With the completion of the Texas Shootout in College Station, home of the Aggies, Gabi’s 2019 indoor/outdoor season has come to its conclusion. This marks the first time Gabi completed a full United States Archery Team (USAT) tournament season. Many exciting things happened in Texas, challenging winds, intense heat and humidity, many struggles and new things learned along the way.
The first thing one notices stepping out the doors of the airport terminal is the intense heat and humidity, >90 degrees and wet! Locals would tell you the weather is much cooler in late September than summer time but dang was it ridiculously uncomfortable. We made our way from Austin to College Station and enjoyed the scenery along the way. Oil pumps in the middle of nowhere, cows feeding in the shade of trees; the occasional massive house with no neighbors for miles. After the short 100 mile drive we arrived at Texas A&M for Thursday’s unofficial practice. The usual faces were there, athletes Gabi had the pleasure of shooting with all summer long. After a slow start and some difficulties Gabi’s unofficial practice started to get better. She struggled to find a good feeling with her shot and we tried several different things. Fortunately Gabi’s coach, Coach Timm Hines, was practicing at the same time and he helped her work through some issues. After about 2 hours she had worked everything out and felt more comfortable with her shot. We packed everything up and made our way to the hotel for a much needed shower and rest.
Friday morning came too fast but it was time for Gabi to do it all over again; official practice at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. We gathered our usual tournament supplies and headed to the tournament field: Hydro Flask backpack cooler, snacks, fluids, two bows, quiver, spotting scope, binoculars, tools, cool towels, ice pack, sunscreen, camera, battery pack and hats. Gabi setup on her target assignment and she was off. Typically Gabi will shoot between 150-250 practice arrows depending on how she is feeling. The plan was to keep up on her arrow count volumes like a regular training week; go into qualifications strong. As Gabi made her way through practice she again was struggling with the feeling of her shot. Her primary bow was not feeling good and her consistency and groups were reflecting it. Short of re-tuning the entire setup (on a bow the week prior was shooting national record scores) Gabi wisely decided to work on her backup bow and get it sighted in. First six arrows out of her backup bow were all in the middle, second 6 arrows very strong. She shot a couple more practice ends and felt comfortable with it.
After official practice during our car ride to dinner we discussed the strategy she would use for the following day’s qualification round. Because Gabi was questioning her primary bow and doubted its feel she had a huge decision to make. Shoot her primary bow that she works with day in and day out or put it aside and shoot her backup bow which she only shoots a few times a couple weeks prior to a tournament; fewer than 200 arrows prior to tournament. Her initial decision was to shoot her backup bow but the final choice would be made during official warmups prior to qualification rounds. A bold and risky move considering most archers would be shooting their primary setups the full duration of the warmup and qualification rounds. Giving them an advantage of shooting all their arrows on one bow, not splitting the invaluable practice time between two different setups.
Saturday, qualification day was upon us and we made it to the field in good time. Trusting and believing is a huge deal in competition. The athlete needs to believe everything about their process and equipment is 100%. Gabi did not trust the feel of her primary bow. She worked through it during official warmups and she went with her gut, her purple Hoyt Epik backup bow would be the one to carry her through qualification rounds. In typical fashion, I asked her if she needed anything from me and where she wanted me. In typical fashion, Gabi said it was ok to go away but to stay close. I confirmed our communication strategy, txt for non-urgent messages and phone calls for immediate assistance; dutifully I found a place to tune out. Chosen movie for this tournament; Tokyo Ghoul live action – subbed. About 45 minutes into qualifications I get a txt message, “Come help me.” I quickly packed my things and made it up to the athlete’s area. Fearing the worst I asked Gabi what she needed and she calmly asked me to check her timing and rhythm. The buzzer called the archers to the line and I took my place behind Gabi. I watched her shots and provided feedback. As we walked back to the seating area I confirmed her timing was on and her process looked strong. The day progressed, I found people to chat with and Gabi did her thing. At the end of the day Gabi ranked a respectable 5th with just 3 points separating 3rd – 5th place; one loose arrow on the last end pushed Gabi from 3rd to 5th. That’s how it rolls in the Cadet Women’s Recurve division; often considered the hottest and most difficult division in USA Archery – both men and women.
Finishing high in the qualification round assures the top finishers good seeds in the Olympic rounds (OR’s). Athletes are paired with the First ranked archer against the Last ranked archer, followed by the Second ranked against the Second to Last ranked and so on until the pairings meet in the middle. This is not to say highly ranked archers are assured a victory, anything can happen and the best archers are sometimes eliminated by lower seeds. It’s what makes the set system in the OR’s interesting and intense. Gabi had a good seed and was ready for Sunday OR’s. Again doubting her bow she warmed up with both during official warmup. Surprisingly she chose her primary over her backup bow she shot during qualifications. She explained to me that it was shooting more consistent groups even though it didn’t feel good. I figured this was ok because unlike qualification in OR’s archers only shoot 3 arrows per set. Gabi could grit it out and focus for 3 arrows even if she was not feeling right with her bow. As I anticipated she struggled during OR’s. In the round of 1/16 and 1/8 she and her opponents took the sets to their maximum 5 ends, with Gabi retiring her opposite in the final sets. I quietly spotted her arrows with frustration as she shot and a couple times failed to capitalize on her opponents mistakes. Momentum is everything in OR’s, gain momentum and win the day – lose momentum and be retired. Gabi never gained of lost momentum but shot with grit and relied on experience to bring her through. Making it to the quarter finals Gabi faced off against her friend Emma. It was their second time meeting in OR’s this summer. Their first meeting was at the Arizona Cup where Gabi eventually went on to win. This time was different, Emma was shooting fantastically and took the first two sets putting Gabi down 4-0. Gabi shot strong and took set 3 to make it 4-2. On the 4th and final end Emma shot a strong 28 to retire Gabi. Big hugs all around followed with a lot of smiling and laughing from both girls. You could hardly tell there was a competition going on. It was refreshing to see a different reaction than solemn faces from athletes disappointed to be retired from the OR’s.
Gabi and I both knew she was having a difficult tournament. She was not feeling her shot, she doubted her primary bow and nothing we did helped regain the feel or momentum. Despite all these things Gabi had a good time, remained positive and put the less fortunate things behind her. She stayed focused on the long game and the season goals and did not lose focus on the bigger picture. After Gabi’s tournament was over we stayed to watch the semifinals and medal matches. We got to see her friend make her first podium finish in the USAT’s. We saw another friend take gold; securing her spot on the United States National Team. It was fun to be a spectator and fan watching the girls we have been traveling around with all summer face off.
The end of the USAT season brought a feeling of relief to both Gabi and me. It was a long 9 months, thousands of miles traveled, hundreds of hours or training, tens of thousands of arrows shot, a lifetime’s worth of emotions and priceless memories made. Gabi went to the Texas Shootout to protect rank – she protected her rank! For now we eagerly await USA Archery’s selection and announcement of the Recurve Cadet Women’s US National Team.
I will close with my conversation with Gabi:
Gabi: Can you believe it papa? We did it!
Me: I can believe it big girl. You did it!
A huge thank you to Bob and Bill Hickey, Darrin Barry, Timm Hines, everyone at Next Step Archery, Nock Point and OCD Strings. Our range WCW and Washington State Archery Association. Thank you to mom and sister for making the sacrifices so we can travel to these USAT tournaments!
