Julie M. Cohen
Already a veteran archer at 11 years old, Gwen Wagner is looking forward to watching world-class archery during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s super inspiring,” said Wagner, a soon-to-be sixth-grade student at Chenery Upper Elementary.
The medal round in archery begins July 28.
Wagner began taking lessons with On the Mark Archery (a USA Archery-certified company), through the Belmont Recreation Department, after first trying it out with her mother during unstructured, “open range” sessions at Gore Place in Waltham.
“I was looking for a sport that wasn’t too competitive but was still fun and active,” said Wagner.
During one session, she brought her grandfather, Daniel Thomas, who tried the sport for the first time and enjoyed it. The duo then took lessons with recurve bows, the same kind used by Olympic athletes.
“It’s so great and they have so much fun together,” said her mother (and Thomas’ daughter) Amanda Wagner.
“I feel that the sensation of aiming the bow and arrow at the target and seeing the arrow flying into the target … makes you feel satisfied and accomplished,” added Gwen Wagner.
If shots miss the mark, the instructors are there to help students adjust their aim or techniques.
Wagner also made new friends during the lessons and enjoyed playing group games like archery blackjack.
“Everybody supports each other,” she said.
Hoping to continue taking classes with her grandfather, Wagner said the sport “makes me feel good and sort of powerful.”
New lessons, ancient sport
“Archery is one of the oldest sports still practiced today and is closely linked to the development of human civilization,” according to the official Olympic Games website. “Historically, archery has been used for hunting and warfare; the earliest evidence of its use comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave, where arrowheads dating from approximately 64,000 years ago have been found.”
Mark Pirrello’s mobile company, On the Mark Archery, has continued that tradition by offering locals a chance to try their hands at the ancient practice.
He first began coaching as a camp counselor in 2012 before creating On the Mark Archery in 2013, around the same time as the first blockbuster “Hunger Games” movie was released.
Like Robin Hood, Hawkeye, Artemis, Cupid, Legolas and other legendary archers, the book and movies’ main character, Katniss Everdeen, excelled with the bow.
Due in part to the popularity of the series, Pirrello said at that time, archery “was an activity that everybody wanted to try out.”
Girls were also attracted to the sport after watching Merida, the protagonist of the Pixar movie “Brave,” confidently shoot her bow and arrow.
Pirrello said there are mental and physical benefits to archery and Amanda Wagner concurred.
“I find it to be really restorative,” she said. The moment when you are focusing on a target “has a sort of meditative aspect to it.”
Archery mirrors the ways people try to accomplish goals in life by making a plan, zeroing in, executing steps and focusing. However, as “happens in life … you don’t always hit your goals,” said Pirrello.
Although it takes time to master the recurve bow, new students can learn a lot at the beginning of the classes which offers a boost to their self-esteem.
Another plus for some is that “it’s a great alternative to team sports,” he said. “It’s more you against you … It’s you and the target.”
Pirrello said he’s looking forward to watching Olympic archery, which debuted in 1900, and is encouraging his students to tune in as well.
“Seeing [the archers’ form] can be a great long-term goal,” he said.
Asked why some of his students have continued taking classes, he said the lessons “gave them a feeling of empowerment. … They get great joy, great satisfaction.”
For more information on the 2024 Olympics archery schedule, visit olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/archery
For more information on upcoming archery classes offered by the Belmont Recreation Department, visit belmontma.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29832
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