I wanted to call it youth "league" but that's really not the right word, since competition would not be a part of it.
After the crops are in I'm really itching to try and start a very small group of boys in traditional archery. I'm purely guessing but I'm thinking maybe a dozen of them. (It would be boys only because it would be a church-function-type-thing with the bigger picture having a focus on being a doorway into "little-man's ministry" of sorts.
I'm a strong believer that men need time to be with other men, and I see no reason the same doesn't hold true with boys. Add to that my ever-increasing realization that the men, and in particular, the boys of our culture are being systematically feminized/emasculated
and...whhooaaa, I better stop there. Just go to any mall and take note of any male between the ages of 12 and 25. You'll get the point.
Besides that my church already (or did at least) have a ministry for the little girls to get together and do their girlie things. To my knowledge there is nothing throughout the week, or more likely the weekends, for the young boys. (I'm thinking of a 8-14 age range...but that's one of the big things I'm looking for suggestions on.) I'm from a very rural area and hunting does not have the slightest bit of a negative connotation attached to it...but hunting would not be the focus anyway (refer to the "bigger picture" portion above).
*Getting a half dozen bows lined up.
*Getting MYSELF some REAL coaching so I can actually be of some use to the young 'uns.
*Some more targets
These are the things I know I need.
Some specific question are:
*Does having multiple shooters shooting at the same target cause problems?
*Age-range and general poundage of bows? (I have no idea what an "average" 10yo can comfortably pull.)
*Backstop ideas? If it's inside I don't want to be tearing stuff up. If it's outside I don't want to go through arrows like there's no tomorrow.
*Ideas on games that aren't too challenging and where pinpoint accuracy ISN'T the determining factor. (Best I can come up with is "lottery" type targets)
*Points of interest about training young archers. Things to absolutely avoid (beside broadheads LOL ) Things to really watch for. Things to definitely include, etc.
*Lastly, the best way to get the parents involved
positively ***(Disclaimer: I do not consider archery or hunting to be an activity reserved for masculinity. The point is men spending time with men. What boy doesn't like the idea of a bow and arrow? And what better way to introduce the next generation to archery BEFORE they get sucked into one of them training wheel rigs like I did?
:D )