Our school is filled with many extraordinary people, one of whom is junior Ryan Subroski.

Subroski is a member of Beaver Area’s archery team and has been on the team and interested in archery for five years.

Last year Subroski was ranked fourth in the state by the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP), but this year he is ranked first with nationals right around the corner.

From the beginning, Subroski has put in the hard work to get where he is now.

“I learned about the archery team from my friend . . . we’re in Boy Scouts together and he told me to go to a Wednesday [archery] practice over the summer. I didn’t like it the first day I went, but then the next Wednesday I wanted to go again and I really liked it,” explained Subroski.

Because Subroski decided to stick with archery he managed to place first eight times, second six times, third three times, fourth twice, never fifth, and once sixth in tournaments.

To achieve such impressive performance, daily practice is pivotal. Subroski practices every Monday through Friday at 6 a.m. before school during the archery season.

Subroski remarked that getting up early for practice every day isn’t as hard as it seems. After a while of getting up early for something you like, it becomes routine.

“It also helps that I know I can help people. The newer people on the team might need help learning, so showing up helps me and helps others too,” said Subroski.

Mastering the calm and concentration needed to shoot so well can be challenging. Subroski also says the people around him have great effect on how he shoots.

Being around others helps him calm nerves and relax when he is trying to focus. To shoot he needs to be in a certain state of mind—and being around his friends helps make him comfortable easier to obtain the right mindset.

“The people around me help me focus on what I’m doing rather than who’s watching. My friends and coaches ease my nerves because I know they will be there to support me no matter what I shoot,” said Subroski.

Subroski also puts in the extra effort at home so he can further improve himself. He has a target set up in his yard so as the temperature gets warmer he can practice outside of school.

As far as cost goes Subroski says only the cost of the bow and arrows are what archers need to cover. This cost can be estimated to about $300.

One of Subroski’s favorite competitions was actually his first nationals.

“It was my highest score [of the year] and the highest score anyone has shot in their first year that they’ve shot,” said Subroski.

He shot a 275 that day out of the possible 300.

Not all of his archery career has been easy though. As he has grown taller he’s had to adjust to his new height and get his accuracy updated to his new height.

“Sometimes as you grow your aiming point changes and your technique goes all out of whack, so I had to learn to adjust to that when I grew,” explained Subroski.

Subroski says one of the most important things to getting higher score is accuracy. So how does Subroski become so accurate? Technique.

“Make sure your technique is right and you have your correct aim for the target you’re aiming at. That is what helps me the most,” advised Subroski.