Always visit this website's CALENDAR just before coming to class!

And look at some of the really inspiring websites under "Links" at the bottom of most pages...

and, of course, all the tons of photos under "Gallery" !

Tournaments at Texas A&M and UT Austin under "Events"

3/3/2010 15th Annual Family Fun Tournament, March 7, 2:30-5:00. Best fun all year! If you haven't registered for it yet, give us a call 436 8813! 2009 Archer of the Year awards - Come and show your support!

2/19/2010 We are participating in the Austin Waldorf School's silent auction as part of their Knit-a-Thon on February 20
We donated about $200 in discounted archery lessons (not knitting).  If your school would like us to participate in their fundraising silent auctions, we'd be happy to....just send us contact information and dates.

2/19/2010 We are now a Get ur 60 partner
Get ur 60 is a CATCH Middle School program, developed by the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living at the UT School of Public Health. It's a program to help curb childhood obesity by getting 60 minutes of exercise a day. Check out their website and our contribution at http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/catch/getur60/deals.html  and tell all your friends!

2/17/2010 Coach Alex just returned from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where he coached the Junior Dream Team and invitees again! (He goes out to the OTC in CO or CA every 6-8 weeks.) You can check out what that was like on the JDT website: http://usaajdt.com/

2/16/2010 Congratulations to our 2010 Tournament Team at the Texas State Indoor JOAD Tournament in Victoria on Feb. 13! They picked up two 2nd places and two 3rd third places. ANC was awarded 2nd place in the Female Cadet Recurve division, and Buddy placed 2nd in the Male Cadet Recurve division. Tyler did an outstanding job again shooting the highest score of our Tournament Team and placing 3rd against more experienced competition in the Male Cub Compound division. Graham (3rd Male Cub Recurve) increased his average tournament score by almost 70 points. Chris and Varun brought their average tournament scores up by a whopping 30 points! Good shooting everyone!

2/11/2010 Great article about Graham and Varun at the Texas State Indoor...Thanks Four Points News and Hill Country News for featuring our archers in such a great article!  Check it out: http://www.hillcountrynews.com/articles/2010/02/11/news/four_points/news26.txt

2/8/2010 Congratulations to our 2010 Tournament Team at the Texas State Indoor Tournament at UT Austin! They picked up three 2nd places and two 3rd places in the Youth Divisions. Tyler in particular did very well, shooting some of his personal best scores at a tournament - again among archers with a lot more experience - and brought home 3rd place in the Male Cub Compound division. Kiran, ANC, and Varun all got 2nd place - even though they had all jumped up into new age categories! Buddy placed 3rd and Graham 4th, despite their hectic personal schedules. Chris braved his first tournament after only shooting at 18m for two weeks, and ended up beating his personal best by over 40 points! Bryant showed remarkable fortitude, which will make him stronger in future tournaments. Ajay increased his score almost every round after a long vacation in India! Rahi and Matt only had time for 1/2 the tournament, but it was really great they competed to get more experience. Well done everyone at the first tournament of the year! 

2/7/2010 Coach Alex will be coaching at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from 2/7-2/14 inclusively. If you are an advanced or competitive archer, feel free to contact him while he's away with any questions or challenges you may have. (Wednesday evening practice on Feb. 10 is still on.)

1/11/2010 The JOAD Outdoor National Championship will be in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 24-27 this year (a little earlier than last year). More info will be available closer to the time at this link: http://usarchery.org/events/2637 2010 Austin JOAD Archers Tournament Team members interested in going to this tournament for the experience, please let Coach Alex know well in advance, so traveling and hotels can be coordinated.

1/5/2010 CONGRATULATIONS TO KIRAN - Texas State Archery Association Youth Archer of the Year 2009 (Bowman Recurve Male)
He received this award by going to 4 TSAA tournaments (indoor and outdoor state tournaments) - and winning them all !
Well done, Kiran - We're all really proud of you and your dedication to archery! Keep going!
See details at http://texasarchery.org/StateRecords/2009/YAOTY2009.htm

If you want to be a contender for the 2010 Youth Archer of the Year Awards, you'll need to attend at least 3 of the following tournaments (and place pretty high):
TX State Indoor (on Feb.5-7 at UT - see registration above)
TX State JOAD Indoor (on Feb. 13 in Victoria - see registration above)
TX State Target (outdoor in the summer)
TX State JOAD Target (outdoor in the summer)
TX Field - a little different outdoor tournament....ask Coach Alex about it.

