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HARTINGTON – The Cedar County 4-H Sharp Shooters Archery program takes aim at helping youth learn to safely and responsibly handle a bow and arrow.
And for Nate Eickhoff, Fordyce, the program hits the bullseye.
The 11-year-old son of John and Cheri started in the program three years ago having never picked up a bow and has since gained safe bow handling skills, fundamentals of shooting and confidence.
Eickhoff was one of more than 30 sharp shooters who kicked off the season Oct. 22 under the direction of John Broderson and Aaron Wiechelman. The program is open to youth ages 8 through 18, practicing every other Sunday afternoon at the Cedar County Fairgrounds’ open class building in Hartington.
“It’s competitive and it’s fun,” Eickhoff said. “You hang out with your friends. The coaches are there to help you and guide you and they’re really friendly.”
Practices start with the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H pledge, Wiechelman said.
Then the larger group is split into two with one group hands-on with the bows, working on hand positioning, how to use sights, and getting constructive feedback on ways to improve. The other group listens to education about archery – types of bows, parts of the bows, and types of arrowheads, among other things. After about 30-45 minutes, the two groups switch.
There’s always a fun component added to every meeting, too, Wiechelman said, like a balloon shoot or a moving target game.
The 4-H archery program also offers opportunities for competition where youth can exhibit their skills and abilities and compete with other 4-H members from across the state including at an indoor tournament in Columbus. At that competition, kids compete in their respective age groups in different categories depending on the type of bow being used and other factors like if they use a stabilizer or sight.
Youth can also participate in the State Outdoor Shoot each summer in Grand Island. If they place high enough, participants can go on to shoot at the national level.
Eickhoff enjoys the competitions the most.
For his age group, Eickhoff shoots at a target from 10 yards back but that will increase to 20 yards next year. He’s already making adjustments to his bow to accommodate for the longer distance.
“You have to shoot harder to get the arrow to target,” Eickhoff said. “The older you get the more you crank it up, the harder it is to pull.”
Eickhoff said he plans to further perfect his archery skills and one day he’d like to take up bow fishing.
The Cedar County 4-H archery program began in 2009 under the leadership of Colin Kathol through 2011, practicing outdoors near the Hartington gravel pit, said Marsha Wuebben of the Cedar County 4-H Extension Office.
After a hiatus, the program resumed from 2013 through 2017 under the direction of Ella Vance and practiced indoors at the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge school gym. Another couple of years passed and the archery program began again in 2019 with Broderson and Wiechelman at the helm, Wuebben said.
Wiechelman said he learned archery through a hunter safety course and “just loved it.” From there he shot as part of the 4-H archery program, participating in some tournaments.
He shadowed Kathol when the program started in Cedar County.
“It’s an experience, it’s something to learn, something to try,” Wiechelman said. “If they like it, they can continue to do it until they’re 80 years old. At the very least, they get to know more and become a little more knowledgeable.”
