December 8, 2011 - a writeup from Tom Barker:
"On December 8 and 10th Straight Arrow Archery hosted the 2011 District 11 4H archery championships. There were 120 archers from nine counties participating. Coach Tom has been involved with 4H archery in one capacity or another for the last 17 years and this was hands down the most prepared and disciplined group of archers at a district event that he has seen. Hats off to the coaches, parents, adult leaders and archers for their accomplishments. From dropped arrow procedures, to the consideration for the other archers, it is no wonder that some of the best archers in the country come out of the District 11 archery program. It was a pleasure for Coach Gene and Coach Tom to host such good young people."

"Again, congratulations to each and everyone in the archery projects in District 11 and Merry Christmas."

From the webmaster of the AA:  Year in and year out as an outsider looking in, I am happy to discover just how dedicated the parents of 4H students are, you who enable your kids to particpate in such a life sport and to have such involvement with your children at the same time. As the parent of a former archer, I know what the whole experience is like, and it's not said often, or ever: "Parents have just as much fun and enjoyment as their kids, if they choose to "do it right" and stay involved, not just doing a "drop off and pick up afterwards" that so many parents in other sports screw up on.  4H parents already know, "You cannot drop your kid off at soccer practice, come back in 3 hours, and expect to get anything out of it for yourself, mom and dad".  Keeping growing children on the right path is a 24/7/365 job, and South Texan 4H Parents demonstrate that it is not "too much" to ask of them to stand beside their kids, to support them, to help them, to shoot with them when possible, and to share in the overall enjoyment of a together-enabling sport like archery.  Once the child is past that certain point you can never get it back: do not be a "wisher", as in, "I wish I had spent more time with my daughter" when she has left the nest. 

I feel that shooting sports are fundamental to what makes the US Archery sport unique but TEXAS 4H'ers do so much more that is outside of that box that non-4H-aware parents will never know the joy that the parents of 4H kids probably just take for "normal".  So, you had no idea just how lucky you are as an organizational member, to have a set of parents that are organizers, supporters, instructors, motivators, facilitators, coaches, and manual laborers to "git 'er done" when the range needs setting up or taking down.   Congratulations to every archer and parent, to the coaches as well, and as Coach Tom said, Merry Christmas!   Ron Carmichael

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