Built upon the tremendous success of the 2016 Educator and Coaches Conference, NASP conducted its second educational conference for NASP leaders. A large crowd of over 200 educators, coaches and guests met at the Lexington Kentucky’s Embassy Suites Hotel and enjoyed two full days of interaction and sharing. The event began with a keynote address from former Olympic Archery Coach Tim Strickland and then involved 2 full days of concurrent sessions. A roster of talented and experienced NASP presenters willingly shared their wisdom and insights with all in attendance.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, participants attended hour-long concurrent sessions on titles including: String Bow and Target Panic; Conditioning and Fitness; Equipment Maintenance; Running an Effective Practice; Coaching the Beginning Archer; Coaching the Advanced Archer; Travel Tips; Coaching Common Shooter Mistakes; Running an Effective Tournament; Coaching Kids Prior to and During a Tournament; Scoring Room Tips; Building a District-Wide Program; and others. Attendees also had a chance to interact with sponsors that supply approved equipment to the NASP.
Beyond the informative sessions, educators and coaches had the opportunity to interact with each other and share ideas from multiple states as well as jurisdictions outside the United States. The event closed on Saturday afternoon with a huge prize drawing from generous donations provided from many of the supportive sponsors of NASP.
Conference Feedback
NASP President Roy Grimes said, “This and future such NASP conferences, were born of the need, expressed by teachers and coaches, to be able to provide ever greater service to their student archers. Design of the conference is shared with NASP administrators in all 64 NASP states, provinces, and countries, with the hope that similar local events, will be offered to those educators and coaches.”
NASP Vice President and General Manager Dr. Tommy Floyd said, “The energy and willingness of our presenters to share best practices says a lot about the individuals that led each session. Rather than keep their archery know-how to themselves, our presenters shared years of experience with each audience member. Many attendees commented on just how much the information would positively impact their program at home. We are now in the process of getting feedback from our attendees from a post-conference survey — as we did in 2016. The information gathered will be utilized in planning for our next such event. We believe that it speaks well of the kind of people in our program who simply want to give back to the sport of archery by helping share what they have learned in coaching kids. It is indeed an exciting time to be a part of the NASP!”
Pending feedback from this event, NASP will be planning additional steps toward meeting the needs of educators and coaches that serve more than two million students per year. Look for additional information about training opportunities coming soon.
For more information, visit www.naspschools.org. And be sure to check out the great new video below that highlights the NASP.
