Remembering Roger Thibault

I had just finished shooting an incredible round of archery at the 1^stleg of the IBO Northeast Triple Crown. After finishing, I mixed in with many of my fellow competitors under a big tent on the Anheuser Busch grounds in Merrimack, N.H. Gossip floated around the tent as we all tried figuring out who stood where in the standings. I knew I would fall somewhere in the top 10 but wasn’t sure what place I would be in at the end. 

  That’s when I glanced across the tent and saw Roger Thibault, the man to beat, standing and talking. I ventured a little closer to the crowd and listened closely. Everyone was certain he would be the winner, and I was happy to know that my score was within 10 points of his score. 

 Although it was only my second year competing in the triple crown, I felt like I could give it a good run at the title, but I also knew I had to close the gap on Roger. The next tournament, I held my own and finished in the top 10 again, which at the time was quite an accomplishment with all the top-level shooters in New England. When the results came out for the second leg, I was excited to see that I had made the top peer group, and I would get my first opportunity to compete with Roger in the same group. He had a substantial lead on me, but I was sitting comfortably in third place, 26 points behind him and Al Lane, who where both tied. 

  When I arrived at the third leg in Rhode Island, the weather was anything but cooperative. Heavy winds and a strong storm ripped through the area before the start of the tournament on Saturday. When the group was called, I headed to get my cards. Once there, Roger extended his hand and said, “So you’re the new up and comer everyone has been tellin me about, eh?” 

  I shook his hand and said, “I’m not sure about that, but I’m glad to meet you.” Meanwhile, Steph Hamner, who was in the second group, shouted, “Keep an eye on that kid, Roger. I’m coming to get him.” They laughed back and forth, and we headed toward the first target. A wind gust ripped through the vendor area and toppled an outhouse. Arriving at the first target, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was a McKenzie rock rascal, the standing woodchuck, at about 48 yards, and it was set down a lane in a wide open field about 20 yards behind where a rock fence had a gap in it, which made the target look even further away. 

 Of the four shooters in our group, Roger was the only one who ended up in the vital area. The rest of us took fives on it. When the weekend was done, I had closed the gap on Al Lane, but Roger ended up crushing everyone, winning by more than 20 points. Al ended up beating me out for the runner-up position by one point. 

  After that weekend, I had Roger's respect. He always went out of his way to see how I was doing ,and he always asked about my dad. He and my dad shared the same birthday, although Roger was born a year before him. As time moved forward and I had many interactions with him, I learned how fierce of a competitor he was no matter what type of tournament he was participating in. He went to win, and winning was the only thing that mattered. He was always full of confidence and played a lot of head games with other shooters. Many times, he actually referenced how solid my mental game was because I didn't let anyone bother me or affect my shooting process. I took great pride in that because I always listened to my fellow competitors who had caved in while in his presence. He was just one of those guys whose name intimidated others. If his name didn't get to some people, his presence in their group definitely did the trick. 

  He was always the man to beat. Eventually, I made my presence known when I beat him and many of the other big names at some of the bigger shoots in New England, especially one of the years at the IBO Massachusetts state championship, in which there were more than 500 shooters.

  Of all of the things I watched Roger accomplish, nothing impressed me more than the first year I saw him shoot in the pro class at the IBO Worlds. He was just shy of 50 and showed up looking as redneck as a redneck could look. He walked to the tent carrying his camouflage Oregon bow with duct tape all over the limbs and wires holding his sight and rest together. I'm still not sure if it was just a head game he played or if the actually needed all of that crap on his bow. Either way, I thought it was awesome and eventually used some of the plays out of his playbook during my archery career: if you don't look the part, people don't expect anything from you and are amazed when you start kicking their ass.

  Anyhow, the first day of the Worlds that year, Roger was on the top of the pro scoreboard with a 198 (10,8,5 scoring). He had shot one 8 for the day. All of the big name pros scurried around the tent and tried finding out who Roger Thibault was...........because he lit it up. Roger loved every minute of it. His confidence wasn't lacking and he made himself known to everyone. Although many of the pros couldn't accept that a guy with no sponsors and a bow patched with duct tape was leading the pack, Roger went about his business like he always did. 

