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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cAfter a few months, I started shooting for Scholastic 3-D Archery, a scholastic archery program that runs all across the country. Each state has its own. I started shooting outside of school and fell in love with it. Through Scholastic 3-D Archery, I\u2019ve met lots of amazing people. And it\u2019s grown from there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And grown it has, by leaps and bounds. Clardy\u2019s dedication is evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m practicing two to three times a week. When I go to my team\u2019s archery shop, I usually spend at least an hour and a half practicing. I\u2019m also doing tournaments on the weekends, which can last about three or four hours. I don\u2019t shoot the whole time; we get some breaks. If I\u2019m staying at home, then I\u2019ll usually shoot for around the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also an intensive national and regional tournament schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a Southeastern one that happens in Kentucky. I\u2019ve been to Des Moines, Iowa; I\u2019ve been to Arizona; I went to Florida. I\u2019ll be going to Michigan for a national this upcoming year. I went to Pennsylvania for a really big tournament in Lancaster. I\u2019m also going to Las Vegas, which has a huge national tournament.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clardy maintains a scholastic average that hovers in the 3.9-4.0 range. This is a remarkable achievement for any high school student, especially for one with such an arduous training schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely challenging. I have to manage my time really well. Luckily, most of my teachers are very understanding. I miss a lot of school going to these national tournaments. A lot of times, I have to leave before the end of the week. My teachers are really great about working with me when it comes to stuff like that. A lot of my family time is spent at archery tournaments. Sometimes, other family members can come and watch. I can spend time with my family on the holidays when we\u2019re not doing anything. There are also slow times in archery when we get a little break between seasons.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite long hours spent training and traveling, Clardy still makes time to feel like a \u201cregular teenager\u201d outside of school and sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLuckily, my practice schedule is pretty flexible. I don\u2019t have to practice on certain days every week. I can switch practice days around and work it in to get some time with my friends. I\u2019m lucky that I do get some time to spend with my friends outside of archery. When I\u2019m doing archery \u2014 as far as tournaments go \u2014 I\u2019m seeing a lot of my archery friends. It doesn\u2019t take too much of a toll on me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clardy\u2019s ability to attend tournaments comes partially in the form of community involvement and sponsorships from local businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoing to these tournaments \u2014 especially the ones that are really far away \u2014 there are not only travel expenses but also entry fees and paying for equipment. It\u2019s a lot of money,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clardy is already anticipating a rewarding college career. Archery is something she loves, and the dedication comes naturally. There are some exciting times ahead for her as her talent and determination propel her toward the future, like an arrow in the bow of life. Bull\u2019s-eye! GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SYDNEY CLARDY is a high school sophomore who saw her shot at something great and decided to take it. Now, she holds fifth place in the USA Archery team\u2019s national rankings. To Clardy, her involvement with archery seemed like a logical progression. \u201cMy family has always been very outdoorsy. I had a [child-sized] bow when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":21380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/hendersonville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/02\/1-1024x683.png\")
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