Arrows whiz downrange as sophomore Max Hernandez assumes his position on the shooting line, slinging a quiver across his hip. His bow — complete with a stabilizer, a sight and a small metal device called a clicker — creaks as he draws back and fires. 

Aside from school, archery is the most time-consuming activity in Hernandez’s life. He was previously a competitive swimmer in New York, but switched to archery during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it was the only sport that met the mandatory social distance requirements. Now, he shoots for an average of three hours every day, building strength and stamina in a separate gym session from 6 to 8 a.m. On weekends, Hernandez may spend as many as eight hours at the archery range, methodically loading, firing and retrieving his arrows. 

“I cross-train by going on runs and lifting weights,” he said. “I’m currently working on my nutrition plan and setting health and fitness goals.” 

Hernandez trains at Hye-Youn Park, an Olympic recurve archery club named after its founder. Youn is a former Korean national team member, the head coach of the club and Hernandez’s role model. For Hernandez, her kindness and diligence both on and off the shooting line inspire him to train harder. 

“I’m most inspired by my coach; she works hard everyday and cares so much about her students,” he said. “She is always so nice to us (students) while still helping us to compete well.” 

Although technique and stamina are both important qualities for an archer to possess, mental strength plays a crucial role in the sport. Hernandez comments on the intense atmosphere of competitions, sharing the strategies that he uses to stay calm. 

“Competitions are a lot more stressful and high-pressure (than practice),” he said. “I try to stay calm and focused (by) taking deep breaths to ensure that my heart rate lowers.” 

Currently, Hernandez competes at the state and national level. If given the opportunity, he would like to make the U.S. Archery Team. 

“It would be a big commitment and take up much of my life,” he said. “However, it would also be an amazing experience.”

For freshman Chloe Hong, archery isn’t simply a sport. It’s a discipline that has changed her approach to school and her personal life. 

After suffering multiple concussions from playing soccer, Hong looked for a new sport that could bring her the same excitement soccer did but with less physical contact. At the suggestion of a family friend, she settled on archery last summer and has become increasingly competitive. 

Despite transitioning from soccer to archery not long ago, Hong has been able to find motivation in how her efforts can produce tangible results. Her growth has been manifested in her recent achievements, having placed second in the 2025 California State ranking and third in the 2026 International Vegas Shoot. 

“This (past) summer, I started practicing every single day,” she said. “During competitions, (my efforts) reflected what I was practicing, and I started doing better.” 

Alongside the skill improvement, Hong highlighted the formation of new, unique friendships as a meaningful aspect of competing in tournaments. Despite communication challenges, meeting new people has allowed Hong to expand her global perspective at international competitions. 

“A difficult part is (the) language barrier,” she said. “I (met) this girl from China, and she couldn’t really speak English that well, but we tried getting past that. I think making new friends from different places around the world and learning about their lives is really cool.” 

However, this high-level competition requires a balance in Hong’s two lives as a student and as a competitive archer. She faces difficulties in allocating enough time for both, as competing has led to missing multiple school days. Despite this struggle between school and archery, Hong has learned to apply the principles of her sport in her academic and personal life, enabling her to retain the same focused mindset and forge ahead. 

“For archery, it’s one arrow at a time,” she said. “If there’s a tiny distraction, (it) could change where the arrow goes drastically, so I think (that is) one skill I’ve learned. This helps with school, too, because I am able to focus on one thing at a time, and then move on, rather than multitask or (get distracted) while studying.”