This cheer competition season, the MVHS cheer team is heading to state competition. The competition is hosted by the Missouri Cheerleading Coaches Association. Cheer Coach KayLynn Pennell is proud of the girls. “Getting to compete at the state level is the goal of our squad each year. They work really hard and practice throughout the summer to prepare.” She later added, “We were really proud to win our Regional competition. We competed against schools who beat us last year in the virtual competition.”

They practice a lot during the school year, and not just at games. “We practice about 5 1/2 hours a week earlier in the season and once the routine is learned, we focus on cleaning it up.”

Assisted by her father Mike Mobley, who is a sponsored pro shooter for Bowfreaks Archery and volunteers his time, health instructor Michelle Rust structures archery practices to mimic the structure students will encounter in the tournament setting.

“It’s all based on safety first,” Mrs. Rust said. She explained that competitors have to follow whistle commands along with a verbal command. Whistles are used to signal when to pick up the bow, when to ready the bow, and when to shoot. Whistles are also used to stop or restart, in case of an emergency on the line (such as a dropped arrow or other obstruction). “You don’t move on the range without [an explicit] command,” Mrs. Rust emphasized.

Shooters learn an 11-step process to not only practice these safety protocols but also to develop consistency in their shooting.

Senior Kirsten Ross, who has participated in the program since its inception, finds the process enjoyable. “It just helps me concentrate. It’s a fun activity to do.”

A third archery coach, Shannon Andrews, owns Bowfreaks Archery and not only donates her time but also donated 15 bows to the program, though most of the archers use their own equipment and are asked to use the same bow consistently because differences in poundages can easily affect aim.

Kayson McNeece, a freshman and new member to the club, understands the importance of aim. “The hardest part is finding out where my aiming point should be because at first it would be all over the place and it wouldn’t hit the target, and then [after instruction] it got easier.”

Mrs. Rust says she won’t call program participants athletes because “We don’t do push ups, we don’t run, or anything like that.” Though some athletes do enjoy archery competitions, all types of students enjoy the sport.

McNeece said that’s what he liked about it. He thinks the program “is very good for people who just want to have fun and aren’t very athletic because you don’t have to be good at it,” to compete.

Mrs. Rust concurs. “You sign up, you get to go. There are no tryouts or cuts.” All the coaches ask is that shooters demonstrate safety on the range, and “if you’re not ready to be safe yet then we ask you not to sign up yet and get some more practice in.” She added, “But most of them catch on pretty quick.”

Another thing that separates archery competitions from most athletic competitions is that males and females compete against each other. In fact, this is encouraged through team competition rules, according to Mrs. Rust. To be able to shoot as a team, a minimum of four males and four females are required to make up a total of 12 archers per team.

New archers might be surprised to learn that fourth grade students up to seniors compete at these tournaments, so a senior could be standing next to a fourth grader as they shoot. However, they are placed in age divisions.

Tournament competition takes about an hour. Mrs. Rust explained, “You do your shooting and you go home. You don’t sit there all day, like at a basketball tournament or a volleyball tournament.”

Currently, MVHS does not have enough targets to host a tournament, but Mrs. Rust hopes the program will be able to add a home tournament to the schedule within the next five years.