Ten tips for archery beginners

The best archers reveal what beginners should know about archery.

Even for today's world-class archers, there was a time when they knew nothing about archery. Every tournament champion, world record holder and international medalist started out as an unknown.
That's why we asked 32 top archers at the 2015 Archery World Cup Finals in Mexico what beginners should do.

1. Find a good coach "The coach you have determines how far you can go in your archery career," said Collin Klimitchek, 19, who traveled to Mexico with teammates Laval Dee and Marcia Falks.

2. Don't compare yourself to others Many people compare themselves to their opponents, said Sara Lopez, the 2014 World Cup Finals champion.
"Be yourself, shoot your own rhythm, and try not to be like everyone else," she added.
Sara admits that when she broke the 72-arrow record for the third time, she also fell into a vortex of worrying about what others would think. So she didn't focus on her own game.

3. Technique > Equipment New archers should spend more time training their technique instead of worrying about how to buy better equipment. Braden Gellenthien, the winner of the 2012 World Cup Finals, said at the World Cup in Medellin. "Equipment can be changed later, but the most important thing is how you focus on forming your own style, technique and mental awareness.

4. Neglecting to adjust the bow = bad experience It has been said that, especially for compound bow players, it is very important to adjust the bow to the best state for the archer: bow length and bow weight. Because, according to most top archers, incorrect bow adjustment will prevent archery novices from completing training normally.

5. The number of rings is not important "Don't be distracted by the target bull's eye," Sergio Pagni, the two-time Archery World Cup Finals champion, advised at the Medellin Station in 2015. "Just concentrate on shooting your arrows and don't worry about how they get there. ”

Six. Be patient “Some people,” says Collin Klimitchek, “just pick up a bow and they’re good at it. But for most people – myself included – it takes a while to get the hang of it. Be patient.”

Linda Ochoa believes patience is the most important thing when things get tough: “If you’re going through a bad period, whether it’s training or competition, remember how much fun you had shooting archery when you first started.”

Seven. Find your passion Dominique Genet, who started competing internationally in archery in 1996, has had a long and illustrious career. Nineteen years later, it was passion and love that brought him back to the Archery World Cup Finals at the age of 46.

“Passion can take us beyond the norm and do many, many things,” he explains.
Eight. Find your groove Stephan Hanson won the World Archery Championships in Copenhagen in the summer of 2015. In Mexico, he played for the Danish mixed doubles team against host Mexico.
“The most important thing for me is the groove,” he says. “Every time I find a great groove, I can hit 10 with every arrow. ”

9. Have fun The first piece of advice from Jean-Charles Valladont is that whether you are a beginner or a professional, you should have fun. Whether you are a professional or amateur, you shoot once a week or practice every day, the word to focus on is "fun". He explained that maybe your goal in archery is very ambitious, but if you ignore whether you have fun every day, it will not help this goal.

10. Have ambitious goals Miguel Alvarino Garcia won the first European Cup in Baku in 2015. This was his first heavyweight medal, and the city became more meaningful to him.