Is archery a good sport for children/teens?

Introducing your kids to the art of archery can be fruitful for them and you. It is an easy sport to start with and kids and teens of any age can participate. As with any other sport, you can start your kids off by getting them the appropriate equipment and gear, a few lessons from a coach or the internet, and lots of practice sessions.

There are a variety of benefits offered when children engage in archery, which helps their physical and mental development. However, it might seem daunting to get your children started with archery. It’s a unique sport with some unique aspects you should consider. No time to read this entire article? Read at least my summary below:

Archery is a great sport for children and teens. It teaches them to be responsible, patient, focused, and disciplined. Which are skills children need when they grow up. This makes archer a unique hobby compared to most ballgames which are all about stamina and strength.

Can children practice archery?

Children and teens alike can practice archery without any problems. Around 6-10 years of age, kids become able enough to follow instructions and handle the bows and arrows. They could either be interested in archery by themselves after seeing a movie or their friends, and you can even try and develop a passion within them.

The sooner they start, the more time they will get to learn, practice, and master their skills. It all depends on the child, their behavior, attention span, responsibility, and ability to focus are all important points to consider before handing them a bow and arrow.

Archery can be practiced by almost anyone and doesn’t require playing any other sport. Only patience, focus, and a steady aim are needed. Children can even take part in competitions or tournaments once they feel ready enough so that they can expand out of their comfort zone.

If you are wondering whether archery fits your child, you might want to read the article below. It also includes a quiz that indicates how good of a fit your kids’ personality is with archery.

Is archery the right sport/hobby for me?

Start them off slow

Even the most experienced archers started from a beginner level at some point. There is a variety of equipment available for archers, which they use as they progress further and gain more experience. Take your children from the start and first develop a sense of safety and make them aware of the rules.

A visit to the shop will help you and your child learn about the kind of bow best suited for them. The retailer will be able to suggest a bow according to the length and draw weight that the child can easily handle. There are multiple designs and colors to choose from as well. Here is a guide to buying the first bow. Once they get the hang of it, then they can opt for any upgrades if required.

Keep in mind that initially, your children will make mistakes. You just must guide and support them until they get better and understand the basics. Make sure to check out the article below for clear technique guidelines:

How to shoot a bow – the technique

The pros of archery for children

Archery as a sport offers a wide range of benefits for children, helping their development. They can be used as an advantage that helps them in other aspects of life. Some of the benefits are mentioned below:

Develops focus

Every shot that your child makes requires focus and concentration on their technique, their environment, and their destined target. They’ll need to pay attention to land good shots. This makes them develop control over their muscles to perfect the steps of shooting an arrow and helps them get better at the sport. Building focus is also beneficial in their schoolwork, allowing them to concentrate better.

Builds physical strength

The positioning and the controlled use of the arm and shoulder muscles increase the physical strength and muscle development of your child. Furthermore, this sport is practiced while standing and requires considerable walking to pick up the arrows or when moving to other targets. Therefore, your children can get some exercise and get fit while they hone their skills.

Especially for kids that are generally not that sporty, archery can be a great sport. Because you don’t need a lot of stamina or endurance to practice it.

Teaches discipline

The set of rules to follow, the technique, and the spirit of healthy competition required in archery all teach discipline to children. This self-discipline is important in their lives and benefits them in other activities too. They learn how to handle distractions and focus effectively on the task at hand.

Makes them patient

It takes a lot of consistent practice and time before archery can be mastered. Archery is not a sport that you can master after a few hours. It requires serious dedication to see results. This helps children mature. As adults, we often must invest a lot of time and effort before we see results. Think for example about starting a business.

Taking the time to aim and waiting for the right opportunity to take the shot also requires patience and teaches you to be calm. It is one of the important aspects when practicing archery. It can be a good way to help your kids focus and wait for the right moment to release the arrow. This type of patience helps them in life and allows them to get better at this sport.

Brings them outdoors

Nowadays, it’s hard to motivate your kids to step outside the house. They might find themselves being too comfortable playing video games or looking at phone screens. Archery is a good way to bring them out into the fresh air.

They can engage in an interesting sport and can also gain the benefits of being out and about in nature at the same time. Jogging or walking will also have these benefits, but most kids will find that rather boring. Therefore, archery is a great way to get your kids to want to go outside instead of forcing them.

After all, it improves their health and has a positive influence on their mental health. At the time of their development, it is beneficial for them to be active and spend quality time outdoors.

Builds a sense of responsibility

We always want to keep our children safe. Therefore, we put dangerous objects away and don’t let children play with tools and other dangerous objects. But children must become adults and you better start to give them a sense of responsibility when they are still growing up. Your children can’t be under your protection forever.

Therefore, practicing archery can build this sense of responsibility in a safe environment. Children will realize that they must be careful and responsible with their bow. They can’t just aim it wherever they want, and they need to think about the consequences of their actions.

