As the 2020 -2021 school year nears completion, educators and coaches are still dealing with the impact of COVID-19. Many schools are still operating virtually, while some are slowing getting back to in-person classes.

Throughout this school year, National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) educators and coaches took steps to nominate and recognize the academic performance of their student archers using local criteria. At the close of the enrollment window on April 1, 17,344 students were enrolled by their coaches as NASP Academic Archers from 41 states, three Canadian provinces, as well as nominations from Africa.

NASP President Dr. Tommy Floyd said, “Educators have had a significant challenge since the pandemic began. It has really made it difficult for them to meet the needs of their students. We are thrilled that, despite a significant drop from last year, we see such a continued emphasis on academics for students involved with our program. We know that even during a pandemic, NASP educators and coaches are stressing the importance of good grades and continuous improvement. I believe that this reflects very positively on the kind of individuals that work with our student archers in schools across our many jurisdictions- academics matter!

“In our 2017student survey, student response data indicated that over 40% of our kids attributed NASP as a motivating factor for them to work harder in the classroom. Programs like Academic Archer recognize this hard work - but we know that if we could get the word out to additional schools, more hard working students could receive due recognition!

“Through the emphasis on academics, we truly believe that NASP continues to achieve one of its long-standing goals of helping to motivate students for success in the classroom. It is our intention to increasingly send the strongest of messages about how teaching archery as part of the in-school curriculum can be important to the mission of educators. We believe that this results in a greater likelihood that NASP will be around to motivate countless generations of young students!”

Aaron Lucky, president of Easton Technical Products said, “I‘m grateful for the educators, coaches, and NASP staff who worked so hard and exhibited such dedication in an extremely challenging year. It’s very rewarding to see so many students positively impacted by a program that rewards both athletic and academic success.”

Academic Archer will open on Sept. 1, 2021, for the 2021/2022 school year. Click here for more information on beginning the Academic Archer in your school. For specifics about Academic Archer criteria, click here.