12/7/09 UT TOURNAMENT - CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2009 TOURNAMENT TEAM! Eight of our archers competed in 5 divisions! Austin JOAD Archers: ANC (1st Female Cub Recurve), Kiran (1st Male Bowman Recurve), Tyler (2nd Male Cub Compound), Bryant (2nd Male Cadet Recurve), Varun (2nd Male Bowman Recurve), Buddy (3rd Male Cadet Recurve), and our Austin Target Archers adult archers Matt and Ajay did great in the Senior Male Recurve division!

12/ 7 /09 AISD OCPE Credit for Archery - If your son or daughter attends an AISD school, is in grades 7-12, and is interested in receiving Off-Campus PE Credit for archery for the 2010 Spring semester, AISD prefers the PE Waivers to be delivered to their offices
earlier (week of Dec. 6) rather than later (on January 5 by 12:00 midnight).

There are several requirements - the basic one being 5 hours of attendance every week(which means on Saturday and Sunday for most archers).

In order to register for this, we need to put an individualized packet together for each of you to read, sign, have your child's school counselor sign and then you deliver to the AISD OCPE offices.

Please note: There will be no JOAD classes or practice from Dec. 16 to January 5 inclusively, so please let us know preferably before Dec. 10, if you're interested in receiving this credit.

12/7/09 -30-day return limit on Lancaster Archery equipment. We have just learned that Lancaster Archery will not accept items that are returned over 30 days after their Order Date. Since so much archery equipment is geared to the individual archer, unless the item is one that we know we will have a near-future request for,
we unfortunately cannot afford to absorb the item into our inventory. Please bear the return cut-off time in mind in future.

11/20/09 - 2009 Holiday Class Schedule. You can always look at the Calendar on this website for up-to-date class information. NO CLASSES/NO PRACTICE: Happy Thanksgiving: Wed. Nov. 25, Sat. Nov. 28, Sun. Nov. 29; Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays: Wednesdays: Dec. 16 and 23; Saturdays: Dec. 19 and 26; Sundays: Dec. 20 and 27; Happy New Year: Wednesday, Dec. 30, Saturday, Jan. 2, Sunday Jan. 3.

Remember: You are not allowed to practice in the indoor range without a USA Archery-certified instructor present, in accordance with our agreement with the owner of the range.

During the holidays, if you are in Indoor 4 (Advanced) or Indoor 5 (Competitive), you can call Coach Alex at 203 2368 to request private or semi-private lessons. (1 archer: $40/hr; 2 archers: $20/hr ea., 3 archers: $13.50/hr ea.) - or ask if/when he will be practicing/working at the indoor range.

11/10/09 - 2nd Annual Family Fun Shoot on November 14 at 12:00 P.M. Everyone's invited! Look at the Calendar on this website for up-to-date registered archers. If you'd like to help us set up the field on Saturday morning, pllease contact us at 436 8813 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

11/09/09 - Congratulations to Buddy (1st Cadet Boys Recurve), Bryant (2nd Cadet Boys Recurve),AC (2nd Cadet Girls Recurve) and Tyler (3rd Cub Boys Compound) for their great performances at Texas A&M this past weekend! It was their first indoor tournament, and they did great!

9/11/2009 - OAAP (Outdoor Advanced Archery) has been moved to the indoor range tomorrow due to the weather.

9/4/2009 - Coach Alex is now a UT faculty Archery Coach, and will be coaching the UT Archery Team most Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings in the Anna Hiss Gym. Congratulations!

9/4/2009 - Labor Day Weekend - No Sunday classes. Everyone can come at 11:00-1:00 on Saturday, Sept. 5.  See you then!