This can give your child a huge self-esteem boost because it gives them a sense of maturity. This is very important for children because they want to be taken seriously. Allowing them to shoot a bow will give them a sense of responsibility. It also shows that you trust them, which builds a healthy relationship of trust between you and your child.

Archery is fun

This sport can be very engaging and fun. Participating in competitions, playing with friends, or solo sessions can be an enjoyable pastime for your kids. Additionally, if you also join them then it can become a good bonding activity.

Getting the shots right and hitting targets successfully fills them with motivation and leaves them in raised spirits, giving a sense of accomplishment. They focus more on improving their skills rather than take note of how good or bad others are.

Although archery might seem a very masculine sport it’s a great sport for girls. Unlike football or rugby, archery isn’t an aggressive sport and is all about concentration and control. Generally, this is something girls like. Therefore, I see more and more girls starting with archery!

When archery isn’t the best sport for your child

Although I believe archery is a great sport for most children, it’s not the best sport for all. Archery is not a sport that allows them to blow off steam. Therefore, archery is not a great activity for children who are restless and easily bored.

You might think that they can learn to be calmer and more concentrated with archery but that often isn’t the best strategy. Children already need to be calm and concentrated at school, in their free time they should have something they enjoy.

If you aren’t sure whether archery is the right sport for your child, you could always try it out. Most training facilities allow your kid to participate in beginner’s lessons. After the lessons are over, he/she could always quit without having to invest in archery gear.

Is archery hard to learn?

There are some downsides to consider in the case of archery. Like anything else, archery requires commitment and time to improve. The technique used in shooting needs to be proper from the start, otherwise, your children will face great difficulty when learning.

Learning and using the proper technique is vital when handling the bow and shooting at targets. It can take years of practice to completely master archery, and this might seem overwhelming to your children. No one can become an expert right from the start.

Patiently stay with them and teach them that mistakes are a part of the process. No matter how bad they think they are, make them realize the importance of consistent practice. The more experience your kids gain, the better and more accurate they’ll get in the future. After significant and regular practice, shooting the arrows starts becoming part of their muscle memory. Regardless, since they are kids, they’ll make a lot of mistakes but that’s nothing to worry about.

There is also the problem of choosing the right kind of bow for their needs. It might be hard to choose out of the many available types. Check out the article below for a step-by-step guide on how to get your kid started.

Getting started with archery

Is archery safe?

Some people believe that archery is dangerous because you are shooting pointy projectiles. But since all archers realize this, we have some clear guidelines on what you should and shouldn’t do. Therefore, serious accidents are very rare and only happen when the coaches are negligent.

Archery is a lot safer sport than rugby, soccer, and other contact sport. Since you keep a proper distance from other archers, they will never break a bone by a reckless teammate or opponent.

Therefore, serious injuries cannot happen when everyone obeys the safety protocols and uses protective equipment. The worst that could happen then is that your kid experiences muscle pain. But that is harmless and part of the process of building muscle strength.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, you might want to read the article below. There I discuss in more detail how safe archery is when we look at the stats of insurers. I also discuss the safety protocols in more detail, so it’s also worth a read if you want to let your child shoot in your backyard.

Is archery dangerous? How to keep it safe

Is archery expensive?

Some people believe that archery is an expensive sport, but that is not the case. Sure, you must buy a bow, arrows, and some protective equipment, but you don’t need to buy them the most expensive equipment to learn the sport. In most cases buying some cheaper alternative will do the job just fine, as I explain in this article. Like most sports, you might of course have to buy new gear once they have outgrown it.

If you want to know more about how much archery costs, make sure to read the article below. I discuss in more detail what all the gear costs per bow type.

Is archery an expensive hobby/sport?

Conclusion

Archery can be a great hobby for teens and children. If somewhere down the road they decide to not pursue it anymore, they can still make use of the benefits they gained from their practice and experience. It can be very motivating for your children to learn the basics of archery and discuss their progress with them.

They can keep it as a backyard hobby or go further and participate in competitions. Your kids can enjoy this sport in a way that suits their interests best. They may enjoy shooting in a team at local competitions or alone with you in your backyard.

Archery can be a rather challenging hobby, even for adults! The key here is persistence. Loads of practice and patience will be needed to perfect their skills. This is a helpful skill needed in the ‘’real world’’ so they benefit from learning this skill.

More questions about archery?

Archery is a unique sport, which isn’t comparable to a lot of other sports. Therefore, I get a lot of questions, which I answer in articles like this. So keep reading if you want to learn more about archery:

• Is archery the right sport/hobby for me?
• Why archery is so much fun (and sometimes frustrating)
• Is archery dangerous?
• Is archery an expensive hobby?
• Do you have to be strong for archery?
• Do you need good eyesight for archery?
• Is archery hard to learn?