Lone Star Bowhunters Association - Bowie Students Get the Point ~NASP

Bowie Students Get the Point

January 27, 2011 10:00 AM

BY NATHANIEL MILLER
TO BUY RAFFLE TICKETS::

Contact Pablo Davila at 967-5002 or at 337-8361.

William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head. Robin Hood shot a bulls-eye right through another arrow. Both men are forever remembered in folklore for their deeds with a bow.

The students at Bowie Junior High may not be as famous, but they’re keeping an old tradition alive.

Set up in the school’s cafeteria, the students of the Bowie Archery Club shoot at three targets lined up in a row after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays to improve their skills.

“We used to practice in the mornings,” Pablo Davila, a special-education math-inclusion teacher and the instructor for the archery club said. “But since basketball took over, we started to come here after school and lock the doors.”

With an archery net set up behind the targets, Davila said there is no worry about damage to the school because no arrow has ever gotten past the net.

The students in the club first start practice by immediately helping set up for practice; and what seems to be a tedious task appears to be an enjoyment to the kids.

“Archery is not as affiliated with other school clubs,” Logan Joiner, 14, a ninth-grader said. “You get to be more of yourself.”

Seventh-grader Alex Davila, 13, and her 13-year-old friend Miranda Myers, eighth-grade, said they had been in the club since it started meeting in November.

“The coach is my dad,” Alex said.

"And I joined because she's my best friend," Myers explained as she threw her arms around Alex.

While it originally started as one of the six-week electives students rotated through, more and more students have signed up to make the elective a club. With about 11 members, the mixture of seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders have taken to their new activity with an intensity that makes Davila proud.

“The students run the club,” Davila said. “We’ve got a group of kids who are making sure attendance is met and announcements regarding the club are passed on.”

According to Davila, Bowie is the only school in both Odessa and Midland that offers archery as a club and a class. He hopes that soon other schools will pick up the sport as well.

“But with all the budget cuts lately, who knows,” he said.

Safety is a very important factor in the club and the class. Students are requited to take a safety test and pass with at least 90 percent correct before using the equipment.

Bowie principal Shelia Stevenson said ever since the introduction of the program, she has been a supporter of what it does.

“I know [Davila] has a love of the sport,” she said. “I thought it was good. If it benefits the students, I’m all for it.”

The district pays for the equipment for the class, but not for the club. Any equipment broken or needing replacement comes out of Davila’s or the club’s pocket.

The club is raising money in hopes to attend the state tournament Feb. 25 in Waco . The Permian Basin Archery Association (PBAA) is helping the club by having a drawing for items and donating the proceeds to the club. Davila also said he plans to ask local businesses to donate items for the PBAA to raffle.

Other than competing in tournaments, Davila hopes the students take more away than just a possible award at the tournament.

“One of the cool things about archery is that anyone can do it,” he said. “You don’t have to be the fastest or the smartest. It’s kind of an equalizer.”

GREAT JOB, PABLO!!!! Hey, how much are raffle tickets? I would like to buy some! Good luck to your group!