8/9/2009 - FALL CLASS SCHEDULE - YOU CAN JOIN ANY AVAILABLE SATURDAY BY REGISTERING FOR an INDOOR 1 CLASS ON THIS HOMEPAGE (Always check the Calendar section of this website before coming to class in case there are last-minute changes):

Saturdays

11:00-1:00: Indoor Class 2 Beginners (9m) and Class 3 Achievers (13.5 m + 18 m)

1:30-3:30: Indoor Class 1 First-Time Qualifiers (shoot at 9m)

1:30-3:30: Outdoor Advanced Archery Program (OAAP) for Level 4 Advanced and Level 5 Competitive at 20 to 90 m 

Sundays:

1:00-5:00: Indoor Open Practice for all levels

We will create a separate Sunday Indoor Class for Beginners and Achievers when their Saturday 11:00-1:00 class becomes too crowded, or if the Sunday open practice becomes too full.

If you are an advanced or competitive archer, and prefer to pay in advance, you can sign up in advance for two classes per weekend (one indoor and one outdoor) for 16 weeks for $320. There are no refunds for missed classes, but they will be credited towards 2010 classes, if the absences were due to illness. 

8/5/2009 -  NO OUTDOOR CLASS ON AUGUST 8th - Coach Alex is calling all advanced and competitive outdoor archers to a form and equipment class at the indoor range at 11:00-1:30. He'll also be at the Sunday 1:30-4:00 class, where he expects you'll be too! This weekend is also your chance to find out how to tune and repair your equipment.

8/4/2009 - SCHOOL PE CREDIT FOR ARCHERY. If you reside within the Austin Independent School District, are in Grades 7 to 12, and wish to sign up for Off-Campus PE credit in archery for the Fall 2009 school semester, please let us know as soon as possible. You can also spread the word to your friends. The AISD requirements last school year were 5 hours of archery per week, 90% attendance, and 100% completion of weekly written assignments. The fee for the 18-week 2009 Fall semester will be $450 payable in advance or in three six-week payments of $150. This works out to about $5/hour. (There are no refunds for hours missed.) You'll need to submit forms signed to AISD several days BEFORE school starts on August 24.

If you reside in another school district, go to a private school, or are part of a home school network, we would be happy to meet with the school district and/or school/network administrators to determine how we can ensure you receive PE credit for your hours of archery training and practice. Please contact us.

8/1/2009 - AUSTIN JOAD ARCHERS IS NOW PART OF ARCHERY TRAINING CENTER, INC. Thanks to everyone for your help and support during this transition!

7/28/2009 -  NO OUTDOOR CLASS ON AUGUST 1st - Coach Alex is calling all advanced and competitive outdoor archers to a form and equipment class at the indoor range at 11:00-1:00.

7/23/2009 - CONGRATULATIONS TO KIRAN (1ST), GRAHAM (3RD), and TYLER (5TH) in the TEXAS STATE TARGET CHAMPIONSHIPS in Bastrop on July 18/19. You guys showed some heavy-duty strength out there - beating your personal bests in three out of your four distances - Awesome! RESULTS at: http://www.texasarchery.org/Results/StateTarget/statetarget2009.htm

7/22/2009 - NO OUTDOOR CLASS ON JULY 25 - Coach Alex is calling all advanced and competitive outdoor archers to a form and equipment class at the indoor range at 11:00-1:00.

7/22/2009 - JOAD NATIONALS RESULTS - The FITA (the main event results of 144 arrows), OR (Olympic Round, which is the elimination round), and Wand Shoot (just for the Bowmen) results can be found at http://usarchery.org/event/event/1301

7/11/2009 - 2010 JOAD NATIONALS TRIP COMPETITION and HOW TO GET ON THE 2010 TOURNAMENT TEAM.  We've added these under Top Archers / Tournament Champions. If you're an advanced archer and want to be on the Austin JOAD Archers 2010 Tournament Team or want to win the free trip to the JOAD Nationals next summer (like Kiran did this year), look to see where you stand and what goals you need to set now to get there!

