Steady. Strong. True.

Archery, sport, and even life isn't always, and is only rarely as glamorous as we may portray it online. Sharing the excitement of your highs is fantastic, but it sometimes hides the truth, the journey of what it took to get there.

Archery, sport, and even life isn’t always, and is only rarely as glamorous as we may portray it online. Sharing the excitement of your highs is fantastic, but it sometimes hides the truth; the journey of what it took to get there. And knowing that journey can be far more exciting, or important to share rather than just the destination.

Be the one you needed.

I remember when I was maybe…

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Wow, what an experience; I have just returned home from the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. The weather was calm & cool but the competition was on fire. This was my first multi-sport games and third international competition. I’m so proud of what the team accomplished here and how we were all there for each other through the highs and the lows.

The practice days went really well as we settled into the daily routine at the Pan-Am Village. Mariessa, Virginie, and I really enjoyed chatting with athletes and staff from all the other countries on our quest to trade pins and to collect them all. The weather was fantastic for archery; calm, overcast, with maybe just a little too much cold. And we had the opportunity to hang out with Canadian athletes from other sports in the lounge while cheering on our Canadian teammates on TV.

Welcome session.

Me & Milco, just chillin’.

Thank you Mariessa for sharing this photo of the Canadian PanAm kit.

The food was been really good, I’m going to miss it.

In competition, I settled in quickly and found a groove to eventually improve upon my personal best by 22 points in the ranking round, placing me in 7th just 2 points behind 5th! Our men’s, women’s, and mixed teams all seeded a solid 4th! Practice and competition continued feeling really strong throughout the week. After a good start in individual eliminations, I lost my first round match in a close 6-4 battle with Maira Sepulveda of Columbia. But I was able to maintain focus and keep my emotions and stress under control during my first mixed team competition with veteran teammate Crispin Duenas which included my first two televised head-to-head matches on the big stage! In the end, we unfortunately lost two hard fought matches to the USA in the semi-finals and to Mexico in the bronze medal match to finish in 4th place. The men’s team won gold, Crispin and Eric won gold and bronze individually, and the women’s team finished in 7th. This team has a great dynamic and we are growing closer & stronger by the day!

Team selfie!

Getting some practice in.

Virgine, Stephanie, and Mariessa exploring the Village.

This week was a huge success for me and my development. Not only did I shoot a PB, but I was able to maintain that quality throughout the week as the pressure and the stakes increased. All of the support and preparation has definitely paid off; thank you so much to each and every one of you! Without your support, this year would have looked very different. Looking forward to next year, we will have two more opportunities in the spring (Mexico & Germany) to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 olympics. Please continue to follow/like/share/donate to support our journey to Olympic Gold!

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Seven archers en route to Lima for the 2019 Pan American Games

Canadian Archers Claim Double Gold & an Olympic Quota Place at Pan Am Games

Lima 2019 Pan American Games Results

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2019 Pan-American Games Wow, what an experience; I have just returned home from the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. The weather was calm & cool but the competition was on fire.

Well, I seemed to have done it again. Several more months have flown by without a post from me. I did partially start this blog as a journal for myself, but now that I’m using an actual journal, I sometimes find that it feels a little redundant to write it all out again. But it’s not, it’s helpful to write detailed notes immediately after a training session or tournament, just as it’s also useful to reflect and summarize them later on as well. So now that Spring is almost here, let’s walk through the Fall and Winter together and I’ll show you what I’ve been up to.

First, a quick recap of the Fall. I spent much of the Fall and early winter working on some technique changes, partly tiny optimizations, but also little tweaks to help avoid injury. This is an ongoing process, and it’s very helpful for you and your coach to work with a Physiotherapist to help identify issues that may appear with overuse, or to develop alternate movement patterns that may work better for you, and most importantly, to avoid injury.

Through the rest of the Winter, I worked hard on not only increasing my weekly arrow volume, but also on developing mental techniques and strategies to help deal with distractions, stress, and anxiety, both on and off the shooting line. Additionally, I began working on realistic goal setting procedures. The first real test for my mental game was at the 2019 Lancaster Archery Classic.

I felt a lot more confident this year than I did last year, but I think I had also put some extra expectations on myself that caused some unintentional stress. While my mental strategies worked well and helped me to recover from a poor shot, I found I had difficulty using them on every shot like I had practiced. But that’s a good thing, my results may not have been what I expected, but I learned a lot from the experience that I’ll be able to take forward into my practice and into future competitions. Here’s a good example of a mental game test, in case you were wondering what it looks like when you have an equipment failure and have to shoot a make up end .. alone .. with everyone watching:

Learning from day one, the second day went much better. While I lost my match, I succeeded in meeting (and exceeding) my performance goals!

Much of these new skills has been developed by working with the National Development and Identification Squad, lead by former national head coach Joan McDonald. It’s a wonderful group of athletes, constantly pushing and encouraging each other to do better; to be better. Sometimes, we need a break from the pressure and intensity of training, and what better way to relax and have fun than a gingerbread house building and decorating party!?

