Life in the Parks: Arrows Fly in Jefferson Barracks

Under the heat of the July sun, a few kids and their parents gathered Saturday afternoon at Jefferson Barracks Park. Sheltered from the sweltering heat, the parents sat at picnic benches while their kids waited in line. Jerid Enyard is first up. He’s the smallest kid in the group, only 8 years old, but he’s not afraid of the bow and arrow handed to him. He takes his stance, listens to a little coaching and pulls back the string. He looks steady and focused, but after releasing the arrow, it falls short of the target in front of him. He’s only 8 after all, and this is his first attempt at archery.

A few families came to the park’s archery range Saturday for the intermediate archery class. Three times a year, the South County Archers host classes, teaching the skill and technique of archery to beginners and intermediate shooters. There’s a real skill with archery that requires a lot of practice, a skill that the South County Archers hope to pass on to a younger generation of soon-to-be bow hunters.

The South County Archers have been a St. Louis club since 1964. They have their own shooting range at the park that they help maintain. The range is equipped with multiple targets, even a few 3D foam animals like deer, turkey and believe it or not, one dinosaur. But at Saturday’s intermediate lesson, there were no foam versions of Bambi to shoot. Only two plump burlap bags with a few circles painted on as targets hanging from the rafters of the wooden shelter.

But that was all the kids needed. They didn’t need to know that the best way to kill their prey quickly and humanely is to aim their arrow at the heart of the animal. And they didn’t need to know which bow was right for them based on their height and weight.

These kids were walking into archery for pretty much the first time. They just needed to know how to hold the bow. And the volunteer archers at Saturday’s practice shoot were ready to pass on that knowledge.

Jim Keener, one of the volunteers, has been a member of the South County Archers for nearly 20 years. Standing near the kids as they worked to find the right position for their bow, he shot off a few tips.

“Never shoot the bow without an arrow in the strings,” he said. “It’s called ‘dry fire’ and can make the bow explode.”

Keener knows archery takes a lot of practice; he’s been hitting targets for more than 20 years. It’s all muscle memory, he said. It takes repetition and focus to master this sport. 

“I always say archery is a 6-inch game,” he said, pointing to the 6-inch space between his ears. This is a thinking man’s sport.

But the kids Keener worked with Saturday were still learning the basics, which is what every new archer has to do, said Richard Kurtzeborn, another club member.

“It’s best to start simple.”

So with a simple compound bow in their hands, and a few simple directions, each kid put their arrow into place, aimed and fired.

The next are August 20. The cost is $5.

Life in the Parks is a summer column dedicated to exploring different events and activities in our area parks.