What an adventure and privilege it has been following Gabi around the country as she shoots her way into the books of USA Archery. At the age of 12 she has accomplished many things and has done so with the grace and humility of a seasoned veteran. It is hard to believe how far she has come and what she has been able to accomplish through hard work, dedication and perseverance.
Congratulations Gabi
1st place & new national record: Cub – 2019 JOAD National Indoor Championships
8th place: Cadet – 50th US National Indoor Champions
2nd place: Youth – The Vegas Shoot / Indoor Word Series
The 2019 USA Archery Team (USAT) season started off with a bang…literally! We landed in Salt Lake City, Utah on Jan 10th, for the 2019 JOAD National Indoor Championships and 50th US National Indoor Champions. Within 3 hours of landing in SLC we got into a fender bender! Everyone was safe and there was only minor damage to both vehicles but it was not the way I wanted to start the weekend off. To make matters more challenging my driver’s door would not open all the way so getting in and out of the car was a constant reminder of the accident. Yup, pretty bummed but couldn’t let Gabi see I wasn’t very happy. I didn’t want my low mental state affecting her mental game. Chin up, tough it out and make the rest of the trip about Gabi. We did a vehicle swap to a fresh new car and all was well.
Gabi looked great on Friday for the JOAD but her shots were not coming as easily as they did during the weeks leading up to Nationals. She was like a flat soda, the flavor was there but the liveliness of the carbonation was not present. I did not see that spark in her eye and spring in her step when she is simply unstoppable. Gabi would shoot her arrows, sit down quietly, score and come back quickly to set up for the next end. I could tell she was looking deep within herself to grit it out and to possibly change the momentum of the tournament. Later Gabi told me she was trying all her mental strategies/affirmations and they were sometimes working but at other times not.
It sounds strange to say that despite setting a new national record one could be unsuccessful during competition. That being said, there is the quality of the performance and how one arrived to the outcome. Gabi explained that Friday’s JOAD and setting the record was difficult. She is pleased with the outcome but hopped for a stronger performance. I am very proud of her sportsmanship and drive to never give up. Gabi’s record was confirmed by USA Archery and she now holds the record in the Recurve Cub Women (13 & 14 yrs old), Double 18m 60cm JOAD division with 583
The 50th US National Championships on Sat and Sun went much like her JOAD, very difficult. For this event Gabi (age 12) shot up an age division to Cadets (15, 16, 17 yrs old). Again she couldn’t get it going. Her arrows were all making good groups…all around the middle with too many 27s and a few very loose <27 ends. Through the two days of shooting Gabi looked determined and focused as usual. As usual I sat in the balcony with all the other smart parents who wanted to stay out of their kids business! At the end of the final day I walked down to the shooting floor – I looked at her, she looked at me and I playfully asked her “What was that?” Gabi with a big grin on her face, half laughing voice and sort of shocked tone said “I don’t know!” It was one of those priceless moments that could easily be misunderstood if anyone overheard us and didn’t understand the bond Gabi and I share.
The 2019 indoor season wrapped up at the Vegas Shoot on Feb 8th and 9th where Gabi shot her new age division – Recurve Youth Female (12-14 yrs old). Far more archers and many times more competitive than in previous years. During her practice sessions Gabi looked and felt great. Come Friday we made our way down to the arena for her first round of 300. Surprisingly she asked me to stay close! When scoring started I discreetly walked behind spectator seating and sat on a pile of boxes that had tournament targets in them. Nervously I checked the scoring app at least every 30 seconds or at least that’s what it felt like. Every now and then friends would walk past and I would take a break from the nervousness to chat with them. Like at JOAD and Nationals Gabi had a difficult time getting things going. And again her groups were tight just a little bit out of the middle. She ended the day in a two way tie for 4th with 289 and just 4 points separating 1st thru 4th positions. Saturday, round two was not much different than the previous day. Gabi remained consistent and focused on her mental game and stayed in the moment. She came back to visit me on my seat of target boxes and even joke around with teammates as they filed in to set up for their upcoming line times. I calmly asked how she was feeling and she casually gave me the double thumbs up with a big smile. She slowly made some ground on the top 3 and midway through the 1st and 2nd ranked shooters started to have a difficulties. Not knowing her current standing Gabi kept on shooting and focused on just one thing – shooting her shot. I kept track of her score on the app and through binoculars, it was excruciating. WAY TOO close to call and literally came down to the last three arrows to decide 2nd through 4th. After scorecards were double checked/signed Gabi walked up to the registration office to hand in her card in not knowing the final outcome. The live scoring app was not updating so I began collecting her bows and backpack. At some point I looked up and Coach Karen Cook knew what i was wondering and held up two fingers – 2nd place! My heart leapt out of my chest in shock and disbelief as I frantically put everything down to check scores. There was Gabi’s name in 2nd place with a total score of 578/600 18x with two other girls! Gabi had moved into 2nd by way of X count tie break with 1 more X than her closest competitor! Eventually Gabi made it back down to the arena with a huge smile on her face – she knew what she had just done!
Gabi somehow was born defying the odds (private family joke) with a fighting spirit and fire I cannot explain. I will always see my first born baby girl whenever I see her standing on the line with the hundreds of other archers all wanting to do their best. She is a competitive giant mentally and physically with confidence to spare and will never give up! And despite all this archery stuff Gabi is still just a regular wonderful girl that loves art, music, anime and manga. And despite having all the composure and confidence on an archery line she carries with her some self doubt that often occurs during this somewhat confusing time in her life. In a few days she will be a teenager and will have many new challenges, distractions, opportunities, successes, failures and adventures. So I will end this the way it started – what an adventure and privilege it has been following Gabi…
We could not have done this without the dedicated support from so many in our archery family! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Next Step Archery, The Nock Point, Next Step Archery Team, the Hickey Family – Coach Bob and Bill, Darrin Barry, Coaches Rob and Karin Cook, Coach Timm, Gabi’s training buddies Amanda and Lilia and all of the Junior and Senior NSA team members, OCD Strings
