CamoMan
New Member
This last week, I visited Wildwood Hills Ranch near St. Charles, to see how their new archery program is doing at their summer camps. The IBA very graciously donated six Genesis bows and several dozen arrows this spring. Delta donated three very nice targets. About two dozen summer counselors were trained by three Iowawhitetail members in early June. The ranch has now held two one-week camps, and I wanted to stop by and see how it was going. Thursday afternoon, I was there as they were getting ready for the afternoon session. Nine kids were signed up for this session, and a couple came by later. Three counselors were there, and each worked with one camper at a time, giving them basic shooting instructions, and very strict safety instructions. Each turn consisted of 5 arrows, and each kid was able to have 3-4 turns before time ran out.
The counselors are young, but I was impressed with their maturity and leadership – and these kids do need leadership. The campers come from some tough environments, and many have parents who are struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, and the kids sometimes have stories that would floor you. If you read about these kids, and heard their stories, you would probably be uncomfortable around them. They are high-maintenance kids. But when you meet them and spend some time with them, it’s another story. They want to have fun, accomplish things, and feel like they have worth.
That is where the archery program becomes a great tool. You should see their faces light up when they shoot a bulls-eye, or maybe just hit the target for the first time. I don’t think a lot of these kids expect to have much success at things, and it’s fun to see them when they find out that they can pull the bow back, and really make that little arrow hit the target several yards away. Some that were shooting had done it earlier in the week, and were coming back for more. And some were pretty darn good shots.
This program is just the first step in a mentoring program that will be created to work with some of the older children that have been campers, and are being groomed as future counselors. We will eventually acquire some bigger bows, and have indoor and outdoor shoots year round. The adults will be able to mentor the kids, and hopefully . . . hopefully, steer some of these kids down a life path that they otherwise wouldn’t be on.
Thank you IBA !!!!!!
The counselors are young, but I was impressed with their maturity and leadership – and these kids do need leadership. The campers come from some tough environments, and many have parents who are struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, and the kids sometimes have stories that would floor you. If you read about these kids, and heard their stories, you would probably be uncomfortable around them. They are high-maintenance kids. But when you meet them and spend some time with them, it’s another story. They want to have fun, accomplish things, and feel like they have worth.
That is where the archery program becomes a great tool. You should see their faces light up when they shoot a bulls-eye, or maybe just hit the target for the first time. I don’t think a lot of these kids expect to have much success at things, and it’s fun to see them when they find out that they can pull the bow back, and really make that little arrow hit the target several yards away. Some that were shooting had done it earlier in the week, and were coming back for more. And some were pretty darn good shots.
This program is just the first step in a mentoring program that will be created to work with some of the older children that have been campers, and are being groomed as future counselors. We will eventually acquire some bigger bows, and have indoor and outdoor shoots year round. The adults will be able to mentor the kids, and hopefully . . . hopefully, steer some of these kids down a life path that they otherwise wouldn’t be on.
Thank you IBA !!!!!!