7/8/2009 - NO OUTDOOR CLASS ON JULY 18 - Alex and several of the 2009 Tournament Team are going to the Texas State Target Championships in Bastrop. If you can help set up the field on Friday morning, contact Michael Hojnacki at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call him 512 496 6835

7/5/2009 - Photos of the JOAD Nationals are up at http://www.dolphin-sys.com/Photo%20Galleries/2009/JOAD%20National%20Championships/index.html   The only ones I could find of Kiran are on Day 1 #158; Day 2 #162, 153, and #154. Couldn't see any of Anjali or Alex...but Alex and Anjali took a lot, so they'll be up on our site soon under Gallery. 

7/4/2009 - How to Qualify for a Free Trip to the JOAD Nationals: The rules and guidelines to qualify for next year's trip are up on this website under Top Archers / Tournament Champions. 

7/4/2009 - FRIEND TICKETS: Bring your friends to archery this summer! As an Austin JOAD Archer you earn one FRIEND TICKET for every 8 JOAD classes you attend this calendar year. You can invite one friend per ticket to CLASS 1: First-time Qualifying Class. Each friend pays HALF-PRICE ($10 instead of $20) for his/her first lesson. When your friend takes Class 1, and hands in the FRIEND TICKET you gave them, YOU'LL SHOOT FREE for one class. Each friend needs to REGISTER on the homepage of this website (www.aajoad.com) for an available Saturday 1:30-3:30. He/She needs to BRING THE TICKET to Class 1, and give it to the instructor. If you have been to at least 8 JOAD classes this calendar year, your FRIEND TICKETS are waiting for you at JOAD. Questions? Call 436 8813. The summer is also a great time to throw a private Intro to Archery Party on the weekends with 5 to 16 friends!

7/4/2009 - JOAD NATIONALS UPDATE: Coach Alex just called with the final results. Kiran placed 5th. 4th place was 4 points higher and 3rd place was 14 points higher. The winning score was 1263 (7 pts. below the average for the last six years)...It's tough up there! There was a strong wind. Kiran shot 1200, which was 53 points higher than his score in the Lone Star FITA at the end of April, his very first outdoor tournament. We're really proud of Kiran for competing so well at his first JOAD Nationals. He was a real little trouper for even going, considering he had been suffering from walking pneumonia the week before he went. His antibiotics ran out on July 1! This afternoon he's going kayaking. Tomorrow is the Wand Shoot for Kiran's age category (8-12 year olds), and the OR (Olympic Round = elimination round) for the Cubs (13-14 year olds), Cadets (15-16 year olds) and Juniors (17-18 year olds). Kiran will learn a lot from watching them. Next weekend some of Junior Dream Team will represent the USA in the World Youth Championships in Ogden, UT.

(Remember, when you score the qualifying score at an outdoor tournament to win the Austin JOAD Archers' free trip to the JOAD Nationals (see under Top Archers / Tournament Champions on this website) that score will get you somewhere between 1st and 10th place, depending on who else competes. Kiran knew that, and so his goals for the tournament were realistic. His focus was on his shot sequence and learning as much as he could to be better prepared next outdoor season, when he will be a Cub.) On July 18/19, Kiran, Graham, and Tyler will compete in the Texas State Target Championships in Bastrop.

7/3/2009 - JOAD NATIONALS UPDATE: Just heard from Coach Alex - Kiran did really great today...There are lots and lots of kids in his age category - Bowman Male Recurve - which surprised him a lot - and even more than Coach Alex expected! There are about 300 junior archers at the tournament with their parents and coaches. Today the distances for Bowmen were 30m and 25m on 122-cm target faces. Kiran moved from 9th place to 7th place to 5th place and then into 4th place by the close of shooting today. WOW! Tomorrow is the second day, and the most competitive one, with the young Bowman archers shooting at 25m and 20m on 80-cm target faces. The top archer in Kiran's division is 40 pts. ahead of him....There are a lot of really great junior archers in the Northeast, especially in Hall's JOAD in Connecticut and the JOAD in Cincinnati. Usually about 30 states are represented! Kiran has been really focused and strong! He and Anjali are going to dinner with a new friend and his family. Coach Alex is having dinner with the other JDT coaches. Everyone is having a really great time!

