Archery team

Local program bolsters youth sports

BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER

Jeff Schuster and Greg Tamillo started the Sauk Centre Archery Team nine years ago with a group of 18 students. Today, the team has more than 100 members and has qualified for national competition.

“This is a sport anybody can do,” Schuster said. “Every arrow they send down range, that arrow helps their team.”

The team includes youth from grades four through 12 as part of the National Archery in the Schools Program. The participants are part of one team but split into age divisions.

Coaching the team along with Schuster are Brian Borgerding, Scott Duchene, Nikki Duchene, Amanda Goerdt, Steve Ruegemer and Michelle Ruegemer.

Schuster said students work toward an individual score, but those individual scores also contribute to a larger team score. The sport provides a place for kids who are not interested in other sports or fine arts. And, the sport is growing. In April, Schuster will train new coaches in Mankato.

“The growth is really cool, and we’re sometimes scrambling to keep up with it,” Schus- ter said.

This year alone, they expect more than 1,200 youth to participate in the state tournament.

“We provide a platform for some of the kids who get missed a bit,” Schuster said. “We help get them pulled in. They get involved, build (team spirit) with their friends and it gives them a sense of belonging.”

Schuster said it is not uncommon to see the high schoolers giving piggyback rides to the fourth graders.

“That relationship of having older kids and mentors is one of the really cool benefits we’ve seen with this program,” he said.

The team practices Tuesday and Friday mornings at 7 and then again Monday and Thursday evenings. They have tournaments on Saturdays.

In the beginning, Schuster said students had to travel across the state to find tournaments. But now, there is a core group of schools that participate.

The contingent includes Melrose, Sauk Centre, Alexandria, Osakis and Albany as well as Brandon-Evansville.

The Sauk Centre Archery Team participates in a regional tournament which will be held in Becker and a state tournament