WHS Archery Aims High

From Windham High School student Jillian DiPersio

Arrows and new interests alike have taken to the air at Windham High School. Students ranging from freshmen to seniors have found themselves captivated by a sport that many have never had the opportunity to explore. The WHS Archery team started out early in the school year, and since then the students have improved and become true archers. Their talents were recently displayed at the Indoor Nationals for the Northeastern Region, a tournament, hosted by Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts.

Indoor Nationals was held from February 24-26; the Windham High School Team competed on the 25^th and 26^th. Three students from Windham High School participated at Indoor Nationals: Cody Hamel, Max Johnson, and Marissa Yost. The team’s coaches, Sonia Wong and Guy Gerig, also competed. The competitors came out of the tournament with impressive scores, especially for a team as new as Windham High School’s. Regionally, Cody Hamel placed 7^th, Max Johnson placed 12^th, and Marissa Yost placed 8^th in their respective divisions. The next tournament for the team will be the Nor’easter Tournament in Canton, Massachusetts. The Nor’easter is one of the qualifying tournaments for the US National Teams.

The coaches for the Windham High School archery team have a lot of expertise. Guy Gerig was a member of the US Archery Team and has proven to be not only an exceptional archer, but also a great coach. Sonia Wong, a Windham High School teacher, competed in archery in college at the national level and is getting involved in tournaments once again as the team progresses. Mr. Gerig and Ms. Wong always encourage and tell their students that, “Anyone can shoot if they think they can.” Shooting a bow is far more than pointing and letting go. Archery is a sport in its own category, holding more mental than physical challenges at the recreational and intermediate level. Since it is such a unique sport and poses many challenges, archery is perfect for the athletic and non-athletic student alike.

The team’s next practice is on Sunday, April 8^th from 12-3 pm on the Windham High School football field and will continue on Sundays for the remainder of the school year. The practices are open to anyone in the Windham High School community who wishes to give the sport a try. If you are interested but do not have equipment of your own you are welcome to participate using the equipment that was generously donated to the team by Proline Archery.  If you come to an archery practice you will not regret it, and archery is something that will last you a lifetime. The oldest competitors for the United States in the last Olympics were Butch Johnson and Janet Dykeman, both incredibly skilled archers. Butch Johnson is nearly sixty years old and may compete in the 2012 Olympics.

Come and discover something completely different than the traditional sports associated with high schools. You will be part of a team that is not only on its way to becoming successful, but has strong bonds that are always growing. During practices the team shows their perseverance to improve while having an enjoyable experience and creating priceless memories. There is nothing more satisfying than shooting holes through a copy of a bad test, defeating a zombie (or, rather, a poster of a zombie), or popping a balloon with the perfect shot. Once you feel the exhilaration of a powerful shot and the resounding thunk on the target, archery will become not only your high school craze, but also a life-long passion.