7/2/2009 - JOAD NATIONALS UPDATE: Today was registration, bow inspection, and practice. Lots of things happening, which is a bit overwhelming if you have never been to a JOAD Nationals before...After Kiran practiced for a while, everyone was invited to Lancaster Archery Supply for a Pig Roast. Coach Alex said Kiran had a lot of fun playing different games with other kids his age...and he's really looking forward to tomorrow! It was also National Coach Kisik Lee's 53rd birthday today - Coach Alex, when he saw the birthday cake traveling across the field, quickly gathered the JDT's and coaches together, and they all gave Coach Lee a little surprise birthday celebration!

6/28/2009 - KIRAN'S SEND OFF TO THE 2009 JOAD NATIONALS - Today was a great day at JOAD! Kiran's fellow archers gathered to give him a surprise send-off. Kiran asked when he came in why there were so many archers in the range, and if there would be enough space for him to shoot! We said, "Well, maybe." After he had been shooting for a while, Coach Alex made the announcement that everyone was there because they wanted to wish Kiran luck at the JOAD Nationals, and that it is Austin JOAD Archers' hope that in the coming years we can take more and more kids together to the tournament. Coach Alex then gave Kiran his National Trip Award, and read from the award the reasons he was receiving it, together with his 1st place qualifying rankings in the 2009 and 2008 tournaments. Kiran was really surprised....and then he was given three newly embroidered Austin JOAD Archers 2009 Tournament Team (Brian did a magnificent job of the embroidering) which all the tournament team will receive soon. Coach Alex also received a new shirt, since he will be accompanying Kiran to the JOAD Nationals. And, then, Coach Alex handed Kiran and Kiran's mom, Anjali, an Austin JOAD Archers' check for $1800, which will cover all trip expenses for both of them - hotel, rental car, airplane ticket, meals, registration, JOAD Nationals t-shirt...Thank you everyone so much for helping and donating to make this wonderful opportunity for Kiran possible! They're leaving on July 1st!

6/13/2009 CONGRATULATIONS TO KIRAN, RAHI, AND TYLER OF OUR 2009 TOURNAMENT TEAM who competed in the 2009 Texas State JOAD Championship in Ganado, TX. It was a windy two-day tournament, and they did remarkably well! Each has only been shooting outdoors since March 21, and now, thanks to the wonderful generosity of the local church who lets us use their field to practice on (and, of course, coaching by USAA Junior Dream Team Coach Alex Meyer), they have succeeded in becoming Texas State JOAD Outdoor Champions! Kiran won 1st Place Male Recurve Bowman (20m, 25m 122-cm target, 25m 80-cm target, 30m), with his overall FITA outdoor tournament personal best of 1219 - and personal bests at all four distances! He's now getting ready for the JOAD Nationals in Downingtown, PA, on July 2-5! Rahi won 1st Place Male Compound Bowman (same distances), with his first FITA outdoor tournament personal best - and personal bests at three of his four distances - plus Rahi earned his purple, grey, and white outdoor USA Archery star pins! Tyler, who is a Male Compound Cub (20m, 30m, 40m, 50m - and highly competitive) held his own among guys who have been shooting outdoors for years! He won 4th place - with his first FITA outdoor tournament personal best of 1206. He'll be competing again at the JOAD State Target Championship in July in Bastrop. He also shot his personal bests at three of his four distances! Awesome! Everyone who went had a great time, and are making friends from all over Texas, whom they'll be competing with for years to come! 

6/12-18 - COACH ALEX AT THE OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER in Chula Vista. 

6/7/2009 - END OF SCHOOL TOURNAMENT PARTY -This was our second fundraiser to send Kiran to the JOAD Nationals - and today we met our goal of $1700! Excellent. One generous family contributed $500! Thanks to everyone who contributed. Kiran is definitely going now! 

