A New Target: The Two River Archers Aim for Summer Success

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By Tara Cangialosi
LITTLE SILVER –When Brian Rogers bought a small children’s archery bow for his daughter’s 8th birthday, he could not have predicted its effect four years later.
Olivia Rogers, now 12, could not get enough of her father’s gift. She and her friends played with the small toy often, and developed an interest in archery as they grew older. Olivia also was inspired by Disney’s “Brave,” an animated movie about a princess who must rely on her courage and skills in archery to undo an evil curse.
Her interest grew into a passion that would match her father’s longtime enthusiasm for archery, prompting Rogers to go back to the basics and get official training in the sport. He traveled to Pennsylvania to become a certified Level Two USA archery instructor, meaning he could formally teach the sport and certify other instructors.
With Rogers’s certification, a strong local interest in archery and the lack of an area club, he established an official USA archery club. He called it the Two River Archers.
The Two River Archers focus specifically on Olympic-style target archery. Though there are other places that offer field and traditional archery, none of the nearby parks or recreation centers provide an option for learning the proper technique and rules for Olympic-style target archery.
Rogers’ incentive to form the Two River Archers stemmed from two things: The strong local interest in pursuing Olympic-style target archery and the lack of a local club or venue focusing on that style.
Members of the Two River Archers currently are seven 11- to 13-year-olds from the Little Silver and Fair Haven area, including Rogers’ own children, Olivia and Luke, 13. The other members of the team are: Alyssandra Arege, 11; Nikkie Devito, 12; Jacob Swartz, 13; Will Perry, 13, and Brendan Loftus, 13.
sports-TRA-2-IMG_9415The Two River Archers are unique in that they practice with only recurve bows, that have tips that curve away from the archer. That means the harder an archer pulls back on the bow, the more power they will get in the shot.
As part of their equipment, the archers also need stabilizers – or rods –attached to the bow to balance it and dissipate vibration after the arrow is released. Additionally, bow sights are needed to help the shooter aim his or her arrow, and leather tabs protect an archer’s fingers from the bowstring when it is drawn back
In one of the team’s typical outdoor practices in the Rogers family’s Little Silver backyard, the group first spends time on individual technique. Then, they practice shooting at targets from a varying range of distances, continually perfecting their skills under Rogers’ watchful eye.
Though the kids love to shoot at the targets, Rogers emphasizes the importance of technique, and how vital it is to perfect the basics before moving upwards in archery.
“It is important to have a good foundation, and then as you get older and better, you can pay more attention to the point system,” Rogers said.
The point system is used in competitions, including those held in New Jersey and along the East Coast in which the club has competed. They have competed at the New Jersey Archery Association Indoor State Championship and the Garden State Games, where they all won awards in different divisions.
sports-TRA-4-IMG_9396Some of these tournaments, including the 2014 New Jersey State Outdoor Championships, are held at the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) level. JOAD is a program of USA Archery that teaches archery to young people ages 8 to 20, allowing them to enjoy the sport recreationally or progress to higher levels of competition.
The Two River Archers participate in both JOAD and non-JOAD level competitions, where competition is fierce, but gives the young archers a great experience.
In the outdoor competitions, the archers earn points by shooting at a target, which moves farther back as they get older and more skilled.
“The kids start out at about 15 meters back and will get up to 50 meters back (this summer),” Rogers said. “Next year, they will be able to shoot as far back as 70 meters, about the length of a full-sized soccer field.”
The yellow center of targets is worth 10 points, and each external ring surrounding the center is one less point. In outdoor archery, each archer shoots six arrows in one end, which acts as a round. The archers complete six ends, totaling 36 arrows, and the archer with the highest number of points wins. In indoor archery, however, each archer gets three arrows per end and completes 10 ends.
Rogers stresses the importance of a consistent shot, all of which stems from perfected technique. “You don’t want to get a 10, 10, then a miss,” he said.
Though Rogers is a father and full-time physician first, his passion for archery is clear and he enjoys coaching. Growing up on a large piece of land in Colts Neck, Rogers was exposed to the sport as a teenager, and over the past few years, has witnessed its rise in popularity in the Little Silver area and beyond.
As a niched sport, archery tends to be unknown to most people. For some, the only concept of the sport comes from acclaimed films like “The Hunger Games” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Others were mesmerized by the archery competition during the 2014 Summer Olympics.
“‘The Hunger Games’ really brought it on,” Rogers said. “According to USA Archery, there was a 70 percent increase in under two years because of ‘The Hunger Games,’ and 55 percent were girls.”
These modern films have changed the stereotype of classic archers, shifting from the classic Robin Hood to the empowering Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of “The Hunger Games.” The extent of Katniss’ archery skills have significantly contributed to a rapid growth in archery as a sport from a younger crowd, even more so than her trademark braided hairstyle.
Rogers has wanted to expand the program to other local towns. Recently, Rogers received word that Holmdel Township will designate Cross Farms Park as place for Two River Archers to begin offering standard entry, intermediate and advanced level archery courses for children and adults during the summer months. A tournament will be held at the end of the summer.
Rogers also will look to certify others interested in becoming Level Two USA archery instructors.
Eventually, by the time his children reach high school age, he would love for archery to be a high school sport. “There is not a division in New Jersey for Olympic-style archery in schools, where the kids would shoot at targets and use recurve bows,” Rogers said.
In order for archery to become a high school sport, enough students need to be involved locally and three schools within a 20-mile radius must be able to have home and away matches like any other sport. If the interest and number of students are there, Rogers would really like to work with the schools to see if an archery division can be developed.
In the meantime, those interested in taking lessons can visit www.tworiverarchers.com and email the Two River Archers from that site for more information or to sign up for beginner, intermediate or advanced classes at Cross Farms Park in Holmdel.
“Archery is all about consistency,” Rogers said. “It is an intellectual sport that requires precise technique and a lot of practice to be a skilled archer.”
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