  Since our starting times were similar the next day, I spoke to him when he arrived at the tent. I was going out a little bit before him, so I wished him luck and told him to hold it together. I happened to notice he didn't have the same bow that he had the day before. Now, he had a camouflage Darton in his hands and acted like nothing was any different than the previous day. He said he felt that bow gave him the best chance on that day. I'm still amazed by what I witnessed.

  When the dust cleared, Roger had just missed the cut. I was really disappointed for him. I wanted the guy whom nobody had every heard about to take all of the big guys down. Although I can't prove it, I actually think many of the guys in the clique were happy that he struggled a little bit the second day and missed the cut. 

  Well, that was the end of that. Roger ended up signing on with Mathews and tore up the Senior Pro tour shortly after that incident at the IBO World. He went on to win the IBO World and the IBO National Triple Crown. 

  Roger's presence in New England made me a better shooter. He made me want to work harder and get as good as I could possibly get. Although I never reached the heights that he or many others in New England reached, I feel pretty good about the path that I followed along the way. I climbed some brutal mountains and reached the top a few times, and that is because Roger always pushed me, even when he was no longer shooting in the same class as me.  Not only did Roger make me better, he made every competitive 3D archery in New England better. His influence will never be matched in 3D archery in New England. There will never be another person who will compare to him. 

  Although we have some great archers now, nobody dominates like he once dominated. Now, there are a handful of guys who can shoot the highest score of the longest stake at any given shoot. It randomly rotates from week to week, with the same person very rarely running off two winning shoots in a row. However, Roger very rarely lost at all in New England when he was in his prime. It was incredibly to watch and be a part of. 

  I shared many dinner with Steph Hamner, Bob Rowe, Ryan Rowe, Roger and my dad. We would always catch dinner after the shoots in New England or at a national event. We had many great laughs and discussed a lot of things about archery. I'll be forever thankful for being able to shoot with Roger on a number of occasions. He taught me to be confident, mentally strong and to never quit, all things that have served me well while shooting. 

  New England has always been known for producing some great 3D shooters, having many IBO World Champions come from the region, but none of it would have been possible without Roger's presence. 

  When I heard of his passing last month while I was on the road, Eric Griggs wrote a few of his thoughts about Roger. He could't have been more spot on with what he said. Although I've never had the type of success that either one of those guys achieved, I had something happen a few years ago that still makes me  proud. When Bryan Hunt posted a bunch of IBO Northeast Triple Crown awards on the IBO Northeast Facebook page and asked if anyone could identify who had won all of them, I felt incredibly honored when almost every person said that it had to have been Roger Thibault who had won them. Amazingly, it was me who had won the awards. I took the picture of the awards and sent them to Bryan, and he posted them with the question. I feel very fortunate to have been mentioned in the same breath as Roger. I guess if people thought it was him, I must have had a good run in my time, too. 

  Over the last handful of years, I saw Roger a few times at some of the shoots in New England. I saw him at Lakeside in Maine, and I saw him at the Rhode Island shoot. He was shooting left handed, and he was still beating people soundly, even doing it left handed...............he never ceased to amaze me. 

  I could go on and on, but you probably all get the point by now. Roger was an icon in our region and will always be remembered, especially by me.......as an incredible archer but more as a friend. I'll miss him, and I will always remember the sound of his voice. His voice was as unique of a voice as I've ever heard. It wasn't hard to pick out in a crowd of people. 

 When you head to the shoots across New England next year try to remember the great ones we have lost in recent years, including Steph Hamner, Roger Griggs and Roger Thibault. All of these guys left lasting impressions on me, and I'm thankful for having them in my life. Thanks guys for giving me unforgettable memories. I'm not sure if Mathews archery every knew how great of an ambassador Roger was for them, but I can tell you that he's one of the best who ever wore their colors. He went out of his way to promote the product and always spoke highly of his equipment, even if he was struggling.