Burlington archery club draws in youth with promise of competition, camaraderie

A whistle sounds and eight teenagers and pre-teens step forward to the firing line and notch their bows.

At the second sound of the whistle, the bow string is drawn back until it touches the archer’s cheek.

There is a pause as the archer aligns on the bullseye and then the bow string is released to send a pointed shaft speeding down the indoor range to a distant target.

It is a scene repeated multiple times on a Wednesday evening as young archers gather in the basement of Burlington’s Jefferson Street Senior Center for another training session of the Flint River Archery Club.

In the closely monitored environment, archers learn the rules of range safety and polish proper shooting techniques. In the process, they garner increased self-confidence and team-building skills.

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The club is the creation of Burlington’s husband and wife team, Zack and Denissa Cornick, and is affiliated with the S3DA. This “after school” national organization focuses on 3-D target archery, safety and ethical bow hunting.

The Flint River organization is the only club of its kind in Iowa. It participates in roughly 125 competitive shoots a year, largely against clubs in Illinois, where the S3DA program has proved popular.

The S3DA in turn, partners with the USA Archery Program to promote a natural progression of young archers from the elementary school level on to college.

Jonathan Moore, a senior at Washington High School, is part of that progression. He began shooting while in the fourth grade in an archery program sponsored by the Washington school system.

His initial interest in the sport was furthered when he joined his father on bow hunts, and then his mother encouraged him to become involved with the Burlington club.

That has paid dividends because Moore recently not only scored his first deer but also earned a scholarship at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg.

“It’s great that I get to continue archery while I go to college,” Moore said. “The sport has really got me interested in going into conservation. I plan to study wildlife management and later work as a Department of Conservation officer.”

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That link of the Burlington club to college competitive programs was further fostered recently when club members traveled to Cedar Rapids' Cornell College for a tour of the campus and to attend presentations concerning the school’s competitive archery team.

Zack Cornick explained that schools with archery as an intercollegiate sport often attend club shooting events to identify likely participants for college level competition.

Many of the participants in a recent Flint River club practice were girls and young women, and Denissa Cornick stresses that the sport of archery benefits all genders.

“It is really an awesome activity and can be life-changing,” she said. “I’m a bow hunter, and starting this club just seemed like a natural way to introduce my daughters and others to the sport in a safe manner.”

Zach Cornick echoes that endorsement and credits it for being the catalyst to establish the local youth club.

“I had started shooting with my dad, but then got away from the sport,” Zack Cornick remembered. “But I got back into it. And then my two daughters – Odessa and Alma - came along, and we wanted to get them involved.

“I was bemoaning the fact there was no archery clubs for kids in town. And then Denissa got tired of it and said I could continue to complain or I could do something about it.  That is when the club started. So now it is Denissa that is the brains and the organizer and I just get to carry things."

Zack Cornick took a break from his carrying duties to point out the various bows being used at the Jefferson Street training session, where compound bows dominated.

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He pointed out the cams that reduce by up to 80% the force needed to hold the poised arrow at full draw, and he demonstrated the range-finding sight that is used to guide the arrows.

“Just like a lot of sports, you can get into archery at a pretty simple level, and as you go along you can spend a lot more on equipment. Around here, hunters can easily spend to $2500 on a bow and equipment," Zack Cornick said.

"But it is still an affordable sport for the beginner, and more kids should consider taking it up.”

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: How this Burlington archery club draws in young archers