6/7/2009 CHANGE OF BUSINESS FORM VOTE Over the last week or so, all the active members have been casting their votes in sealed envelopes on whether the existing Austin JOAD Archers sports club should be closed and re-opened as part of Archery Training Center, Inc. (ATCI), the new corporation with Alex Meyer as president. Matt, our Class 2 instructor, opened the sealed envelopes today in front of everyone at the End of School Tournament Party. 80% of the active members voted, and the vote was unanimous with only three votes not being received in time. As part of the transition, ATCI will buy all the existing equipment and the names. The money in the existing bank account and from the sale of the equipment will be transferred to a fund to be used for the benefit of JOAD archers. A Transition Committee will oversee and vote on how these funds will be allocated. Matt, Mike W., and Anjali volunteered to be on the Transition Committee, which Roy will chair. So, on August 1, Archery Training Center, Inc. will start operations, which we anticipate will be seamless and will result in even more opportunities, services, and support for all our archers! Thanks to you all for supporting our vision and your many well wishes!

5/16/2009 - ACE ACADEMY "INTRO TO ARCHERY" PARTY FOR KIRAN - This was our first fundraiser to send Kiran to the JOAD Nationals in July. A lot of Kiran's classmates came and gave in support - and all had a great time learning how to shoot! There were lots of balloons and refreshments - and we raised $485!

5/12/2009 -  END OF SCHOOL TOURNAMENT PARTY AT THE INDOOR RANGE on Sunday, June 7! This year all the registration fees will go towards sending Kiran to the JOAD Nationals in Downingtown, PA, on July 2-5. For more info about Kiran and why he deserves our support, check out June 7 on the Calendar on this website, where you'll also find more details about the event. EVERYBODY PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY COMING OR CONTRIBUTING - (It could be you next year!)

5/11/2009 - Coach Alex will be out to the OTC again from June 12-18 to help coach the Junior Dream Team archers ...Unfortunately, this means he will miss being at the Texas State JOAD Championships, but he knows that the training and dedication of our 2009 Austin JOAD Archers Outdoor Tournament Team will mean success for them at the tournament - Good luck to everyone on the team! If you want to know more about the JDT, go to http://www.usarchery.org/content/index/5081  The JDT athletes are listed at http://www.usarchery.org/athlete?tag_id=2089 

5/4/2009 - Starting this coming weekend (May 9/10), we're going on our annual summer schedule.There will be one indoor class on Saturdays: 11:00-1:30 and one on Sundays: 1:30-4:00. Both classes are open to all qualified archers, JOAD and ATP (adult training program). The Outdoor Advanced Archery Program (OAAP) on Saturdays: 1:30-3:30 will continue throughout the summer on the outdoor field for qualified and approved advanced archers only. (The outdoor class times may be adjusted as it gets hotter!) Wednesday indoor practice 6:15-8:00 will continue for qualified and approved archers only.

5/4/2009 - Register for AISD Off-Campus PE credit course before the school year ends! If any archers in grades 7-12 are interested in obtaining PE credit for archery starting in the Fall 2009 semester, please contact us so we can give you the paperwork to submit to AISD before the end of the school year. (This will make things easier for everyone in August.) 

4/26/2009 - Check out this great article about us in our local newspaper! Many thanks to James Wickett, Sloan Baker, Eric Pulsifer, Teresa Pione and Rachel Parkhurst at Community Impact News (Southwest Austin) for their interest and support, and for writing such a great feature article! http://www.impactnews.com/southwest-austin/business-profiles/4054-junior-olympic-archery-development

4/20/2009 - Congratulations to our 2009 Outdoor Tournament Team at the LoneStar FITA at UT - Kiran (1st), Patrick (2nd), and Nicholas (3rd)! This was the 2009 Outdoor Tournament Team's very first outdoor tournament - and it was about as grueling as it gets - 144 arrows over 4 distances in one day! They just kept on going -  and finished with amazing results! Fantastic guys! (See photos in the Gallery on this website.)

4/13/2009 - Coach Alex will be at the Olympic Training Center coaching some of the Jr. Dream Team from 4/13 - 4/19. During his absence, the outdoor and indoor JOAD classes and adult meetups will be coached by one or more of our other brilliant USA Archery-certified instructors! Keep practicing - and good luck team at the LoneStar FITA on 4/18 and 19 at UT!

