Olympic Archery in Schools (OAS) has created a unique archery league for middle schools and high schools. Students at participating schools have the chance to join their archery team and compete with other teams in the area. League games will have you on the edge of your seat as archers go head to head in individual and team match play. Similar to high school tennis teams with singles and doubles matches, the result of each match will determine the outcome of the overall game.
Created by the Easton Sports Development Foundation, the program seeks to give youth the opportunity to participate and excel in Olympic-style archery, and thus open opportunities for them in the sport as well as increase our pool of future Olympic team members and gold medal hopefuls. Although Olympic-level archers will be a small percentage of those who participate, everyone can enjoy the sport of archery. Not only is archery safe and fun, but it is also a great way to develop focus, self-discipline, build self-esteem, improve hand-eye coordination, and much more.
Archers
Hey archers! Welcome to the OAS Program.
Through OAS we want to give you the opportunity to participate and excel in the sport of Olympic Archery. Archery is a really fun sport that challenges you both physically and mentally. It is a unique thrill being on the shooting line with your bow, a single arrow, the target in front of you, and your friends and family cheering you on from behind.
By joining your school’s archery program, you will have the chance to learn good shooting technique, how NTS uses bio-mechanics, what it takes to be an Olympic archer, and much more. You will also get to experience competition against other archers from all across the nation in our Mail-in Tournament, as well as individual and team matches with other local schools in our Archery League.
We hope that you will be inspired to do more archery because there are a lot of opportunities available to you. A great place to start is to join a local JOAD club, which stands for Junior Olympic Archery Development. Youth archers can also aim to make the Junior Dream Team or National teams by competing at USAT tournaments throughout the year. Lastly, archery can also open the door to international travel such as by competing at the Youth Olympic Games, which is held every four years.
Coaches
Welcome to the coach section!
Good coaching is a key to successful archers and programs. They are able to provide the support and guidance needed that can carry their archers to greater success.
Coach training and development is a priority for OAS and is provided free through the program. OAS coaching begins with our Level 1 coach course which includes both an online portion and a one day course. We want our coaches to be able to confidently teach a safe and fun archery program. OAS also trains our coaches in the National Training System (NTS) which is the shooting technique developed by our National Head Coach, Kisik Lee. Coaching new archers is an especially important role as you have the responsibility for teaching the fundamentals properly that will set your students on the path to long term success. By effectively teaching the basics of NTS from the beginning, archers will continue to build upon that foundation throughout the rest of their archery careers, whether it be to High School archery, collegiate, Junior Dream Team, or on to the Olympics.
After completing level 1, coaches can later take our level 2 and 3 courses to further develop their coaching skills. Levels 4 and 5 are available through USA Archery which gives you the opportunity to work directly with Coach Lee and other Elite Coaches.
To compliment our coach training program, OAS also offers a curriculum that you can use in your classes. It is full of detailed lessons, activities, games, and worksheets. We also organize workshops, league competitions, and other events throughout the school year.
From all of us at OAS, thank you for all of the time and effort you put into your archery programs. We look forward to seeing you and your archers at our OAS events.
Archery League
OAS has created a unique format for our archery league that gets both archers and spectators excited about the sport. Students who join their school’s archery team will represent their school in their home and away games against each of the other teams in their division. These games will leave you on the edge of your seat as archers go arrow for arrow in individual and team match play. From their performance in the league season, schools will then qualify for spots in their Conference and then State Championships.
Through this league we hope to see youth engaged in the sport, challenging themselves on an individual level, and developing strong bonds with their team and archery community. For more information, please read the League Handbook and contact the Conference Leader in your area.
For more information please visit: http://www.olympicarcheryinschools.org/