Tom Parrish (as HPD) recognized the need for the development of a better system of teaching proper shot technique within the U.S. and for a qualified National Head Coach to help develop such a system. It is important to note that the concept of a National Head Coach working in conjunction with a High Performance Director is one which the USOC advocates and supports. It has already been a successful model for several other NGBs. Integral the Tom's thought process was the philosophy - if you're going to do something, do it right: in other words, he looked for the best long-term solution. The High Performance Plan (HPP), developed by Tom, can be downloaded from the NArchival Archery website at this link.
You can also read a lot about what he was thinking just by reading the past issues of the USA Archery magazine, which includes these numbers and much more.

Tom, with the help of many fine coaches and archers, developed a teaching method to begin the process even before the coach could arrive: The BEST method, the Biomechanically Efficient Shooting Technique. Hopefully you have heard of this or better yet, been taught it. It got the ball rolling even before the arrival of the National Head Coach, a start against the huge inertial resistance of those in our community that preferred the status quo (which gave us the scores graphed above in 1997, 1999, and 2003).

Coach Lee is here in the US now, and this outdoor season will see a number of opportunities for the public to learn from him and from Tom, to begin to understand what is happening in the US to create sustained competitive excellence. It is very important that the archery community understand this process and know where it is coming from, in order to assist in its success.

This process does require our participation and our active support, perhaps even more so now than before since Tom was recently released by USA Archery as the HPD, due to lack of funding. While they praised him for the amazing job that he has done, the timing of this could not have come at a more inopportune moment for US and perhaps suggests a lack of foresight and financial planning by the NAA.

and Tom Parrish to two of the most important competitions of the outdoor season!

The AZ Cup is up first, April 5-8 , just a few days after the Lone Star FITA. THE DEADLINE FOR THE AZ CUP IS JUST A DAY OR TWO AWAY! (postmark by March 13, 2006) The AZ Cup has been just plain fantastic in recent years, an event that challenges archers to do their very best. In looking over the "registered list" for the AZ Cup I can readily see archers from the Netherlands, England, and other nationalities.

The best event (said the biased Texan writer) will probably be the A Shootout, to be held in College Station on April 28 - 30. This will likely be a very large event, given the timing.

BOTH the Cup and the Shootout will conform to the NAA's schedule of shooting 70 meters only (in even years), rather than the multi-distance FITA (odd years). Check the links for more information, and don't miss the registration deadlines.

here in the US. Despite it's newness it is a very popular case and hard to find as a result.

It is NOT suitable for airline use as I know just how incredibly harsh the baggage handlers can be to luggage. I suspect luggage handlers have an obligation in their contracts to drop a bag at least 2 feet each time they touch it. Since the City Backpack is not a hard-shell, I would be reluctant to let them try to crush it. It would PROBABLY make it through the trip intact, but there are other cases much more suitable for the rigors of airline baggage holds.

For any other need of mobility and portability, this pack is very handy. The straps are sturdy and adjustable, and keep the pack itself located in the best area of the back - high enough that the hips can move easily without throwing you off balance. A cross strap really cinches it down and helps stabilize it for those riding bicycles. I prefer a hip belt, but since the pack won't be all that heavy even fully loaded, I will learn to live without it, I guess.

The bottom is a heavily reinforced, heavy-duty mesh-but-slick and solid material. When you set it down it is durable enough that you don't have to worry about it getting messy or scraped up.

The exterior comes in typical backpack material, a mix of black nylon with one of several colors to choose from. The exterior has a stretch band useful for strapping/securing on a jacket or sweat suit, making quick access easy. The area that contacts the back of the archer has thick modular pads that cut down on the "sweaty" back syndrome.

There are numerous compartments with see-through plastic walls to help you quickly find that tool you need between ends.
Larger pockets hold and protect well, larger objects like sights. Still larger pockets, with more than 1/2" of padding, accommodate even TWO 25" risers as well as 4 long limbs. Arrows and stabilizers can be carried in a tube like pocket or, if you want to buy a separate arrow tube holder, it fits neatly in that pocket to provide a nice rattling effect that will drive you nuts, or to a store for a little foam padding to go in the tube.

This backpack has other nice touches that show the degree of sophistication and design that went into it, such as several handles, to make picking it up before hoisting it to your back easy. One handle is located such as to make it easy to carry, like a satchel. An interesting touch is a silver shroud that comes out of its own little pocket at the top of the pack and covers the pack with a rain-proof covering or to keep the backpack contents from heating up in direct sunlight during the summer. Or, you can take the shroud the other direction and use it as a disguise or rain shelter for yourself. It is attached to the pack, which may be handy for some. If not, a pair of scissors can be used. (It may not stay in place as well, though.

All considered, for less than $100 this pack is well worth the price for archers needing a degree of portability that you just can't get with a hard-sided case. It's especially good as a first case for JOAD archers due to the price, and will certainly give plenty of storage space to expand into.

About Access Archery by NADA - and NADA in this context doesn't mean what y'all might think it means.. But Doug Engh, Lloyd Brown, and the other good folks at NADA have been very, very busy.

In February 2005, the National Alliance for the Development of Archery (NADA) sponsored a first-ever Professional Coaches Seminar in Orlando. During that seminar, the coaches requested NADA create a series of neutral regional courses designed to make current USA Archery Level 2 Intermediate instructors stronger at their craft.

The initial curriculum is complete and has been named ACCESS™, for "Archery Coaches Continuing Education Seminar Series." This consists of a number of training modules which can be grouped together to form single-day or multiple-day courses. It combines the latest coaching techniques on recurve and compound shooting with the convenience of regional course "access."

NADA has trained over a dozen top-level coaches to act as official facilitators of ACCESS. Each facilitator will specialize in conducting courses in their geographic region. NADA will promote these courses to all USA Archery 2 instructors including those involved in the National Archery in the Schools Program, 4-H, scouting, pro-shops and clubs. A new ACCESS website is being developed to handle online registrations. Participants will be able to register for single or multiple classes.

To get more information on NADA'S new ACCESS program, please follow this link! And for a more concise summary on what is involved, use this link to an acrobat file on the Archival Archery website.

The organizers for the Gold Cup recently issued this: "There has been a CHANGE IN SHOOTING FORMAT FOR THE 2006 GOLD CUP. Instead of shooting a single 72 arrow qualifier on Saturday, we will now have a DOUBLE 72 ARROW QUALIFIER on Saturday (Total of 144 arrows on Saturday.) This is the standard format for USAT events in 2006." The application for the Gold Cup can be found on the Gold Cup Website.

I attended the Gold Cup last year, my first time, and I have to say that the venue is excellent and the event well organized and run. It made me think of the way the grand slam tennis events are all the same, yet all different. In tennis, one is held on clay courts, another on concrete/synthetic, and yet another on grass surfaces. With the diverse natures of the A Shootout, the AZ Cup, and the Gold Cup, as well as the National Target event in Colorado Springs, the archer is likewise subjected to a variety of conditions and environments to adjust to and endure.