One fall as I was making the long, cross-country drive back from summer camp, my mind began to wander as it often does. There was talk of hiring a new archery instructor next year, and I wanted that person to have as much information as possible to help with the job. I looked on the internet, and found a few books about archery (some of them quite good), but there was nothing about how to teach archery to kids.

To me, this seems like a gross omission. Archery has to start somewhere! And every camp I have ever been to, either as a camper or a counselor, has had archery as one of its programs. Then I remembered something a professor told me a long time ago: the best topics for books are those that are yet unexplored; the best books for an author to write are those on a subject he knows a lot about. Coincidences collided, and I realized that had to write Teaching Archery to Kids.

I have been an archer since my dad taught me in the early eighties. My grandfather (who won several archery championships in California in the fifties) taught me how to make arrows and other tackle. A bowyer friend of mine taught me how to make bows. After teaching hundreds of kids to shoot over many summers at camp, I had a lot of practical knowledge about teaching archery. But that wasn’t enough to write a book on it. I spent the next two years of evenings reading, researching, drawing, writing, and testing home-made archery tackle. Not being good at flashy paintings, I asked a friend of mine who’s a professional artist (Frank Victoria) to paint me a cover. Several skilled individuals proofread, offered suggestions, and otherwise improved the book.

In the end, Teaching Archery to Kids is a home-made project that has the same soul and do-it-yourself ingenuity as most archers and camp staff I know. It’s a ground-roots project to make the the world a better place for archery, and for kids. It’s my humble bid to keep archery alive in the 21st century and beyond.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a copy of all this information (and a whole lot more) close at hand at the archery range? Buy the book! It’s cheaper than a laptop and cellular modem connection, and keeps on working when there’s no electricity available. If you are an archery instructor, toxophile, or intelligent literate individual, there is no better way to spend $19.95. Teaching Archery to Kids can be purchased at either of two convenient locations; just click on the icons to jump right there:

	This is my personal E-store at CreateSpace, my publisher. They are a subsidiary of Amazon.com, and if you buyTeaching Archery to Kids from this site, it costs you the same as buying from Amazon’s website, but the author gets more of the profits. Support creativity! The book you will receive is identical to that shipped from Amazon.com.
	Amazon.com is a huge online bookseller that has all sorts of great stuff, including Teaching Archery to Kids. They have fast delivery, and always have copies on hand.

So please support an archery author and expand your library at the same time. I thank you.

The best things in life are free, and that goes for archery too. Tired of trying to smash your copy of Teaching Archery to Kids onto the copier? Click to download printable versions of teaching aids, target faces, patterns, and more.  Think of it as a present from me to you. You’re even welcome to use them if you haven’t bought a copy of my book. If you enjoy these and find them useful, please consider buying one of my books to help me with the costs of maintaining this site.

Directions:
Right-click on the file name to save the it to your hard drive, or click it to open it in your browser. Unless it says otherwise in the notes, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view & print these files. It’s free, and you can get it here. Enjoy!

Note: I am adding these downloads as I have time, so if there isn’t a logo next to the file name, I haven’t made that freebie yet. Check back again later.

Teaching Aids- These print on letter sized paper.

	anatomy-arrow.pdf	A nice handout showing the parts of the arrow.
	anatomy-bow.pdf	A nice handout showing the parts of the bow (camp, recurve, as well as compound). Please note, this file has three pages to it.
	bowhand.pdf	You can paste these two images to a piece of cardbard, cut them out, and lay one over the other to show kids what different aiming views look like.
	target.pdf	Basic target face dimensions.

Target Faces- (coming soon) These print on larger paper. You can take these files to Staples or other printing places and plot them on 24″x36″ paper. Its not a very cost effective way to make a lot of targets, but you could make one this way, then trace it on white butcher paper for future targets.

Patterns- These are from the book, and maybe even some new ones. Some require a larger printer, and will say so in the notes.

	bracer.pdf	A basic bracer (armguard) pattern from page 122 in the book
	tabs.pdf	Patterns for fingers and tabs, on the same sheet of paper, from page 124 in the book
	quiver.pdf	The quiver pattern from page 126 in the book. If you want to print it out actual size, take it to Staples or some place with a large format printer and tell them you want it printed out at 400% size.

Here are some sample sections you can download in PDF format. They give a good overview of the organization, depth, and clarity of the text and illustrations. Click on the title to download. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view them, and it’s available (for free) here if you don’t have it.

	intro.pdf	This is the beginning of the book, including both the introduction and the table of contents.
	shooting.pdf	The first few pages of the chapter on how to shoot a bow, showing the illustrations and clear step-by-step method.
	arrows.pdf	A sample from the section describing the equipment. This particular passage is on arrows and arrowheads.
	repair.pdf	There is also a section on maintaining, repairing, and making equipment. This passage describes how to install nocking point indicators.

You can also use Amazon’s “Look Inside” function to see some of the pages of the book, to get a feel for what Teaching Archery to Kids is all about. It’s got a lot of clear illustrations and thorough organization to make your job easier. Check it out here.

Here’s a small sample of what’s inside Teaching Archery to Kids:

Images and text are integrated to aid in understanding

Clear illustrations explain complex ideas

Well-organized charts are easy to follow

Welcome to your internet resource center for teaching archery to kids! This site is designed to be a companion to the book “Teaching Archery to Kids,” available at Amazon.com and through this site. Camp counselors and administrators, interested parents, and aspiring archers can all find something useful here. Check back in from time to time as I add more content to the site, especially downloads in the Free Stuff section, as well as useful links in the sidebar. Happy shooting!