Everyday, for the past two years, Jayden Park (9) practices archery. Park has the skill of a player seasoned by extensive experience, having only started two years ago in the seventh grade. Every two weeks, Park competes in tournaments. 

“[Each competition] takes up the whole day,” Park said. “Once I get there, I go through equipment checks. They make sure you aren’t using illegal pieces. Then, I move on to my archery rounds.”

In Park’s rounds, he competed against four other people at one target. Each archer, standing from a 60 meter range, had four minutes to shoot six arrows, scoring points with each arrow they shoot depending on where it lands on the target. The target’s width ranges from 40 centimeters to 122 centimeters. In the end, whoever has the most overall points wins.

Park was first for most of the regional tournament, shooting a ten-pointer, nine-pointer, and eight-pointer. But, that started to change as he shot his fourth arrow. 

“Once I started focusing on my score, I got nervous,” Park said. “Archery is also a mental game. After I shot my first seven-[pointer] I was like ‘Oh no, I’m screwed.’”

Compared to other people, Park believes that he has a stronger mentality since archery requires it. However, Park said there are times when he needs to step away from the pressure to improve his mentality. 

“I have a lot of friends [at my competitions], so I talk to them to cheer myself up,” Park said. “Sometimes that doesn’t fix [my mood] so I try shooting for fun without the pressure of a competition, and that’s when my mindset usually gets better.” 

Park ended up finishing fourth out of 23 competitors in that regional tournament. 

Along with mentality, Park said that the wind affects how he aims and scores.

“You only have around 3-5 seconds to aim [in a competition.]” Park said. “Wind also affects an arrow from becoming 10 [points] to 5 [points] since the wind moves your arrow and your bow as you shoot.”

Park initially picked up this hobby because his dad advised him to.

“My dad was like, ‘it’s good for college,’ when it turns out it’s only good for girls, in college,” Park said. 

Still, Park continued doing it since he enjoyed playing. Since then, he’s improved rapidly, currently ranking top 20 in the state for the 15u age group. However, rising so quickly in the ranks in such a short time didn’t come easily for Park. He pulls 42 pounds in draw force. Since there are no pulleys to support the bow, he has to stretch the bow himself. 

“[When shooting,] my shoulder sometimes gives up,” Park said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot but Olympians shoot around 46 pounds and they’re way bigger than me.” 

Heavier bows shoot farther and are consistently more accurate. But, Park said that one has to be strong to maintain their grip on them. Park gradually increased the weight he pulled to become more comfortable with shooting heavier bows. Park sped this typically gradual process up.

“I worked up to it too fast,” Park said. “You’re supposed to start at 20 pounds and go up by two or three pounds at a time but I went up 10 pounds every time just because the others felt way too light for me.” 

Despite the physical and mental challenges, Park enjoys the community that comes along with archery and it’s many competitions.

“At competitions there will be people from other parts of the country or state, so hanging out with them and building a connection is fun,” Park said. 

Although Park isn’t looking to pursue this hobby professionally in the future, he still wishes to find an archery team to continue practicing in college and in his leisure time. 

Park’s next competition is Socal Showdown in February,  which is a national tournament. Park is preparing for it now, working to improve before the competition. 

“ I’ve been doing the same routine as usual, practicing everyday, but especially aiming to improve my form so I can have a more consistent score, in future competitions,” Park said. 

As a result of all the training, Park aspires to rise in the ranks in order to compete on the same level as his friend. 

“I hope to get top 20 in the nationals competition to get a higher ranking overall,” Park said. “My friend is also ranked really high in nationals. I kind of caught up [to him] a bit. There’s no competition [between us] yet but I’m pretty sure like in two or three months, there will be some but we’re still really good friends. I want to improve and catch up to him. ”