VARNELL, Ga. — Not everyone can run with a football well; not everyone can shoot a basketball consistently. But, the newest sports program at Coahulla Creek High School is bringing a wider range of students into the athletic realm.

This year, Coahulla Creek debuted an archery team. Archery programs have already existed at the elementary level, but thanks to Julie Norton — who also is the school’s volleyball coach — the sport has made its way to the high school level.

“I have been trained for two-and-a-half years with the NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) archery program. It is now in 13 countries, but it started in Kentucky and has grown exponentially,” Norton said. “In our particular area it has become very, very big, especially in our local elementary schools. I saw a great need, especially for our feeder schools that were getting involved. What are the elementary kids looking forward to in continuing doing something they practiced really hard for. I saw a need and hope that we’re going to be able to continue that on for them. That’s why I went initially.”

Coahulla Creek principal Tracy Mardis said Norton was instrumental in starting the high school program.

“It all started with her,” Mardis said. “She was just aware of the opportunity and came to me with the training opportunity. It was just that initial piece. It was a really a no-brainer. We were ready to roll with it. We actually talked about it the year before, and knew the kids coming it us were already involved in it. It started at Cohutta and the elementary schools years ago, they had it at North Whitfield (Middle School). We wanted our kids coming from there to have the opportunity to continue with that in high school.”

Norton said the sport has been in her background for a long time thanks to her father, Jim Laird, who also helps coach the team. She then put the wheels in motion to get the team its initial funding and the training necessary to kickstart the program.

“Archery is a love of mine. I have a unique opportunity to coach with my dad. He got me involved in it and he’s very, very knowledgable,” she said. “That’s kind of how we got things started here. We were able to get a grant to get our program off the ground. The Department of Natural Resources offers a grant for $2,000 that helps you purchase your initial equipment. This year we decided we’re going to try to get this off the ground. We started in October. There’s some safety training we have to go through in order to make sure kids remain safe with what potentially could be called a weapon, but ultimately right now we use it as a sporting event.”

Archery programs in Whitfield County are at Cohutta and New Hope elementary schools, as well as New Hope, North Whitfield, Valley Point and Westside middle schools. Beaverdale Elementary School is forming a program.

From the day it was first announced at Coahulla Creek the program attracted the interest of those already familiar with the sport and those interested in trying something new.

“When I was little I used to shoot my dad’s bow when it was too heavy for me to pull it back,” said junior Easton Christopher. “Me and my friends would talk about wanting to start an archery program here. When Mrs. Norton brought it up we thought ‘we really need to do this.’ When we first went into it we didn’t think it would be as difficult as it was, but I really had that need and want to get better. This has been really fun so far for me.”

“Last year they started making announcements. It’s something I’ve never done before but I’ve always been interested,” added senior Jordan Smith. “I didn’t get to go to any of the meetings but I had (Norton) as a teacher and I talked to her about it and signed up for everything. I got involved and I love it.

“The only time I ever shot a bow before the archery team was my sophomore year, just one day at a friend’s house. I loved it and wished we would’ve have a team.”

Forming the new team has brought together a host of different kids from around the school and built new bonds among team members.

“A lot of the kids on the team I’ve past in the hallways but never really spoken to them,” Smith said. “Now we’re all pretty close.”

Freshman Nick Taylor is one of the more experienced shooters on the team. He’s glad to do something he calls “a big part of my life” for the school and help out those still learning.

“That part of this is awesome,” he said. “I get to meet new people and help them out a little bit, maybe help make them as good as me even though I’m not that good. I’ve watched some other people and they’re doing really good.”

Norton said one of the early hurdles the program faced was to make sure there were enough shooters to field a team eligible for competitions. A minimum of 12 archers — with at least four males or four females — is required to get a team score in competitions. The program has far surpassed the minimum requirements as Norton estimates the team consists of about 20 members that consistently come to practices and competitions.

One of those is senior Tyler Coker who said he was disappointed he missed out in the elementary archery program but is ecstatic he can be a part of the first high school team.

