to reach a goal.  It doesn’t matter if it’s just keeping all the arrows on the target butt at the local club or winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games, it’s still a teamwork effort based on a relationship. If you really work at it, you will come to learn that “relationships determine results”.

We would like to thank our sponsors, including Easton Foundation and TaxMasters for lending financial support helping to cover travel and registration costs, Nike for the apparel, and Easton and Hoyt for their support in providing the Junior Dream Team Program with equipment

Welcome to the Newly Formatted USAA Junior Dream Team Site

Welcome! We have a brand new look and a new way of looking at the Junior Dream Team web site. In addition to information on our Junior Dream Team members, we are posting team news, training tips, pictures and videos. These are the techniques that we use in our practice and what we believe will improve the shooting of our potential Olympic archers.

New training tips will be posted from time to time. Please be sure to sign up for the RSS feed to keep on top of the latest information.

We offer these as information only. No claims are made that you will have the same results.