  Most of the time we talk about results, performance, and what was learned at a competition, but I think it’s important to talk about the less glamorous parts of the sport too. It takes a team to make an athlete, and archery is no exception. Most athletes (if not ALL athletes) would not be where they are today without the help and support of friends, family, teammates, and club members. It’s all of these people that help with travel, planning, training, scheduling, equipment maintenance, and SO much more. As an example, at the Peel Archery Club and The Archers of Caledon, we close the range to repair all of the butts at least 2 or 3 times a year. Without the help of club members, this process would take much longer, and at times be more than a couple people could handle; those mobile butts are so heavy we need a crane!

I am very thankful and grateful that my hard work, passion, and performance improvements have been noticed with an invitation to attend one of the national team’s week long training camps in Florida. It was great opportunity and a lot of hard work, it was a very enjoyable and rewarding week of training with Team Canada. Not only was it great to get some outdoor shooting in before the season starts next month, but I learned so much and gained some valuable new mental tools to add to my collection. I’m thankful for the opportunity to shoot with, learn from, and to build friendships with the team. Look out, world!

Immediately after returning home from the training camp, I had the opportunity to put the new, and existing, techniques and strategies to good use at the Ontario Provincial Championships, followed a week later by the Canadian National Championships, and a selection camp for the team travelling to Chile at the end of March for a Pan-Am Games qualification tournament. It was a pretty intense month of training and competition, but a good opportunity to test and implement my mental strategies, especially toward the end where the intensity ramped up just as I was getting sick.

At Provincials, I had a big oops toward the end, but I was shooting really well and had found a good flow and mental state, allowing my to stick to my strategies and hold out to win gold by a few points.

A week later, at Nationals, I had a slow start and started getting into my head a little. At the break, I was able to talk with my coach and friends, which allowed me to mentally reset and refocus on my process. I managed to shoot a personal best second half of 290/300 (my first ever 290), and win the silver medal. This was the day where I started feeling sick, but I knew I the next two days were extremely important since they were the selection camp. I got as much rest, and took lots of notes about all the things I had learned in the past couple weeks.

The morning of Day 1 of the camp started really well with a new 36 arrow 70m personal best of 318/360, but toward the end of the second set of 36 arrows, the sickness began to hit me. The effort of drawing the bow was quite a lot, and I had to take a while between arrows to catch my breath and recover from the effort exerted. Thankfully, I was shooting next to a wall I could use for balance between arrows. I still managed a 301 second half for a new 70m personal best of 619/720! The rest of the camp went very similar to that, I’d get some rest overnight and at lunch, but after a few hours, I was spent. Those were two long, rewarding days spent with some of the strongest, kindest, and most passionate women I know. Their friendship and support make the hardest days so much easier! Since it’s now official, I can announce that I am one of 9 athletes selected to the Final Pan American Games Qualifier in Santiago Chile!

After taking a week to recover from being ill, I’m finding it really difficult to get back into the groove that I had found myself in earlier in the month; my strength and conditioning have both declined a little. With just less than two weeks before we leave for Chile, I’ll be working extra hard to not only regain what I lost, but to improve it while also avoiding injury and getting sick again. Representing Canada at the international level has long been a dream for me, and I don’t plan on letting my country down. This opportunity to test myself and my strategies at a higher level fits right into my plan to continue learning and improving on my journey to win Olympic Gold.

Taking into account my expected competition, travel, and equipment expenses for this year, I have decided to start a Go Fund Me Campaign to help offset some of the costs. Please have a look at the campaign, share it, and if you can, please donate; every little bit helps! Additionally, please share and donate to my teammate Mariessa as well!

Our current women’s team is getting stronger, and now that our national development program is taking shape, I can tell you to watch out for Team Canada to have a very strong international showing over the next several years!

End of 2018-19 Indoor Season Well, I seemed to have done it again. Several more months have flown by without a post from me.

I had a very enjoyable and rewarding week of training last week with team Canada in Florida. Not only was it great to get some outdoor shooting in before the season starts next month, but I learned so much and gained some valuable new mental tools to add to my collection. I’m thankful for the opportunity to shoot with, learn from, and to build friendships with the team. Look out, world! PC: @benjamen.02 #archery #teamcanada #florida #training @hoyttargetarchery #eastonarrows #beiter #shibuya_archery #ramrodsarchery #sbarchery (at Bear Archery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuUvyVjAiUc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=th4g06jkma28

2018 Autumn Update

I guess it’s been a few months since my last post … let’s see, what’s been going on? Well, I have been pretty busy working on some technical changes to my form, hitting the gym with Norm, and enjoying a little time off from competition.