“They put archery in at Cohutta a year or two after I left and I felt kind of sad,” he said. “I had always thought archery was cool, I’ve had my own bow for a long time. I went and did archery at summer camp once with the scouts. I’ve always been a fan. When I heard they were doing one here, I was really excited for it. I’m like ‘Hey, senior year I can do something different other than marching band. It’s pretty cool being able to participate in something else and it being really fun like it is. I’m really glad I’ve joined.

“I’m really glad I can take what I did and do it for the school now. It feels really good doing something I’ve done for a long time and actually putting it to a pretty good use.”

A program for everybody

Mardis and Norton agree that installing the archery program has given a wider range of students, ones that wouldn’t normally participate in athletics, the opportunity to be involved with their school and a part of a team.

“That’s the big thing I’ve noticed,” Mardis said. “Some of the kids that do this are kids that probably would not be as involved in other sports. This gives them that opportunity. I like to tell the kids, ‘Get involved in something. If you’re not playing sports, get in band, or our performing arts, join a club, just do something. If you’re on a team you build great relationships with teammates and that feeling of accomplishment you get when you compete and win together, it’s definitely a good thing.”

“There’s typically a very eclectic group,” Norton said. “We have some kids that participate in other athletics, some marching band members, but a lot of our kids, that’s kind of their thing. They really enjoy participating in archery. I think it’s a great opportunity for them to learn how to be a part of a team and to be involved with something in their school and to see how practice and hard work pays off from day in and day out.”

The kids agree archery provides more kids with great opportunities.

“Some people aren’t as athletic as they would want to be, maybe they can’t run very long or lift very much weight, so they’re kind of hesitant to do other sports,” Christopher said. “With this one, it’s more mind and mechanics. It can take someone far if they keep doing it even after they get out of high school.”

“Archery gives a lot of kids an advantage that they can do sports,” Taylor added. “It’s more than how big or how strong you are in football or how athletic you are. It’s nothing you’ve seen before.”

Others point to the life lessons archery can provide.

“The biggest thing (Norton) and her dad have kind of pushed us to think about is, if you shoot and it’s not good, you can’t think about it the next time you shoot. You have to forget and focus on each individual shot. If you mess up on the first shot you can’t focus on that cause you”ll likely mess up on the next one. You have to reevaluate and refocus and regain your composure.

“It applies to life, if something goes wrong or something bad happens you can’t focus on it. You got to try to keep moving forward and keep improving with your life. You cant focus on the past and the bad things, you got to keep going.”

The competition

Archery is not a Georgia High School Association sanctioned sport, but tournaments around the state are held by NASP and the Georgia Archery Association.

In a competition, archers shoot at 10 and 15 meters from a target. Each archer shoots four rounds from 10 meters, the first a practice round followed by three scoring rounds of five arrows each. They repeat this from at 15 meters.

Competitors are awarded points based on how close they get to the center of the target. There are 10 scoring rings. The center ring is worth 10 points progressing down to one point for the outermost ring.

A competitor’s perfect score is 300. Norton said most of her archers shoot above 200 with an average around 235. Some have shot as high as the 270s.

A successful first year

In its first season, the program has found a bit of success. The Colts qualified for the regional tournament, held Saturday at Woodlawn Elementary. Other area high schools Murray County and North Murray, along with several local elementary and middle schools, will also compete.

But the success Coahulla Creek has experienced in its first year has been surprising to some.

“I think us as a whole are better off where we are than we figured we would be at the beginning,” Coker said. “I honestly didn’t think joining in, a first-year team, not going to lie I didn’t have much faith we’d get as far as we have. It’s a pleasant surprise and kind of strange being part of the first year of something and how far we’ve actually gotten and how much everyone has gotten better though practices.”

Both Norton and her archers said the team is hopeful it can keep improving and keep progressing. But regardless, the foundation has been set for the future.

“It’s really good to know, for me, being part of the first team here,” Christopher said, “because knowing it’s not only an individual effort, it’s a team effort to go farther. It’s really good to set the stage for future generations to come up and be a part of this team.”