An Archery History Lesson: Why communication and support is important

  Well, this is a little off topic, but I feel that it must be addressed. Having traveled all over the country and into Canada shooting my bow, I think I have earned a right to voice my opinion on the status of competitive archery, different archery organizations, volunteers, tournament venues, archers, coaches and many other things that go on from day to day.

  Over the last few years, I have seen a lot of good things and a few bad. While the good outweighs the bad, the bad seems to be really bad. Back in the late '80s and early to mid-'90s there were a lot of big events in my region to attend. The best shooters in the region attended these events and the events provided a national tournament feel. After all, we had some of the best professional target archers at many of these tournaments, target archers who would go on to win Vegas, the Indoor Nationals, the Atlantic City Classic, Redding and the Outdoor Nationals, all of the big ones. I feel very fortunate to be able to call many of the people who won these tournaments friends. I've learned a lot from them and shared a few target lines with them and 3-D courses. To live in a region that holds as many incredible shooters is simply amazing.

  In those times, everyone went out of his way to support the tournaments we had in the state and region. There were some big money shoots found across the state, from Albany to Binghamton to Buffalo. There were always the typical rivalries, and these rivalries made these shoots a lot of fun to attend. As time moved forward and McKenzie introduced 3-D targets, I began to focus all of my efforts on that discipline because I was a hunter first and foremost. I figured the 3-D shooting would help me while hunting, especially if I ever encountered any big bucks.

  When the IBO Northeast Triple Crown started drawing people from every state in the Northeast, I wanted to be a part of it. If I could compete at that level, I knew I would be able to compete at the national level, too. A lot of shooters had come from New York and New England to find themselves on the podium at the national events. As I found myself at the top in the the Northeast Triple Crown, I began shooting in every state championship I could find..........and classes were big. There were no hunter classes, senior classes or semi-pro class..........instead, there were two classes, MBO and MBR and MBO was the big one. I got lucky enough to win the state championships in the states that held them in MBO, some of them with more than 400 shooters. Just like any winner in a regional area, I got accused of pushing the pencil. I always laughed at the notion and invited all comers to shoot with me if they felt so inclined to do so. The talkers very rarely came forth and accepted the invite, however, I do remember one person who got sent under the radar to check things out. I've never kept score or called arrows, and I always try my hardest to avoid having a card in my hand while on a course. That way nobody can say too terribly much. Anyhow, back to that one person. It was during a state championship, and I was shooting with my dad and a few other people. At the time I didn't know one of them was with us for a reason. Well, at the end of the day we became almost instant friends with this guy. When we finished, he ran into the clubhouse and said, "Man, you never gotta worry about this guy. He can flat-out pound. I've never seen someone shoot like that." Even I have to admit that I probably shot a little better than normal that day. I was in the zone and couldn't miss. I only shot a few 8s on a 40-target course. Moral of the story: Don't ever accuse anyone of something because they win. That's when I built my reputation and it has held strong since that day. Why do I talk about this?

  In the early '90s, I knew that Scott Tozier was the man to beat. I knew he would probably be at a few IBO qualifiers in or around Buffalo so I chose to drive out there to see if I could compete with him. Over the years, Scott and I became friends, teammates and IBO state directors after I convinced him to do it to see if we could somehow grow archery and give back. After all, we had taken so much over the years and seen a lot of success on our journeys. We both know how hard it is to compete and win at the national level. A lot of our success is directly related to the IBO events that have been held in our region. These shoots made us better, and we attended as many of them as we could. We supported the events and still do because they allow us to improve our craft and have an honest chance at winning on the big stage. Well, back to the reason for me driving out there. After getting to know Scott, I shot in peer groups with him and in team events. I've never shot with a more honest person. He's a stand-up guy. That's why I talked him into helping out in the western part of NY with the IBO. I figured I would help out in New England and eastern New York, where I had always spent the most of my time.