The form changes have settled in and are feeling really good. Recently, we’ve transitioned to working a bit on the mental side of my shot process; which is…

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I’m super excited to start using these new #Hoyt Formula Carbon 840 limbs! #bowsofchampions @hoyttargetarchery https://www.instagram.com/p/Bob9T7snVMY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qvrfxh1qkkbu

2018 Buckeye Classic

This outdoor season feels like it flew by! There is still one more Caledon shoot coming up, but the summer is pretty much complete. To cap it off, we took a drive to the USA to shoot one of their USAT tournaments; the Buckeye Classic in Dublin, Ohio. The USAT (United States Archery Team) Qualifier Series is a series of four tournaments that USA Archeryuses to help determine their national teams.…

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Wow, what a week! Norm and I drove the ~1700 km to Truro, NS, alternating drivers every few hours for the 2018 Canadian Field & Target Championships. Although the drive was long and exhausting, the landscape of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Eastern Quebec was absolutely stunning (plus we saved a lot of money over flying).

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For the most part, the weather was amazing. It went from calm, hot, and humid for the Field shoot, to pleasantly warm with a strong headwind for the Target qualifications, then some really strange changing winds for the Canadian Open.

Practice ends for the Junior/Senior gold medal matches.

The finalists of the Junior/Senior Female Recurve Canadian Open.

I managed to keep mentally confident and stick to my focus plan which allowed me to score pretty well in all three events; well enough to win gold in the Archery Canada Field Championship, Target Championship, and in the Canadian Open too!

Congratulations to all of the competitors and thank you to Archery Canada, Archers Association of Nova Scotia, the organizing committee, and all of the volunteers and sponsors for an amazing week of tournaments! Nova Scotia is a beautiful province and I had a great time exploring this past week; I can’t wait to come back!

Special thank you to Canada Archery Online for your support!

2018 Canadian Field & Target Championships Wow, what a week! Norm and I drove the ~1700 km to Truro, NS, alternating drivers every few hours for the 2018 Canadian Field & Target Championships.

#Repost @canadaarcheryonline with @get_repost ・・・ Built for this. #archery #recurve #hoyt #olympics #sports #canada #picoftheday #instagood #arrows #classic #traditional (at Marshland Golf Driving Range)

2018 OAA Target Championships

2018 OAA Target Championships

I didn’t place as well at this year’s Ontario Target Championship as compared to last year, but there are so many good/positive things I’m taking home with me! First, and most importantly, I didn’t injury myself! 😛

The only time it was cloudy all weekend was during Saturday’s official practice. 📷: Elvina Chew

In archery, like many sports, your scores tend to go through peaks and valleys, usually…

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Had another hot practice yesterday (probably shouldn't have worn cotton) and some recent physical and mental form changes have started to settle in; my shot is starting to feel really good again! I even got a group to go #running after #practice #traintogetherwintogether #archersofcaledon #archerylife #archeryfriends #practicemakesprogress (at The Archers of Caledon)

Shooting my own #archery #worldcup at @archersofcaledon in my head with the #mentalmanagementsystem (at The Archers of Caledon)

‪Just finished week 4 day 1 of #C25K® on #Android with @c25kfree! I feel like week 3 to 4 was a big jump, there were a few moments when I didn’t think I would finish the running segment, especially when going uphill; but I did it! #perseverance #run #running #health #fitness #workout #training‬

I can’t believe it’s been TWO YEARS already and as is [what’s becoming] tradition (or just coincidence), Norm and I shot our first outdoor tournament of the season at The Archers of Caledon‘s first tournament of the season 😛

Tournament setup is complete..

..just as the Sun is setting.

The weather was relatively calm all weekend, and warm. However, Saturday started with light showers, turning to mist and fog. It was a new experience for us, but really cool. It definitely made for an amazing photo opportunity, unfortunately I didn’t take any. Sunday started cloudy and eventually turned into full sun, with a slight crosswind all day.

I have definitely improved over the winter, as three of my four scores were higher than anything I had shot all of last year, and I was able to learn from my one lower score which is now helping me to improve and reinforce some mental habits I found were lacking a little.

Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around all that we have accomplished in the past year. Between all the training, travelling, and tournaments, the time has really flown by! We are beginner archery coaches, and we’ve been told somewhat of a mentor to some of the younger archers at our club too! For me, that’s what it’s all about; learning and improving my knowledge and skills so that I can be a better mentor and teacher to others, while we all have a great time getting outside and being active.

A calm, warm evening at the range with friends, shooting in the fading light of the setting sun. #archery #olympicrecurve #targetarchery #canada #archersofcaledon #beiter #xswings #hoyt #easton #shibuya #shrewd #doinker #pilla #jager #championher #womenwhoshoot #training #tillthesungoesdown (at The Archers of Caledon)

My bow has started tapping my leg again! #archery #training #olympicrecurve #doubletap (at The Archers of Caledon)

This is definitely one of my favourite parts of my morning runs; a short section through the bush with the morning sun making its way between the trees. #morning #training #c25k #jog #trillium #myhappyplace