Flames team members line up in practice at the Liberty Mountain Gun Club.
Archers set sights on this weekend’s 3D National Championships in Alabama
10/2/2023 12:26:00 PM | Archery
With a competitive blend of 23 returning veterans and promising newcomers, the Flames and Lady Flames are eager to make their marks.
Liberty University's archery team, which has its largest roster to date with 23 members, will travel to Foley, Ala., for its most anticipated competition of the year, the USA Collegiate 3D National Championships, set for this Thursday through Saturday at the Graham Creek Interpretive Center.
"We're super pumped for this," Flames senior Joel Barkley said. "This is our favorite one just because it's farther, it's something different, it's something we all like doing. It's really exciting because it's just a way we can come together and start the year off and build community and it pushes us to work harder and set goals for the future and next semester with the other shoots that we'll be doing."
"We have four competitions a year, usually," Lady Flames junior Kayla Cassidy added. "This is the first one that we prepare for. It's a 3D tournament (and) it's definitely the longest one we have to travel for. With this tournament, you shoot (targets replicating) different animals — you can shoot bear, wolverine, deer, literally everything you can think of, it's probably out there — and you shoot it from different distances."
Barkley said the team looks strong this season and should be competitive in the national field of colleges and universities, most of which are based in the Southeast.
"We've had a lot of the same people come back again this year to participate, and we also have a lot of new people, too, with a lot of good talent, so I'm really pumped and excited," he said.
"We're taking a new approach where we're making sure each shot counts … making sure our form is right, making sure we are really trying to aim and see where those circles are."
Liberty Head Coach Jason Lynch said the Flames and Lady Flames have fine-tuned their form in preseason practices and carry plenty of confidence and experience into the event.
"We're preparing for the upcoming year by practicing exactly the same way that we are going to compete," he said. "We're … having them shoot the same types of situations where you get team events, where you have people stack up and shoot one and the next person shoots, and you get them used to the cadence of that. You practice for individual events by just having them put a lot of arrows on those targets, so they get used to them and know what to shoot for."
"This competition is the most exciting one of the year," he added. "You get a lot of camaraderie, a lot of events where there's a lot of pressure. You get shoot-downs (tie-breakers) with everybody cheering you on. That's a lot of fun."
Junior Levi Rodgers, who grew up bowhunting for sport, likes the realistic element of the 3D nationals and the opportunity to compete outdoors.
"You have to be prepared for the unknown," he said. "We've been having mock competitions, teaching the new people how the scoring system works, constantly moving the 3D animals to different ranges so that we don't get accustomed to shooting the same animal at a certain range, when in competition it will not be the same as what we're practicing."
Rogers said 3D nationals will set the stage for the rest of the season for both the new and returning team members.
"After we compete in the 3D shoot at Alabama, we'll have a mindset of where everyone is, skill-wise," he said. "Practicing is different than actually being in a competition. You act different. The pressure's there, so we can see how everyone performs under pressure and test yourself on how you perform under pressure. I'm looking forward to seeing that and how that can be coached and trained into and getting mentally prepared for the next shoots in the spring."
Video edited by Micah Adams/Club Sports Video & Media assistant
"We're super pumped for this," Flames senior Joel Barkley said. "This is our favorite one just because it's farther, it's something different, it's something we all like doing. It's really exciting because it's just a way we can come together and start the year off and build community and it pushes us to work harder and set goals for the future and next semester with the other shoots that we'll be doing."
"We have four competitions a year, usually," Lady Flames junior Kayla Cassidy added. "This is the first one that we prepare for. It's a 3D tournament (and) it's definitely the longest one we have to travel for. With this tournament, you shoot (targets replicating) different animals — you can shoot bear, wolverine, deer, literally everything you can think of, it's probably out there — and you shoot it from different distances."
Barkley said the team looks strong this season and should be competitive in the national field of colleges and universities, most of which are based in the Southeast."We've had a lot of the same people come back again this year to participate, and we also have a lot of new people, too, with a lot of good talent, so I'm really pumped and excited," he said.
"We're taking a new approach where we're making sure each shot counts … making sure our form is right, making sure we are really trying to aim and see where those circles are."
Liberty Head Coach Jason Lynch said the Flames and Lady Flames have fine-tuned their form in preseason practices and carry plenty of confidence and experience into the event.
"We're preparing for the upcoming year by practicing exactly the same way that we are going to compete," he said. "We're … having them shoot the same types of situations where you get team events, where you have people stack up and shoot one and the next person shoots, and you get them used to the cadence of that. You practice for individual events by just having them put a lot of arrows on those targets, so they get used to them and know what to shoot for."
"This competition is the most exciting one of the year," he added. "You get a lot of camaraderie, a lot of events where there's a lot of pressure. You get shoot-downs (tie-breakers) with everybody cheering you on. That's a lot of fun."
Junior Levi Rodgers, who grew up bowhunting for sport, likes the realistic element of the 3D nationals and the opportunity to compete outdoors.
"You have to be prepared for the unknown," he said. "We've been having mock competitions, teaching the new people how the scoring system works, constantly moving the 3D animals to different ranges so that we don't get accustomed to shooting the same animal at a certain range, when in competition it will not be the same as what we're practicing."
Rogers said 3D nationals will set the stage for the rest of the season for both the new and returning team members.
"After we compete in the 3D shoot at Alabama, we'll have a mindset of where everyone is, skill-wise," he said. "Practicing is different than actually being in a competition. You act different. The pressure's there, so we can see how everyone performs under pressure and test yourself on how you perform under pressure. I'm looking forward to seeing that and how that can be coached and trained into and getting mentally prepared for the next shoots in the spring."
Video edited by Micah Adams/Club Sports Video & Media assistant
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