The morning of my last JOAD Nationals as a Cub arrived, and my papa and I got up to start the day. First was a nutritious breakfast and then straight to practice. Everything was going well, shots were smooth and coming off the bow effortlessly. After an hour of shooting we decided to wrap up practice and eat lunch. Before I knew it, lunch was over and we made our way to the Easton Salt Lake Archery Center. Standing in front of the training center all I could do to contain my nerves was remind myself that I was prepared; there was nothing I could have done to be more prepared and that I was ready.

For JOAD Nationals I shot my natural age div, Cubs. I stood on the line for my first practice end and it felt good. It felt like a normal practice day, once scoring started everything felt normal. Shortly after the first scoring end things started to go slightly down. I was not shooting my avgs but throughout the whole tournament I knew that getting discouraged would not help. I remained positive and gritted it out the rest of the day, never giving up. Perseverance resulted in two scores that were not my best but they felt amazing at the time and 1st place in JOAD Cub Div. I leave Cubs having such great memories. Shooting in Cubs is always so much fun with athletes my own age. It is an entirely different experience and I will remember it always.

The big day finally arrived, the USA Archery 51st Indoor National Champs. For Nationals I shot up into Junior Div. The idea of being in Jr still intimidated me but the tournament was about to start, so those thoughts had to be pushed aside. As I stood on the line to shoot for score all that was in my mind was that warm ups went well and I was fearless. The first half was amazing, nothing could have gone wrong. The second half was the opposite. During the start of the second half I lost my shot, which made for a rough start. I used all my mental tools to get back on track, eventually I found my shot again and things were better. After turning in cards all that was racing through my mind was I could have done so much better in the second half but I accepted it for what it was.

Sunday, it was the last day and the day that I look forward to the most. I felt quite chipper and was ready to get the tournament done. The first scoring round began and it was a bit of a rocky start. Some shots were coming off good, others were not, it was inconsistent. After what felt like hours of shooting, the first half was over and I reset myself at the break. Going into the second half there was one thing through my mind; shoot strong finish strong. Everything was going great, effortless and strong. Then on the last arrow of the tournament I shot my first 8 of the second half. I was a little irritated that of all times, that is when I shoot an 8. Soon after my papa came and told me I set a new Cub National Record! Once we turned in the cards, my papa took me aside privately to break the news to me; I was the 51st Indoor National Champion in the Junior division. This brought me so much excitement and joy, I did not expect it at all.

Thank you my best supporters Coach Bob, Next Step Archery, Mr Bill, my parents, my Next Step Archery Team, Mr Darrin, Ms Carrie. A big thank you to my best friend and training partner Lillian. Without you this journey would not be as fun! You were so brave this weekend and I could not be more proud of you. Big thanks to my sponsors OCD Strings, RamRods Archery and The Nock Point for supporting my archery by supplying me with equipment to use. Without the help of any of you this could not have happened; I thank you from the bottom of my heart.