4/7/2009 - No classes on Easter Sunday (4/12). We are having the following classes on Saturday 4/11: 11:00-1:00 Indoors: Open to all JOAD and ATA members and 1:30-3:30 Outdoors: Advanced Archers only. Always check the Calendar section of this site on Friday evenings, if you're not sure which classes are being held. Have a HAPPY EASTER!

4/4/2009 - Community Impact News (SW) http://impactnews.com/southwest-austin sent their photographer to photograph the JOAD kids with Alex out on the field for a feature article about us in the next issue of their newspaper (May, probably). If you live SW, have a look!

3/21/2009 - Outdoor Advanced Archery Program (OAAP) Our first outdoor classes started today for the advanced JOAD and adult target archers who have shot over 200 pts. at 18m twice indoors and have their own equipment. If you want to know what outdoor shooting is like, look at the photos we took at outdoor Family Fun Shoot in October 2008 at http://www.aajoad.com/index/content/view/66/25/

3/8/2009 - Congratulations to Coach Alex for being appointed a Junior Dream Team coach by National Head Archery Coach Kisik Lee. After having been a Level 3 Archery Coach since 2001, Alex became a USA Archery Regional Coach in November 2008. Coach Alex will be going out to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista about every three months to coach. He's really excited about his new appointment and helping the USA Archery program. He'll also, of course, continue to train the JOAD and adult archers at Austin JOAD Archers/Austin Target Archers, and will be improving their training program and paths to success!  For more info about the Junior Dream Team: http://www.usarchery.org/content/index/5081

3/6/2009 - Spring Indoor Classes:  March 21-May 30 (not including Easter Sunday (4/12) weekend and Mother's Day (5/10) weekend. We may later decide to have classes on these weekends, but have not included them in the fees since some of you will be out of town or with your families.) If you miss the registration, you can join at any time and your classes will be pro-rated.

The fees are payable on or before March 21. You must take CLASS 1: First-Time Qualifying Class and qualify before joining Class 2. (Click the Register button on our homepage for your first-time qualifying class.) 

CLASS 2: Beginners/Achievers Classes: Saturdays: 11:00-1:00 or Sundays: 4:00-6:00. One class: $135, Two classes: $270. If you graduate out of Class 2 into Class 3 during this 9-week period, we will refund $5 for the number of advanced classes still left in the schedule. 

CLASS 3: Advanced Class $90: Sundays 1:30-3:30. You must have shot 200 pts. twice at 18m to be in the advanced class. If you would like to come to a second class on the weekend, you can also attend a Class 2 time. $180 for both classes. 

3/6/2009 - Congratulations to our 2009 Indoor Tournament Team! They participated last weekend at the JOAD Indoor Nationals/Southern Regional Championships at Texas A&M: Male Recurve Junior : 2nd: KARL; Male Recurve Cub : 5th: GRAHAM; Bowman Male Recurve: 2nd: KIRAN, 3rd Place: PATRICK. 

Two new State records were set by KIRAN at the State Indoor Championships earlier at UT! FANTASTIC!

2/27/2009 - Outdoor Classes. After Alex's return from the Olympic Training Center on March 8, he will be holding two-hour classes for about 20 weeks on the outdoor field to prepare our 2009 Tournament Team and other archers for the Texas and National Outdoor Tournaments. The tentative dates are March 21-August 1. You will need to have your own bow and equipment, have graduated to at least the 13.5-m distance indoors, and have approval from Alex that you are ready for outdoors. Fee: $10 per class. Please stay tuned!

