A Legacy of Outreach

A Legacy of Outreach

Texans Archery club celebrates 60 years By Jackie Holbrook

A young archer steps up to the shooting line on a hot July afternoon. But instead of battling the Texas summer sun while learning to fling arrows, they’re shooting comfortably inside the Texas Archery Academy, a 30,000 square foot indoor facility in Plano, Texas. The Texans Archery Club operates the Texas Archery Academy, the largest indoor facility in the state and a critical outreach tool for the club.

“One of the biggest problems archery faces is the lack of infrastructure,” said Clint Montgomery, executive director of the Texans Archery Club. “It’s not like tennis or basketball where every park has a court. Try finding an archery range at a city park.”

The Texans Archery Club set a goal of making archery accessible to everyone in Texas a decade ago. However, the leadership felt they didn’t have a suitable teaching environment to grow new archers. While the club operated several outdoor ranges, they often battled inclement weather, mosquitos and poison ivy, which doesn’t create the most relaxing environment, especially when kids are involved.

“We decided we need to fix this and embrace the need to offer public access to archery through an indoor facility,” Montgomery said.

Today, the Texans Archery Club is the largest archery club in Texas, serving 3,000 families and around 9,000 individuals. It’s the state’s largest member contributor to the National Field Archery Association. It’s also one of the oldest archery clubs in Texas, celebrating 60 years in 2021. Members marked the occasion with an archery tournament and party that included a raffle with taco truck.

The Texas Archery Academy is a nonprofit, funded through membership dues. Members have access to the indoor facility as well as several outdoor ranges across Texas. Members are also asked to volunteer at least one hour per year to support the facilities and program goals. Within its thriving membership base, members are focused on growing the next generation of archers.

“We’re not the good ‘ole boys club, we’re a familyfriendly, safe place to be,” Montgomery said. “If there are 50 people in this indoor range, at least 20 of them are kids.”

The club uses USA Archery’s Discovery Archery program to teach lessons. They have several certified instructors, including level 4 coaches. Their focus is not only on teaching the fundamentals of archery but also offering a space for youth to grow and compete. The club gives kids a real shot at shooting, especially for those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity. It’s a mission that’s very personal to Montgomery. As a kid growing up in San Antonio, it was an archery range at a city park that gave him the ability to learn the sport he loves.

“In most municipalities it’s illegal to shoot in the backyard, so if you don’t live in the country, where do they go?” Montgomery said. “These kids living in apartments in the city, they want to shoot a bow and there’s almost no place for that to happen. That’s why we made it our mission to be open seven days a week.”

Through education and tournaments, club members help foster a love of archery in students of all ages and backgrounds. Nearly every weekend of indoor season the club hosts an NFAA event. Participants learn various tournament rules, formats, scoring and more.

With thousands of members, a 60-year legacy and a thriving indoor range, you might think the Texans Archery Club met its goals and members could settle into their success. But according to Montgomery, they’re just getting started.

“We want the rest of the country to recognize that archery is the largest emerging sport since soccer,” Montgomery said. “I want to see parents encouraging their kids to take up archery because it’s a shot at a college scholarship.”

With their inviting atmosphere, wealth of facilities and commitment to growing archery, the Texans Archery Club is set to make an even bigger mark on the sport over the next 60 years.