Before December is over all of the roughly 980 students at Stonewall Middle School will have had archery training.
Physical education teacher Eric Wagner started the class with a $5,000 grant from the state.
The money bought 60 arrows, 12 bows, bow racks, six targets and a Kevlar curtain to go behind the targets to stop any errant arrows.
"It's really a nice set-up," Wagner said.
To qualify for the grant the school had to send at least two teachers to training about how to teach archery.
Three of the school's four physical education teachers took the training and the first archery class at a middle school in Prince William County was started, Wagner said.
"Archery is a nice sport because it's individual and it's team," said Wagner, who has been a teacher for 24 years.
"It's an Olympic sport and it's good for the kids' self esteem. They really have a high success rate for hitting the target," he said.
During the class the students learned to stand, aim and shoot and many of them did indeed hit the targets set up in the smaller of the school's two gyms most of the time.
"Accuracy counts," said 12-year-old Austin Woods.
Patrick Harmon enjoyed the class.
"It's pretty cool. It's really fun," the
12-year-old said.
David Segura, 12, liked seeing progress in his shooting.
"We get to practice and get better and better," he said.
Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751
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