When you think of high school sports, you may think of football, soccer, softball and volleyball. But for freshman Bryden Bell, her sport is a little different then what you would think. Bell’s sport of choice is archery. 

She has done archery since last year in 2022.

“It was seventh grade archery and I really enjoyed doing it in PE, so I asked my mom if she could sign me up for an archery class and she found me one, but we were on the waiting list for a year and a half until October 1 of 2022,” Bell said.  

Bell’s archery classes are at Little Hill Youth Archery in St. Charles. The sessions are from 9 a.m.- 10:30 a.m. The classes are every Saturday for eight weeks. 

Bell thinks she has a future with archery.

“I think I want to do it next year and maybe all of high school and maybe get a scholarship for archery for college,” Bell said. 

The class Bell is enrolled in Junior Olympic Archery Development. When taking this class, there are different levels that you can earn by scoring a certain amount of points. There are 10 levels, and once you get the amount of points you get a little pin and you move up. Bell is currently on level four, which means that she can now shoot from 20 yards instead of 10. 

“My last class, I shot 251 out of 300 and now in my next class I get to shoot from 20 yards. I’m a little nervous though because I have to change my aim from what I was used to.”

In archery, there are three main bows that people can shoot with. Barebow, which is usually the type of bow you would use in P.E, Compound, and Recurve. Bell shoots with a Basic Compound bow. She says that it’s really easy to shoot with and she feels comfortable with the bow. 

“I bought my compound a few weeks ago and my dad bought a target from Rural King, and we got home and I practiced getting used to my bow. My first shot I took, I actually hit a tree and broke my arrow in half.”

Archery is a safe place for Bell, she says that when she is shooting, whether it is at home or at her lessons, she feels safe and relaxed. 

“Archery makes me happy and I really enjoy it even though it’s not the most popular sport, I still love it.”