  Then, last year Scott called me to tell me about something that he and the other IBO Northeast members wanted to do. He knew of a couple of people who went through some horrible things and asked if I would be willing to donate a minimum of $20 out of my pocket to help these people. Unlike many people, I don't have very much money jingling around in my pocket, especially for people whom I don't know a thing about. But since Scott and the other IBO guys told me these people were good people and we needed to help them because they had so faithfully supported our organization, I didn't hesitate. I donated as much money as I could and signed the card, still not knowing the people. I'm glad I did that because it made me feel good to know that I was donating to another archer or two and their cause.

  Scott has always been a guy who says very few words, and many people take that as him being arrogant. That arrogant thought couldn't be further from the truth. He's one of the most humble people I've ever met in archery, and he busts his ass to get better. Just like me, he doesn't always have the best of days. We have suffered through ups and downs throughout our archery careers, but we keep coming back for more because we love the game.............and the people. I try to use my past experience to help others learn and grow. I know my best days are behind me, but I hope to help others in their pursuit of excellence because I've been there and done that at one time.

  I know that was an earful, but it brings me to a few things that have bothered me over the last few years after volunteering to be a NY State IBO Director. I've always been vocal about things I liked and disliked after shooting in archery tournaments, including locations, target settings, people involved, and types of targets among many other things.

  In the last few years there seems to be a lot of drama in the archery arena in New York and New England. In some of these areas, we have gone from having nothing to having well-run events that are organized and run like national events. Groups are finally being busted, officials are walking the courses, scores are being posted, and there are some cool things to shoot for, including a lot of money in some classes at the end of the year. Knowing groups are busted makes it easy on my conscience about the money, because any time money is involved there can be a number of problems.

People don't realize that all of us involved are volunteers. We took responsibility to grow archery and give you, the shooters, a chance to participate at clubs you have never shot at so that you would get to experience different looks in different places. We hoped that this would help the shooters of the region to win at the national level. If we could do this and make our region look unbeatable, it would grow the participation and help everyone involved, from clubs to shooters to the IBO to coaches. If we succeeded and got big numbers, we might even have a chance to host a national event.

  Looking from afar, this has definitely happened. Many shooters across New York and New England have gone on to win and podium at the national events since the series in both regions have been formed. Success doesn't lie. Without even having to think about it, I can tell you a minimum of eight shooters between these two series that have won a national IBO event in the last four years. Although there may have been many others in the past, I can only think of two others besides myself and Scott Tozier who won before these series started. Much of my success came from buying my own targets. I own 60 of my own targets, and I'm glad I have them because when the bickering started and people started going in their own directions and doing their own things instead of supporting all archery events, the events eventually stopped. While I had targets, not many others did. I was able to continue practicing like nothing had ever stopped, but most others had no quality shoots left to attend.  In that time period, I competed in many national, state and regional ASA events, probably most people don't even know that there used to be state and regional ASA events. I've participated in almost every organization there is in archery, including ASA, IBO, NFAA, FITA, Cabela's, and NETAA. Most of you probably have never even heard of NETAA or Cabela's. It didn't take long for these organizations to lose steam over time.

  Finally, the ASA is beginning to revive itself, but people always seem to forget that ASA is a business. It's a business which exists to make money. I like shooting in ASA national tournaments. They are a lot of fun, but ASAs are hard to attend for northern people because of where they are held.  That's why I support the IBO in my region. They hold a lot of events that I can attend and benefit from. That is also why I volunteer my time and efforts. I want to build something that all of us can enjoy for years to come. Yes, I was that guy, the guy who came off the course and bitched and moaned about things. I was the guy who bitched because I wanted things done differently. Instead of turning away and doing something else, I decided to see about volunteering. Maybe all of my experience could be used to help the shooters, because I am a shooter first and foremost. That my friends is why I am involved in the organization. I am one of you. I do this for you. That is the main reason why most of the others are involved, too. Unfortunately, many people don't realize that fact.

