New HPHS Archery Team Makes Nationals its Target

Sport gains interest quickly after becoming official school club

Zoe Zaner’s first significant exposure to archery came as one component of an Outdoor Adventures class at Highland Park Middle School.

Four years later, she’s a vital part of an inaugural Highland Park High School club team aiming to qualify for nationals.

“I had no idea that I was going to grow fond of it so quickly,” said Zaner, a sophomore. “It’s been fun to grow through that sport and learn the qualities that it teaches you. That class was where I learned everything that I know now.”

After being approved as an official school club this year, the HP archers are still led by a group of captains from Brock Blair’s first class at HPMS. Blair, a physical education teacher, now coaches teams at both campuses with almost 80 students combined.

“It’s getting bigger every year,” Blair said. “It’s for any kid. You don’t have to be athletic. It gives these kids another opportunity to be a part of a team and to add a hobby outside of school.”

The high school club has 38 archers, which is almost enough to form two coed teams, at least one of which has a realistic shot of qualifying for the National Archery in Schools Program national championships this spring in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Some of these kids are really good, and they’ve never shot a bow before,” said Blair, who calls the competitive team a natural extension of the basic skills he teaches in class. “Every year, we try to bump up and get better.”

HPHS club president Ashley Schumacher has been involved in archery for almost a decade since her father is an aficionado. That makes the sophomore among the most experienced archers in a program that welcomes newcomers.

“Slowly but surely, the word has gotten out,” Schumacher said. “You’re able to really find yourself in the sport. It’s you versus yourself. It allows you to grow a lot as a person.”

As awareness has grown, so has the team’s competition level. The HPMS team qualified for nationals last year for the first time, and the HPHS group will have an opportunity to do the same in March at the NASP state tournament in Belton.

Either way, archery already has scored a bull’s-eye, with some students seeking an alternative outlet for their competitive juices.

“It requires good focus and self-control. Plus, it’s an individual sport, and I really like that aspect of it,” Zaner said. “When you’re up at the line, it’s just you and the target.”