By FresYes Guest Blogger Gianna Triplett
With August just around the corner, summer vacation has passed its peak. Your kids are getting restless and you are sick of cartoons and Fortnite playing on the TV 24/7. Well, I have just the activity that will allow your kids to pass the time and allow you to finally enjoy an hour or two of quiet around the house for these last few weeks before school starts.
When you think of most sports, the image that comes to mind is two teams fighting for a ball, running up and down a field, and scoring goals. But not all sports require you to be so active, and one of the best sports for kids to engage in has no contact or running at all, making it a great choice for those who aren’t willing or able to be running around in the heat. Allow me to introduce to you, archery. Now, you might think that putting a bow and arrow in the hands of a 12-year-old might be a bad idea, but trust me, there are many pros to archery and its extensive list of rules that can teach kids many valuable life lessons.
Here in Fresno, there are many places that offer archery courses and one-day lessons for people of all ages and ability levels. Break the Barriers offers monthly archery classes for people to come and shoot once a week. They have kids-only classes or mixed kids and adults, and all the equipment is provided! There are also two archery shops in Fresno, The Spot and Impact Archery. At these stores, you can purchase equipment as well as try out their ranges, where your kids (and you) can take lessons. Once they learn the ins and outs of archery, they can go to the range anytime for more practice. The Spot is located in West Fresno, while Impact Archery is on Clovis Ave, so there is fun to be had on both sides of town.
There are multiple rules to the sport of archery that ensure that the sport does not become dangerous, and archers have often found that having to learn and follow these rules has taught them greater life lessons. When shooting in a tournament, for example, archers have certain behavior and dress codes that they have to follow. While other archers are shooting, it is expected that those not shooting are quiet so the shooter can focus; this teaches young archers to respect others and to give each person a chance to shoot their best shot. The tournament dress code is there so archers all look nice and it teaches kids how to dress respectfully and properly for events. These are things that go beyond any sport and help teach young people to be presentable and respectful in everyday life. Imagine if, the next time your child was participating is a group activity, they waited patiently for their turn and were polite when they were done!
If your kids decide they want to continue the sport, there are many programs in Fresno for kids to shoot with other people their age and even compete in tournaments. There are multiple JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) groups in the Central Valley that meet once or twice a week so kids can practice shooting and even collect pins marking their improvement in the sport. Kids also have the chance to travel and compete in archery tournaments around the state. Even though you do not hear about archery very often, there are hundreds of children shooting in California. It is like you’re entering a whole new sporting world you didn’t even know was there.
Here at FresYes, we love trying new things, it’s the only way to discover new hobbies and occupy our free time (which during the summer we all have way too much of). So next time you have a spare hour after work, grab your kids and head on over to one of Fresno’s archery shops and impress your friends and family with your new skill with a bow and arrow.
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