  I've been friends with Scott Tozier, Rick Baker, Joe Santos, Jim Gagnon, Mike Matala, Ike Loretta, Jim Burdic, Jeff Bordwell, Mike Price, Jeff Wagoner, Wade Chandler, Bill Romanchick, Dana Harding, Gary Neal, Mark Myers, Bob Rowe, and many others since the beginning, way back when our indoor state shoot was big and held in downtown Rochester and when the IBO Northeast Triple Crown drew an average of 800 people per event. I also have been good friends with Pete Lucas for many years. For people who don't know Pete, he took it upon himself to form a new IBO and ASA series after the former NE Triple Crown faded away. He did a fantastic job with it, but it got to the point where he couldn't continue doing it. The drama took hold, and he couldn't escape it. People began giving him a hard time and taking all the fun out of it for him. He truly cared about the region's archers, just like all of our current volunteers, even if many of you don't believe it because of personal issues you might have with the people. There have been many people whom I haven't liked along the way, but I don't let my personal issues with someone prohibit me from enjoying the game I love, especially if the person is giving me an opportunity to participate in good tournaments.

  I guess I'm telling all of you out there who seem to have issues with the IBO Northeast that I'm trying my best to work for you and help with issues you might have. I work with these other reps, and together, we try to find ways to improve. We definitely don't always do things the right way. We all have full-time jobs in which we spend a lot of time doing things that help us make a living. We also dedicate much of our spare time to  create things that people might like. I won't lie and pretend I like the way everything is run right now, but I will tell you that I can't help any of you if you don't support me and help me. We are a team, we are not divided factions. If you have personal issues with someone, including me, feel free to tell me, I feel like I'm fairly diplomatic, and I'm a good listener. I will listen to you and do my best to get your word out there to be considered. I have been working with other volunteers to improve what we have right now and maybe make things a little bit different. I know that many of you don't understand why things are done the way they are done right now. I can assure you that it's a lot easier to work with someone who is willing to listen rather than someone who becomes hostile. If you have to find one rep whom you feel you can communicate easily with. If you don't like one of them, then please call one of the others or email him or her. We will never like everyone. People have different personalities, and some personalities just clash. Find a volunteer who thinks like you do. Let that one volunteer be your voice. Negativity breeds negativity, and it makes it extremely difficult to deal with people when they're being combative and not listening. Words can be turned into anything we want then to say or mean. Instead of turning this and that into what we can use as ammo, why don't we all meet in the middle. I have many archery friends who can't stand each other. It doesn't mean I will stop liking one of you because you two don't like each other. Most of your know that I don't get involved in the drama. I do my own thing. I'm friends with you for a reason. I could care less if you have an issue with one of my best friends because the issue does't affect me; it's between you and that other person, but don't let the issue affect your participation.

  I know this has been long and drawn out, but I volunteered to be an IBO rep to grow archery and create a family-type atmosphere.............an archery family. We will never like everyone, and we shouldn't have to like people, but sometimes liking people and respecting them for what they're trying to do, even if it differs from our opinion, is really important. When these people are gone, we will be left with the same thing we had before.............dwindling participation with all of the same people. Let's all swallow our pride and meet in the middle. We should support everything archery in our region. If we have time to attend an event, we should try to get there. We should encourage others to participate, too. If we don't like something for whatever reason, should we try to convince others not to like it? No, we probably shouldn't. I want to compete agains the best of the best in my region, and that right there is why I want people to think hard about what they choose to do in the future. I challenge everyone to bring a fried to an event. If you want to shoot unmarked yardage, go shoot it. If you want to shoot target archery, go shoot it. If you want to shoot field archery, go do it. If you want to shoot marked yardage, go do it. Encourage everyone around you to support the organizations in your region.......all of them. Enough of the childish bickering, name calling, harassing messages, and animosity. I also challenge anyone out there who is reading this to call me or email me with your thoughts and make your response diplomatic and even. I can work with you if you're willing to listen to me, and I want your voice to be heard and know it has been heard. I don't want to argue with anyone. I simply want to have an adult conversation in which we work together and understand where each other is coming from.

ENJOY ARCHERY...............I'M NOT SURE ABOUT MOST OTHERS, BUT I DO IT BECAUSE I LOVE IT AND I SUPPORT ALL OF IT.