I'm not sure where to start, but this story begins when winter was giving way to spring. We all began heading onto the 3D courses and preparing for our trek across the country to participate in the IBO National Triple Crown. Some people from our region were newbies who had never shot in all three legs, and other of us are seasoned veterans who have been doing it for more years than the youngsters have been alive. My friends Sara and Ted kay have been on this journey as long as me and my tribe have been on it. I believe our time traveling to IBO nationals goes back to the early 1990s when we all headed to Flatwoods, W.V., to participate in the IBO World. While none of us had much experience, we did get the bug... and as they say, the rest is history.
Sara and Ted began traveling to the events, and before long, she began sipping from the celebratory cup of champions. She became a force in the New England region and found her passion to be her favorite pastime. She could escape the daily stress of life by shooting her bow. As her daughter, Kathryn, began heading toward adulthood, they shared many times on 3D archery courses all over New England... and a star was born. The star was Sara, and most women who participated in 3D in our region dreamed of sipping from the success cup that runneth over at the Kays' house. The passion continued burning and the desire to stay at the top became stronger.
Then Sara, like myself, turned 50. At first Kathryn was upset because her mother decided to shoot in the female senior class rather than FBO. Sara stuck to her guns and decided to do what she originally chose to do. Kathryn told her she was better than all of those old ladies and she would be better off to stay in her class and compete with her against all of the other women. However, age has a way of affecting people in archery, and the others can't recognize the changes from the outside. The changes are small, but they are difference makers. We can no longer hold as steady or as long as we once could. We lose muscle mass and become weaker. We can't see the definition on targets that we used to be able to see, and we become tired after a long day on the course.
Although it was three years ago when Sara decided to move to the senior class, she did it with confidence. After all, Jeff Wagoner, Sara, and me are all 3-year-olds right now. We were all born in 1969, so we call ourselves the 3-year-olds. We are 50 with three years of experience.
Back to early spring when Sara came to my dad's to shoot. She was struggling mightily with losing her peep. She had stayed awake at night trying to figure out the cause of the problems. She went to see Mike Price, one of the most recognized coaches in the country, to get some advice and spend the day with him. As Mike does with most people, he built Sara's confidence and told her she was making great shots. Mike always has a way of making students feel better after seeing him, even if he sends them off with a few things to improve. It's always good to have Mike on your side. He's the best archery therapist out there in my opinion. One sentence from him could turn your outlook on a tournament around.
Sara felt like she had lost her longtime go-to guy, Sean Roberts, because life got in the way of archery for Sean, and his attention needed to be on his kids instead of archery. She felt bad by asking him for help with a few things, but that all changed when she called me one morning and we talked for a while. Sean was more than happy to help her, and he did help her. Within a few weeks, she was back on track and ready to take on the world. Well, at least she was in my mind, as Sara always struggles with understanding the reality of her accomplishments with a bow and arrow. She's a winner, and she has won almost everything you can win in our region and on a national level in the IBO. After she found out how to win, she continued her winning ways and never stopped. She might not throttle her competitors, but she's always in the hunt. Sometimes she's like a "snake in the grass," as she slithers around silently while her competitors do their thing, and she comes out of nowhere to find herself on the podium. Others do not fear her because of her small stature, but they do know they're fighting a gladiator when she steps into the arena. She will hit them with a thousand blows, and she will withstand everything they throw at her. She did just that for the first two legs of the IBO National Triple Crown this year. She took the punches and smiled while silently gritting her teeth and putting the work in at home. She drove her husband, Ted, to pull his hair out, because all he wanted was for her to shoot well and succeed. Archery is her escape. Archery is her life. She knew she had more in the tank, but couldn't find a way to tap into it.
A few weeks before heading to Nelsonville, she attended the second leg of the Northeast IBO Triple Crown and had a good performance, which helped her build confidence and get ready to tackle the steep task ahead of her: she needed to make up 17 points in one shoot to win the National Triple Crown. While it's not impossible, it's highly unlikely when you're competing against the best shooters in the country.
Sara has always respected the talent of other archers, especially the women she competes against. While she might not show it on the outside, she sometimes lets the aura of accomplished archers get in her way and fails to realize her strengths are the weaknesses of others: Sara can judge yardage with the best of them, and she can shoot under pressure when she needs too. History does not lie. However, she has a tendency to look past many of her accomplishments and often forgets these things, as she's always seeking the next win.
Once in Nelsonville for the third leg, she found herself ready to take on "The Challenge" as they used to call the third leg. Many archers have succumbed to "The Challenge" and folded under the pressure of the third leg. Not only do the courses test every technical ability of a 3D shooter, they test the mental capacity of all shooters who find themselves in peer groups.
So when I texted Sara the week prior to the event, I made it short and sweet. This is the message.
After sending her the message, I went forward with my preparations. I was in a much different place mentally than I had been all year. I was looking forward to getting to the tournament to test my newfound confidence.
With the way things were set up at the tournament, I didn't see many people I knew were attending. That's how it works with these things sometimes. However, I did see Sara after she completed her first 30 targets and she informed me that that she had cut into the deficit and would shoot to the best of her ability over the last 10 targets. Although there wasn't much hope for winning the Triple Crown, she still felt good about where she stood.
Going into the tournament, Sara recalled the death -- and life -- of her mother, who passed away 18 years ago. She would've turned 75 on July 13, a few days prior to the event. In honor of her mother, Sara decided to choose an arrow with a 7 or a 13 on it in hopes her mother would walk amongst her group and watch over her. Although she didn't have an unlucky #13, she did have a 7, so she hopped on the 7-train and decided to ride it to the finish line.
