Arlington ISD’s archery program is a national champion.
This past weekend, the team won top honors in the NASP high school tournament after winning its eighth state championship in the last nine years.
Team leaders tell NBC 5 that their focus on the unseen aspects of competition has been the key to their incredible success.
You wouldn’t want to stand in front of this firing squad. At their state-of-the-art facility in South Arlington, AISD’s archery team has been letting it fly.
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“They come in determined, coachable, and it leads to the success that we have had over the years,” said Alexander Villanueva, the Head Coach of AISD’s Archery program.
The banners and trophies speak for themselves.
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AISD’s program started nine years ago, and since then, they’ve won – a lot.
“Eight state championships and now a national championship to add to it,” Villanueva said.
This weekend the team was officially crowned NASP national champions, after winning tournaments in Utah and Kentucky.
The team’s coach told NBC 5 that 90% of the kids who join the program have never shot a bow before. But he believed their approach to the mental side of competition is what has set them apart.
“Some of the crazy things that we will do in here to put them into those high-pressure situations that they will get into, that I believe is the difference between our program and other programs,” Villanueva said.
Difference makers like Jennifer Vera, a bullseye’s worst nightmare.
She entered the archery facility during her freshman year as a novice and is now a three-time state champion.
“It’s honestly surreal, it’s pretty crazy,” Vera told NBC 5. “The adrenaline, it’s just so exciting.”
Arlington ISD’s coach said he hoped more kids would continue to show up to shoot their shots this way in the years ahead.
“Because I strongly believe that if they walk in these doors and they have the right mindset, we can also make them state champions,” Villanueva said.
