Archery

Florida Poly Archery teaches discipline, resilience and perseverance both on and off the range.

There are a number of benefits in participating in competitive archery at Florida Poly.

It improves your focus. Staying focused and maintaining balance while setting up and drawing in a target is critical for every archer. The ability to concentrate on form and disregard distractions helps you develop an endurance for focused work that escalates and achieves results while maintaining a calm demeanor in high-pressure environments.
It enhances your hand-eye coordination and strength. Practice in archery trains the hundreds of muscles not only in your hands and arms, but also your core and back, while coordination develops between your eyes (aiming) and your body. Coaching, peer support and continuous practice and repetition develops expertise and strengthens coordination.
It helps develop leadership and social skills. Archery can be an individual sport or a team sport. When an archer competes in a tournament they are usually grouped together with other archers for scoring. Archers can get to know each other while they walk the course together. Teams are important in archery too. Working as a team and supporting one another is important for the success of the group.
It develops your confidence. Florida Poly Archery participation gives you training and experiences that will increase your self-confidence, self-appreciation and pride in achieving that which comes with coaching, practice and hard work. We have observed a marked increase to archers when they observe gradual, and sometimes rapid improvement, in their mental and physical skills after practices and tournaments.

As a USA Archery Collegiate team, the Florida Poly Archery team competes on the regional, state, and national level. The team aims to provide opportunities for students within all levels of archery to train, compete, and advance their skills and passion for the sport.

Application to Join the Florida Poly Archery Team

Students can apply to be part of the archery team simply by filling out the application form. A formal try-out is not required. However, archery experience is preferred. Students should plan to have their own equipment, but the team may be able to assist those who are unable to secure the proper competition equipment. If you have any questions, please contact Archery@floridapoly.edu.

Coach

Hendrick Gouws

Hendrick Gouws has more than 40 years of experience in competitive archery. He has competed in the South African Olympic Games and coached numerous nationally top-ranked archers. Formally a European Master Coach and a current USA Archery Level 3 Coach, Mr. Gouws teaches all disciplines of archery (Compound, Olympic Recurve, and Traditional) and has a professional reputation and philosophy of ensuring archers are able to perform to their optimal physical and mental performance. His approach results in the advancement of each individual student as well as the team as a whole, while translating those skills learned from archery to better a student’s personal and professional life.

Team Captain

Willard Scammey, '25

Willard Scammey began archery in 2017 competing in middle school then continuing into high school. He is Level Two USA Archery Certified and has competed in several levels of archery including Junior Olympic Archery Development and National Field Archery Association.

Forms for Current Team Members

Questions?

For more information about the Florida Poly Archery Team, contact Ericka Loofe at Archery@floridapoly.edu or 863-874-4774.

Archery Team Application