Gabi and I have been working together as athlete and coach from the first day she picked up a bow at age 6. In the early years and even to this day, I am concerned about being such an involved parent and coach to my own child. Archery has been a rewarding experience for both of us but there are many pitfalls along our path. For this reason we have always had outside coaching and have remained dedicated and loyal to our archery family at Next Step Archery, The Nock Point and many friends we’ve met along the way.
Way back in the day Gabi and I shot together. I would shoot behind her, watched as she practiced and would do my best to keep an eye on her. All the while reinforcing what she learned in class at Next Step Archery and helped her whenever she needed. As she got older and was mature enough to shoot in tournaments I put down my bow to help her score and keep her on track with what was going on during tournaments. As Gabi improved and got more involved in archery so did my involvement with her coaching. We started putting in more time at the range, increased arrow counts, increased her draw weight, invested in better equipment and marched full speed ahead down the path of an archery lifestyle. Now, not a day goes by where we don’t speak about archery or something archery related.
Our philosophy has always been one of excellence. Every time we go out to the range we discuss quality, mindset, mental game, dedication, sportsmanship, expectations, winning and losing, success and disappointment, what it really means to be a champion, goals, dreams, responsibility, how she’s feeling, nothing is off limits during practice time. Every conversation there is a subtle reminder that these discussion points are not only for archery but are life lessons she can use everyday.
As mentioned at the beginning there are many pitfalls to coaching your own child. At times, along the way, I have made mistakes with Gabi. We have had some pretty big fights about practice and tournaments but always manage to find common ground to either agree to disagree or just let it go. We both have a common goal and with that in mind we move forward, work together and figure things out together.
Maybe through archery Gabi and I have grown closer together or maybe our relationship is much different than if we had not started this so many years ago. For now, we crisscross the United States in pursuit of her dream. She continues on and as her dad and sometimes coach I continue or with her.
