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Program Raises Straight Shooters

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By GEORGE WILKENS gwilkens@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 7, 2009

PLANT CITY - Two groups dedicated to fostering appreciation of the outdoors among youngsters have teamed up to provide a low-cost beginning archery program for children and teens.

Mike Perry, a longtime Ducks Unlimited member, and Dennis Pawlowski, founder of a unique Plant City ministry, are the driving forces behind the volunteer joint effort.

The mission of Trinity Special Sportsman Ministries is to allow youngsters to share the great outdoors so they can better appreciate all God's creatures, Pawlowski said.

"We've been plugging away for almost three years now, and we're getting more and more organized, getting more and more people involved," said Pawlowski, who moved here from Seffner 14 years ago after accepting a job with the Plant City Police Department.

The youth archery program was launched in 2006. "I was coming home from a hunting trip, and the idea popped into my head," Pawlowski said. The brainstorm became reality after he rounded up a group of children interested in learning how to use a bow and arrow.

By 2007, the organization had joined forces with the Plant City Family YMCA, and some 60 children learned archery during that organization's summer camp. That same year, 40 kids, ages 8 to 12, participated in a weeklong archery clinic co-sponsored by Trinity and the church where Pawlowski is a member, First Baptist of Plant City.

Last year, additional archery clinics were opened up to youths and their parents, and advanced lessons were made available.

Although dads are a natural to team up with the kids for this sport, don't discount Mom.

"It's definitely not a boys-only sport," Pawlowski said.

"Some of my best shooters are girls. And I've got a good mix of boys and girls going through the program," he said. "Probably the largest growing section of outdoors people is girls and women."

Additionally, instruction through the National Archery in the Schools Program is offered at nine Hillsborough County schools, including Turkey Creek and Marshall middle schools and Durant High. The program provides international-style target archery instruction in physical education classes for grades 4 through 12.

In 2004, Florida became the 24th state to offer the National Archery in the Schools Program training developed in Kentucky.

Classes in this state are a cooperative effort between the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Education. Prior to teaching the two-week class, teachers undergo an eight-hour Basic Archery Instructor Training Program, according to the organization's Web site.

Now, with help of Perry and the resources at Bailey's Outdoor Products, participants in the joint independent program have use of an indoor archery range on which to hone their skills.

Perry became involved with the youth archery program through his volunteer work as east Hillsborough County's representative for Greenwing, the Ducks Unlimited program for ages 17 and younger.

"We're trying to get kids interested in the outdoors," said Perry, a Plant City resident, avid duck hunter and Ducks Unlimited member for a dozen years. Archery is a sport focusing more on skill than brawn, which appeals to many youngsters, Perry said.

"Not everyone's interested in physical sports," yet for those with great archery skills there is an opportunity to compete globally, as archery is an Olympic event, he added.

An electrical contractor by trade, Perry donated lighting and labor for the archery range that opened in August at Bailey's, 201 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The 20-yard range that allows Bailey's customers to test-drive archery equipment before they buy and provides them an indoor practice area is also being made available to members of the youth archery program for several hours weekly.

"Safety is first and foremost," Pawlowski said. The eight-week course at Bailey's begins with the basics, and youngsters who gain an appreciation of archery can register for more clinics, Pawlowski said.

Pawlowski's young sons, Nathan and Noah, have been practicing archery for years.

Says Noah, 9: "It's a very old sport, and it's fun." At home, he practices his marksmanship from the backyard deck, shooting at paper targets 5 to 20 feet away.

Noah has been shooting since he was 6, starting like many children, with an inexpensive toy bow and arrows tipped with suction cups. "I didn't use a compound bow then. I used a play one," he said.

Nathan Pawlowski, 6, began shooting at age 4 but may not have his heart in it, according to his older brother, who often shoots at a life-size three-dimensional target of a deer, complete with color-coding depicting the animal's vital organs.

"Sometimes, when I get a lot of arrows in the red, Nathan cries," Noah said.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Children's basic archery program

WHEN; 6:30 p.m. for eight Thursdays, starting Jan. 8

WHERE: Bailey's Outdoor Products, 201 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Plant City

COST: One-time $15 registration fee

INFORMATION: Dennis Pawlowski, (813) 389-3678 or Mike Perry, (813) 477-5112

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