Now in its third year, the NASP Academic Archer Program hit an all-time high of 25,266 students enrolled from 41 states and several Canadian Provinces. In fact, the program is now so widespread that 54 percent of all archers who were registered for the Western or Eastern NASP National Tournaments were also enrolled as Academic Archers.

A Brief History Lesson

In November 2015, National NASP leadership and a group of NASP educators and students met to discuss ways to further enhance the then 15-year-old archery-in-the-schools program. One recommendation was to establish a uniform incentive and recognition format to recognize and promote academic achievement for participating NASP students.

In its first year of implementation, the program finished with 8,517 students enrolled. Educators from 38 US states and two Canadian Provinces implemented the program with their students. Easton Technical Products, a longtime supporter and manufacturer of the only approved NASP arrow, began discussions with NASP leadership about the success of the program. Easton quickly recognized the value of the academic recognition program and gladly jumped on board as its financial and title sponsor.

In its second year, Academic Archer had registration for the program conclude with 19,381 enrolled students. Educators from 40 US states, three Canadian Provinces, and schools from the British Virgin Islands implemented the NASP Academic Archer Program with their students.

Roy Grimes, president of NASP said, “We know that a NASP archer does not have to be tall, fast or strong to be successful, but now it looks more and more like academic success is something that many of our archers have in common.”

Easton Archery President Mark Pezzoni said, “My opinion on the explosive growth of the Academic Archer program is due to the great people at the NASP organization, that truly ‘live’ the program. They realized that combining an element of scholastic excellence to a competitive and fun sport of archery would make a great program even greater. Academic Archer has also grown because of the great support of the dedicated people at the schools and the students who have demonstrated that they also believe in this concept. I am pleased and proud to have Easton be a part of helping students grow, learn, and compete.”

Easton National Accounts Manager Carri Garret added, “It is fantastic that there are so many kids being recognized as NASP Academic Archers. Easton truly wants to expose all kids to archery. When kids are involved in NASP and Academic Archer —  we do just that. These kids are earning this designation for demonstrating academic success and skills they will need to succeed later in life.”

Dr. Tommy Floyd, NASP Vice President and General Manager said. “I think this illustrates that the continued growth and success of NASP is due to the fact that, along with our partners and sponsors, we are focused on doing the right things for kids. We care about how well NASP kids do in the classroom. Our recent student survey data shows that over 40 percent of our students 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 we could recognize so many more hardworking students if we could just get more of the word about it to more schools! In doing so, we truly believe that NASP is achieving one of its long-standing goals of helping to motivate students for success in the classroom.”

The NASP and Easton Archery hope that every NASP jurisdiction will eventually enroll all eligible students in the Academic Archer program. The more that in-school archery is emphasized as an extension of the classroom, the more likely it is that educators will use this program to motivate countless generations of young students.

For more information on beginning the Academic Archer in your school, click here.