Nebraskaland

54 Nebraskaland • August-September 2025 increase from 2000. Silas McDaniel of Lincoln is one of those new bowhunters. The fi rst time he picked up a bow was in sixth-grade physical education class at Pound Middle School in Lincoln. That same year, he visited the NASP booth at the Nebraska Deer and Game Expo and shot 3D targets. That, and the urging of a classmate and fellow NASP participant, piqued his interest not only in archery, but also bowhunting, something that no one in his family did. His father, Brendan, bought Silas a bow and the teenager kept shooting during the summer, passed his hunter education class and joined Pound's after-school NASP club in seventh grade. That fall, he signed up for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Youth Mentor Hunt Program. He has since harvested three deer and a turkey with his bow. "I like the feeling after you get a deer or a turkey," said Silas, now a freshman. "And I like just sitting in the tree and watching wildlife do its thing." Silas credits NASP for his interest in archery. His father credits both programs for his. "Between NASP and the mentor program, it has opened the door for me," Brendan said. "I own a bow now, and Silas and I will go out and we'll hunt together. Very quickly it turned into something that was a way for him and I to connect. It's just such an amazing experience." While hunting was left out of the NASP curriculum by design, with the hope that more schools would participate, NASP began in Kentucky in 2002 and quickly grew to include 20 states by the time the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission launched its program in 2005 with 32 schools adding archery to their curriculum. During the past school year, 350 schools and homeschooled groups and 33,000 students participated in Nebraska. In most schools, NASP is simply 10 hours of the curriculum in physical education or other classes, taught by teachers who have been certified as Basic Archery Instructors. Game and Parks provides equipment at a reduced cost thanks to national grants. Everyone in the country uses the same Genesis compound bow and aluminum Easton arrows, an aspect that is key for those teaching the class. "I don't want to have to give Suzie a different bow than Johnny, and have to know how both of those bows work and how to adjust both of those bows," said Megan Price, hunting and shooting sports outreach coordinator at Game and Parks. "They need something that's easy and consistent." For students, not having to compete against others using pricey bows with sights, stabilizers or other accessories common in both hunting and target bows simplifies the sport as well. "They are all on the same playing field, so it makes it about your technique and not the extras," Price said. Perfecting that technique can quickly improve scores, boosting a student's confidence. That, according to annual surveys of students who participate in the basic program, produces benefits beyond shooting: Students say they work harder and have better focus in school, and feel more connected to their school. Outside of class, they are more confident. At about 10 percent of the schools, NASP doesn't end when the PE bell rings. Students who wish to do so can shoot competitively, often in clubs that meet before or after school. In some cases, the same teachers who deliver the program in class lead the competitive program. In others, dedicated volunteer instructors do so. Archers can compete at local and regional tournaments hosted nearly every weekend starting in January and leading up to the Nebraska state tournament, held in Lincoln each March. Any team or individual from a NASP school can participate in the state tournament. Each year, several teams and individuals from Nebraska advance to one of two national tournaments, the Western National in Utah and the Eastern Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. The latter drew 15,000 archers in 2025, making it the largest archery tournament in the world. NASP History and Curriculum JJ Ozuna, PE teacher and NASP Coach at Minatare High School, one of the smaller schools involved in the program, helps Jericho Timmens score his target during practice. If not for NASP, "Not a lot of kids are going to touch a bow," Ozuna said. "It's giving them a chance to be a part of that and introduce some skills." PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND

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