Junior Olympic Archery and Adult Archery Achievement Program
The San Francisco Archers (SFA) JOAD/AAA program is a USA Archery-sanctioned curriculum that provides structured courses for anyone interested in learning archery. We provide instruction in both traditional and compound archery for students of all age levels.
- Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) Program
- Adult Archery Achievement (AAA) Program
This program gives you access to certified NTS coaches (Level I, II, and III). We match our staff to the skills of every archer to ensure the correct level of instruction for each student. Our goal is to instruct archery with a structured, fun, and positive approach.
All interested applicants must meet with the coaching staff prior to starting our program, which allows us to accurately place you in the group that will help you build for your skill level. Instruction is tailored to an archer’s skill set so that students can learn at their pace and schedule. We can accomodate most special needs of any given student.
JOAD Program
The Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) is a program organized by USA Archery that teaches archery to young people over a series of classes, provides great opportunities for awarding achievement, and helps archers to enjoy the sport recreationally or progress to the excitement of competition!
- The San Francisco Archers JOAD program is designed for youth ages 8 to 20 years old.
- We offer both recurve and compound archers the opportunity to learn range safety and proper shooting techniques in an environment that also fosters focus, increased self-confidence, and team-building skills.
- JOAD activities range from beginner instruction through competition at the national level for both recurve & compound bows.
- Introductory JOAD classes teach the fundamentals of proper shooting form; as the young archer develops, they learn more advanced techniques.
- Students under this program have the opportunity to earn official achievement awards during class scoring sessions. The award system is straightforward and universal to all clubs. The first scoring goals are set so beginners can easily attain them. As the skill level increases, the awards become more challenging to achieve.
AAA Program
The Adult Archery Achievement (AAA) program is designed for archers 21 years and over. In this series of classes, you learn proper shooting techniques. Win awards based on score and, if you wish, pursue competition at the local, state, or national level. Whether your goals are purely recreational or you want to challenge your archery skills, the Adult Archery Achievement program is designed to help you become the best archer you can be. Learn to shoot, discover the camaraderie in your archery community and have fun!
How to Join Our Programs
All applicants must meet with the coaching staff prior to starting the JOAD/AAA program. This will allow our coaching staff to accurately place archers in groups that will help best to build the archers skill level. If the archer request compound and the coaching staff agree the archer would be placed in the intermediate class.
Contact information: Inquire with our coaching staff thru email at joad@sfarchers.org for more information.
Instruction: We have two tracks available: Beginning Instruction and Intermediate/Advanced Coaching
Beginning Instruction Track
For beginning students, we teach basic archery skills through traditional archery. The skills learned in this track are the ones practiced by all archers regardless of skill level or type of equipment. (Compound archery is not taught at this level.)
For first-time archers, we provide archery equipment with instruction, which includes bows, arrows, arm guards, and finger releases for traditional archery. Fees include instruction and equipment usage.
Intermediate and Advanced Coaching Track
In order to start the intermediate/advanced track of archery instruction, the coaching staff must approve a student to join. Students who move forward to this track have demonstrated a solid understanding of core skills, a desire for higher achievement, and higher level of commitment. Intermediate and advanced students must have their own equipment prior to starting the JOAD/AAA program.
At this level, the JOAD/AAA program moves from basic skills to the start of an elevated form of coaching, which helps the student archer improve their skill sets.
Fees and Class Schedule
Fees: Rate varies with and without equipment. Single session and session cards available. Please contact joad.sfarchers.org for more details.
Class Sessions: The classes are held on every Saturday of the month, with the exception of the 2nd Saturday (which is reserved for range maintenance days performed by volunteers) and any other special events (such as tournaments). There are two sessions each Saturday: 9:00-10:15 am and 10:30-11:45 am.
USA Archery
USA Archery requires membership in order to achieve awards and ranking within the JOAD/AAA program as well as compete in USA Archery tournaments. Students or guardians are responsible for obtaining a membership at USA Archery. (https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Archery)
Awards and rankings are obtained by shooting a qualifying score. Student archers can advance at their own pace and request a qualifying shoot to advance their ranking.
SFA Coaching Staff
SFA Coaching staff is dedicated to teaching the skills of archery to anyone interested in learning. As both coaches and competitors, the Coaching Staff is dedicated to enhancing the archery experience for anyone choosing to learning this Olympic Sport. We believe that a fun and positive approach is the best way to help students achieve their archery goals.
We look forward to seeing you in the JOAD/AAA programs!.
Sincerely,
Archery is All the Rage at Olympics
Archery is a sport that’s keeps growing in popularity and coach Kin Shew at San Francisco Archers in Pacifica, along with students Benjamin Chin and Celine Lu are interviewed by Bob Redell from NBC Bay Area News*.
* DISCLAIMER: Please NOTE that this segment was edited for TV and filmed on a closed course under the supervision of professionals. Safety is paramount in this sport and San Francisco Archers does not condone actions on this report. Do not imitate and never point an arrow towards anyone.