BROWNSTOWN
Archery will soon be offered at a second Jackson County school.
During a meeting earlier this month, the Brownstown Central Community School Corp. board of trustees unanimously approved Superintendent Tim Taylor’s proposal to start the sport at the beginning of 2020.
“I look forward to that one. I think that will take off,” board President Scott Shade said.
Trustee Brian Wheeler said the nontraditional sport will give students another activity in which to participate.
“I really do think that will be a really nice addition,” he said. “One positive about the archery program is it’s a pretty low-cost program. There are some grants you can get. There’s some money out there you can get to reduce the cost, the startup fee. It’s something you can do indoors, it’s self-sustaining and you can charge admission to get in and it’s pretty low-key.”
When the story ran in The Tribune in August about Taylor making the initial proposal, he said he had several people reach out about volunteering, including a couple who are certified with the National Archery in the Schools Program.
NASP is an in-school program aimed at improving educational performance among students in grades 4 through 12, and through it, students learn focus, self-control, discipline, patience and the life lessons required to be successful in the classroom and in life, according to naspschools.org.
Seymour is the only other Jackson County school that offers archery now, and it’s popular at schools in nearby Jennings and Scott counties.
Taylor was the principal at Jennings County High School from July 1, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2014, when it was offered at the school. The program still is strong there on an annual basis, and Hayden Elementary School, which is in the same school corporation, won a national title earlier this year.
Initially, Taylor said the Brownstown program will have volunteer coaches.
“We’re getting ready to negotiate our contract. We’re not talking about putting that on our ECA (extracurricular activities) schedule or anything like that, but I have several volunteers who have already expressed interest,” he said. “I’m not saying that doesn’t happen down the line.”
Students would have to meet eligibility requirements to be a part of an archery team just like they do to participate in other sports.
“Same expectations because people are going to be out there representing us,” Taylor said.
The physical education teachers at the elementary, middle and high schools also will have to go through NASP training so they can teach an archery unit in their classes. Taylor said Jason Gambrel, coach of the Hayden Elementary School archery team, may be able to lead the training.
Taylor said there’s not too much overhead as far as equipment. NASP has a $3,200 commitment to purchase its equipment.