An eight-week beginner archery class for young people aged 8 to 17. Classes run one hour a week on the club’s indoor range. Archers shoot club bows and arrows, and no previous experience is needed.
The next class
Our fall session is full. We run these a few times a year and they fill quickly.
Sign up for the club’s Archery group on groups.io. New sessions are announced there first, and registration is run through SignUpGenius. The group is how you hear about the next class in time to sign up for it.
Intro to Archery
Intro to Archery is where nearly every young archer at the club starts. It runs for eight weeks, one hour a week, on the club’s climate-controlled indoor range, so a session runs start to finish whatever the weather is doing.
It is a class for first-time archers. Young people who have already completed an intro class at the club are not eligible to take it again — if that’s you, JOAD is the next step.
It’s built on USA Archery’s Explore Archery program. That means one skill per week, taught in order, each building on the last: safety and stance first, then nocking, draw, anchor, aiming, release. By week seven an archer is shooting a scored round and knows how to keep score.
No experience is needed. Archers shoot club bows and arrows, sized to them on the first night, so there is nothing to buy before the first class. Most families do the whole eight weeks before deciding whether archery is something their kid wants to carry on with.
What gets taught, and when
Every class is at 10 yards. New archers shoot on the very first night — coaches set stance and grip and walk each student through their first shots hand‑over‑hand, so nobody spends week one listening to a lecture.
- Wk 1Safety, stance and grip. Range rules, whistle commands, safe bow handling, an athletic stance and a relaxed bow hand — then first arrows.
- Wk 2Nocking and the pre-shot routine. The parts of the bow and arrow, nocking correctly, and building the same setup before every shot.
- Wk 3Draw and anchor. A smooth draw, a consistent anchor point, and strong posture through it.
- Wk 4Equipment care and form check. Looking after bows, arrows, strings and tabs, plus individual coach form checks on everything so far.
- Wk 5Aiming. Target focus, sight picture, and holding anchor while aiming.
- Wk 6Release and follow‑through. A relaxed release, following through, and watching the arrow to the target.
- Wk 7Putting it all together. The complete shot, self‑correction, scoring a round and tournament etiquette — finishing with a mini tournament.
- Wk 8Balloon Bonanza. Balloon targets, team challenges, a closest‑to‑the‑center shoot‑off, certificates and awards.
Five achievement awards
The class is registered with USA Archery’s Explore Archery program, so archers earn official achievement awards as they go — one for each fundamental skill, handed out in class the night it’s earned rather than saved up for the end.
- Safety — safe range behavior: whistle commands, handling the bow and arrows safely, respecting the shooting line.
- Equipment — knowing the parts of the bow and arrow, and how to handle and care for them.
- Shooting Form — a repeatable setup: stance, grip, nocking, draw and anchor.
- Shot Execution — a full, controlled shot: aiming, a relaxed release and follow‑through.
- Scoring — reading a target face, scoring a round, and basic tournament etiquette.
Awards are given at the end of weeks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7. Shooting Form and Shot Execution each span two weeks, because those skills build across two sessions before an archer has shown the whole thing. Week 8 is the celebration — completion certificates, and a chance to catch up anyone still owed an award.
What the hour looks like
Every week runs to the same shape, so archers know what’s coming and most of the hour is spent actually shooting.
- 5 minWelcome, attendance and a range safety review.
- 10 minThe week’s new skill, introduced and demonstrated.
- 40 minGuided shooting practice with coach feedback, plus a skill-based game — Bullseye Bingo, the Three Arrow Group Challenge, Beat Your Best Score.
- 5 minReview, equipment cleanup, and a preview of next week.
Safety comes first, every week
The range runs on whistle commands, taught in week one and used every class after: two whistles to the line, one to begin shooting, three to collect arrows, and four or more to stop immediately. Every class opens with a safety review.
Certified coaches on the line
Classes are led by USA Archery certified instructors, levels 1 to 3, several of whom also hold S3DA certifications. Coaches rotate down the line through the shooting block so every archer gets individual attention.
What to know before you sign up
- When
- Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm, for 8 weeks
- Where
- The Archery Center at Lower Providence Rod and Gun Club
- Ages
- 8 to 17
- Eligibility
- For first-time archers. Not open to anyone who has already completed an intro class at the club.
- Cost
- $100 per archer for the eight-week session
- Equipment
- Club bows and arrows are provided, sized to the archer on the first night
- Experience
- None needed. This is the beginner class.
- Coaches
- USA Archery certified instructors, levels 1 to 3
- Signing up
- Through SignUpGenius when a session opens. Sessions are announced on the Archery groups.io group.
Email lprgcyoutharchery@gmail.com
Questions about whether it’s a fit for your kid are welcome — email and ask. Not a club member yet? Start with membership information.
Where it goes from here
Finishing the class is the way into everything else the club’s youth archery program does. There’s no obligation to carry on, but the archers who want to keep shooting have somewhere to go.
JOAD
The natural next step. USA Archery’s youth program meets on Tuesday evenings, and archers work through a national ladder of achievement pins at their own pace, in whatever bow style they shoot.
The S3DA team
The club’s competitive youth team. It practices on Thursdays and travels to compete. The team is invitation only, and invitations go to archers already in JOAD or coming out of the intro classes.
For more about either program, email lprgcyoutharchery@gmail.com and we’ll point you at whichever one fits.