Cascade Public Schools recently approved the addition of an archery program to their PE curriculum. Teachers spent Friday morning learning about the sport, and how to teach it safely.
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In February, the school board approved the archery program, with the National Archery in Schools Program providing equipment and training for teachers.
Equipment and training for the program costs $3,500. Cascade School qualifies for a $1,000 grant through the National Archery in Schools program, with a few community members providing the remaining funding to the school.
On Friday morning, Cascade Public School PE teachers, along with some teachers from Helena, were certified to teach the archery course by archery instructor for the National Archery in Schools Program Drew Uecker, who says, “It's the safest sport out there, archery is incredibly safe. We just have to make certain that a few things are done correctly, and that's why we do the certification classes today.”
Archery is a fast growing sport in the state of Montana, with the National Archery in Schools Program having over 10,000 shooters in the state last year at over 70 schools statewide. This year, they hope to bring that number up to 1200-1300 shooters.
Uecker says archery is important because it’s a sport that anyone can play, saying, “We have a lot of kids that don't play sports, but this is a lifelong sport that any student can pick up and be successful with. We find a lot of our non-athletic kids are some of our very best shooters.”
Through the program, students learn focus, self-control, discipline, and patience.
Health and PE teacher at Cascade Public Schools, Mike Nelson, was one of the teachers that went through the training.
Nelson says, “Everything from the basics of the bow, stance and shooting, and how we run safety, all the protocols, I think it'll be a lot of fun. I’ve had a great time this morning. I think our kids are really going enjoy it.”
