Archery teaches children responsibility and confidence. It’s an individual sport, not a team sport, so a child never has to feel as if they let the rest of the team down. In archery, you’re simply competing with yourself, always trying to top your own score and improve your skill.
~~Sam Coy, Property Manager & Vocational Skills Instructor
Thanks in large part to Sam and one of our Home Parent Dads, Josh McCaskey, we have some children who are enjoying learning the sport of archery out at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. One particular nine-year-old girl took it so seriously that she worked hard in the arena all summer long, saving her earnings in order to purchase her very first bow.
“I grew up in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and my wife and I raised our kids that way as well,” Sam said. “We taught them from a young age how to safely use firearms and archery equipment. I believe any activity that gets kids outdoors instead of sitting around the house is great. I love being outdoors.
“When Josh started helping the kids with archery, I decided we needed to make it the best we can while working with what we’ve got. The range area slopes downhill a bit, but we set it up so everyone can be safe and not lose too many arrows.”
“I’ve been involved with 4-H shooting sports for years, and I love it,” Sam concluded. “I love working with the kids. We want to do all we can to make this a fun experience for them.”
“I really appreciate Sam!” Home Parent Dad Josh McCaskey said. “I had the idea of having a backstop for the kids when they practiced shooting archery, but then Sam brought it to life and made this entire archery range happen behind The Hubbell Home in our Harrisburg, MO community.”
“When a child first sees the bow and arrow, they think it’s the coolest thing in the world,” Josh explained. “As we start to teach them in the archery program, they have to learn the discipline and safety that goes along with shooting at the range. There’s a lot of coaching in that. As they begin learning the technique of shooting, they realize it’s not like some of the cool movies they’ve watched, where the hero is shooting a bow any and every which way.”
“They have a lot of fun learning the sport. The first few times they shoot, the arrow goes off to the side or over the target. But once they start hitting the target, they feel incredibly accomplished having learned a skill. It’s a really big confidence booster for them.”
