Boys and girls are taking aim

Suzie Harrison

Archery is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when

thinking about sports, but it is one of the oldest sports known to

man. Some speculate that the first bows and arrows were crafted as

early as 50,000 BC.

Archery first appeared as a sport in the 1900 Olympics Games in

Paris. At the Laguna Beach Boys and Girls Club it made its debut

about two years ago.

On Tuesday afternoon, most of the kids at the club were focusing

on having fun and hitting the targets.

“The most important thing is to make sure it’s safe,” athletic

director Hans LaRoche said.

Armed with their blunt-point arrows -- a conical rubber arrow

point with a flat tip designed not to let the arrow penetrate a

target -- they shot at the targets set up at varied distances.

LaRoche gave words of encouragement, suggestions and hands-on help

for the newer archers.

“You’re shooting hard -- you need to aim,” he explained to one

boy.

He called out for them to freeze so they could safely pick up

their arrows to replenish for the next barrage.

“They really enjoy it, and it’s not that competitive,” LaRoche

said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl or whatever age --

you get the technique down and feel really good about yourself.”

They used different size bows, smaller easier ones to pull for the

younger or less experienced children and bigger more advanced set ups

for the stronger participants.

“It was kind of easy to learn,” Gregory Simmons, 11, said. “It’s

fun when you first learn to put the arrow on the bow, pull it back

and then hit the target.”

Some of the arrows sailed the full length of the court, while

other rookie archers were pleased with their half-court efforts.

“This is my first time I’ve done it,” Daniel Rush, 8, said. April

Carlson, 9, said she has done it a couple of times and got the hang

of it right away. She said she likes the sound of the arrow when it

is first released -- its trajectory flight sound and its distinct,

hitting-the-target thud.

“I think archery is good because it gives you a lot of strength

and helps you with your aim,” April said.

Christianna Thebaud, 10, said it was her first archery experience,

and found that it was a lot of fun but kind of difficult in the

beginning.

“I keep doing it until I get the hang of it; it makes me

determined to do it more and work harder,” Christianna said. “The

hardest part is aiming at the right spot and shooting it with the

right strength you need.”