Over the course of the 40 targets, the arrow seemed to have a life of its own. Dip-bangs found their way into the 10-ring, and wobbly, weak shots never found their way into the 8-ring. Instead, the arrow seemed to have a life of its own. Ol' No. 7 was there for a reason, a reason unbeknownst to anyone other than the arrow itself. Sara stayed consciously alert and allowed her subconscious mind to help her through the last 10 targets, after all, she is a winner. She learned how to win as a young woman and never stopped winning. She learned from the failures and used the knowledge to sharpen the skills that led to defeat in other instances. She was now the queen of the kingdom, and the pawns stepped aside while she climbed the stairs to sit on the throne. Some pawns stared at the queen in awe, while others hid behind trees and watched her walk past. A few even peered through the holes in the rock walls surrounding the estate. They all wanted to get a look, yet some old farmers never turned their heads. Instead, they looked straight ahead and watched the horses pull the plows. There was still work to done before the sun set, and there was no time to stare at nobility.
After firing her last arrow of the tournament, she learned that she was in a tie for the overall National Triple Crown title, which would be decided by a one-arrow shootoff, and the arrow landing closest to center would determine the winner..... pressure at its finest. Ol' No. 7 was going to fly again.
Although I was involved in my own shootoff in the Senior Pro division, I spotted Sara sitting near target 1, so I made note of it and figured I would go visit her when I finished. My first two shots were a little shaky, but I pulled it together and shot three of the best shots I've ever shot to finish the shootdown round. When I shot the Corsican ram, I made one of my best shots in recent memory and figured I smoked it when the string cut loose from the release. Glancing at it with my binoculars, it looked like it caught the line at 6 o'clock. However, I had missed the yardage by a few yards, and the arrow was scored an 8.
Well, after finishing, I walked over to Sara and Ted to chat for a few minutes, and she told me what she was up against. Trying to keep her in the moment, I told her to just go make a good shot. If you make a good shot, you can never complain about the result. Your good shot will not always be better than someone else's, but you will never have to look back on it and wonder what could've been had you not given it away and let someone beat you because you weren't at your best. When I lose, I want to be at my best.
With that, I said goodbye to Sara and Ted and headed back to New York. I would have to wait to hear what happened. I found out that, although Sara lost the coin flip, her competitor chose to let Sara shoot first. That's something I would never do. I would want to go first to put all of the pressure on my opponent. A 10-ring suddenly becomes smaller than an 11 when you have to hit it to win.
Amazingly, the target they had to shoot was the same Corsican ram on which I executed a perfect shot a short time earlier. When Sara came to full draw, she was nervous, but told herself to keep pulling and make a perfect shot. When the arrow struck the ram at 6 o'clock below the 10-ring, she still felt good about it because she gave it everything she had and made the best shot she could make under the circumstances. That was a victory in itself.
The thunder had quit banging off the southern Ohio hills, and everything seemed relatively calm after she shot her arrow. She quietly sat back and accepted the journey and everything it took to get to that shootoff for the title. She was good with it and proud about how much ground she had made up. Now, she would watch her opponent.
When the other girl's string cut loose from her anchor point, time stood still. The arrow started it's arc toward the sky before cresting and beginning it's flight back down toward the target. As the arrow appeared in slow-motion, Sara's mom watched with her, standing by her side. She was unheard, unfelt, and she was watching her child. Knowing every kid can't win, she knew her daughter would accept the outcome and be satisfied with it. She had taught her those things before she left her, but being by her side on this occasion was more than she could ever ask for. Although she wasn't in the form of Mom, she was Ol' No. 7, and she waited to be returned to her daughter's quiver.
Then, the silence of southern Ohio was broken as the arrow struck the target. It had hit high and out of the 10 ring. It was farther from the center than Sara's arrow. Sara held Ol' No. 7 tightly and was grateful her mom had traveled with her for the entire weekend. Ol No. 7 smiled her daughter's snarky smile, winked and said, "I'm proud of you. Congratulations. You are the National Triple Crown Champion."
A few days later, my phone beeped and this is what showed up:
I'm always happier to see my friends win than I am to win myself. During my rough stretches, I try to remember that my friends are a direct reflection of myself. That's why I try to help anyone I can help. We all have our ups and downs, but I'm the kind who doesn't like others to be able to tell how I shot according to how I act. The picture below demonstrates that. Sara and I had both made the cut at the IBO World in 2019, and I went into the shootoff in 2nd place. I shot strong all weekend and did alright in the shootoff. However I ricocheted off an arrow in the 11, resulting in an 8, and a target had tipped over and was unshootable, so I ran back to the tent to have someone come fix it so my group could shoot it. Unfortunately, it mentally took its toll with the distance I had to cover and everything that happened in between. I had to lead the target and ended up with a five. I never reached the podium. It was partly my own fault, but Sara's success that year allowed me to be satisfied.
Sara always makes time for others and always wishes people luck along the way. She constantly roots for people to succeed and she enjoys their success as much as her own. There are not many people who are cut from the same cloth. She is also thankful for all of her sponsors, including Hoyt Archery, Shrewd, Easton, Stanislawski, and her fellow Connecticut native, Nunzio of AEP products.
So from one Snake in the Grass to another Snake in the Grass, congratulations on putting the crown on your head. You definitely earned this one, and we, as a region, are proud of you. I'll wear my crown alongside you in recognition of the incredible feat you pulled off.
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