2/26/2009 - Photos are up! We've put up lots more photos under Gallery - so take a look. We take photos (if you're wearing your club shirt!) of State, Regional, and National champions, Archers of the Year, Achievers of the Month, indoor and outdoor Family Fun Tournaments, Personal Best awardees, highlights and funny things that happen during practice, whenever someone shoots a great group, a 10, three 10's, and, of course, the Gold Star six 10's in a row at 18m. Alex also reviews your form with you individually through video analysis periodically at the JOAD and ATA sessions. So you've got lots of opportunities to see yourself succeed! (We only put first names on the website, and everyone needs to sign a photo consent form, so please see Racae if you still need to do this.) If you've taken some great photos during practice or at tournaments, please send them to us

Tournament Results for our 2009 Austin JOAD Archers Tournament Team - Congratulations - You did great! Texas State JOAD Indoor Championship at UT Austin: Male Recurve Cub: 5th GRAHAM, Male Recurve Bowman: 1st: KIRAN, 3rd: NICHOLAS, 4th: PATRICK Congrats to all! And to top it off - KIRAN, GRAHAM, and PATRICK all shot their personal bests!Texas State Indoor Championship at UT Austin: Male Recurve Junior: 2nd: KARL, Male Recurve Bowman: 1st: KIRAN, 3rd: PATRICK Good luck at the Nationals on Feb. 28 at Texas A&M!

New Private Lessons Times with Alex: Sundays: 11:00-12:00 or 12:00-1:00. $30/archer/hour, $40 for two archers/hour. This is open to all JOAD and ATA archers who need more individual help with their form. You must pre-book your time with Alex by calling 203 2368. His time is on a first-come, first-served basis. (See About Us and Gallery/Blasts from the Past for more info on Alex.)

New Weekly Practice Time: Wednesdays: 6:15-8:00 beginning Feb. 4 at the indoor range. Fee: $7.00. This is not open to the general public, but is only for our members (both Junior Olympic archers and adult Austin Target Archers) who have at least qualified in the qualifying class on Saturdays 1:30-3:30, and have Coach Alex's approval. A certified USA Archery instructor will be present during the entire time. (You are not allowed to use the range without a certified instructor present.) Please note, this is not a class, so instruction and help from instructors (who also want to use this as practice time) will be minimal, but it will give you an opportunity to spend more time shooting, and we hope it helps you prepare for the weekend sessions and the State and National tournaments! As you know, the space is limited, so we'll have to see how it goes...

New 2009 Winter JOAD Indoor Class 2: If you're new, you need to take Class 1: First-Time Qualifying Class and qualify before joining this new class. (Register for Class 1 at http://www.aajoad.com/index/component/option,com_performs/formid,2/Itemid,8/  Fees: Class 1 $20; Class 2: $15/wk. We provide all equipment needed to shoot. There is a limit to the number of kids we can accommodate in the indoor range, so please register soon! (Class 2: Beginners on Saturdays 11:00-1:00 will continue as before.)

Just for clarification: Both Class 2s are three-stage classes. (1) Shoot 240 pts. at 9 m, (2) Shoot 240 pts. at 13.5 m, (3) Shoot 200 pts. TWICE at 18 meters (We'll put a sight on your house bow some time after you reach 18 m.) Then you can go into the Advanced Class on Sundays 1:30-3:30. Good luck - some of you are almost there! 

Nov. 22: 31st Annual Longhorn Indoor Tournament: CONGRATULATIONS !!! Evan gets 1st Place, Kiran  2nd Place in Male Recurve Bowman Division; Rahi  wins 2nd Place Male Compound Division; More results  http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/archery/LH2008_results.pdf

Some of the Oct. 4 Family Fun Shooting Party photos are up under Gallery  Lots more to come!

LINDSEY WINS BRONZE FOR THE US AT THE PARALYMPICS IN BEIJING! In 1998, about three years after Alex and I first started our JOAD classes, a family came into the range for the first-time qualifier lesson - just like you and so many others over the years have done. With every one, we always see the Olympian inside. Well, Lindsey, really worked at it...and her parents took a strong interest and supported her every week. I remember at one class, when she was sitting down and resting, I said, "Just watch Alex shoot. See how he does...." - and then she said to me, "I don't like to watch others shoot. It looks so painful." I realized then that every time she shot, she was in pain. Lindsey has McCune Albright Syndrome, which means her bones have weak areas. Alex coached her every week, and we tried to inspire and encourage. We sent her stuffed animals and books to the Mayo Clinic when she had her operations. And through it all, Lindsey came to JOAD. She went to tournaments and won most of them. We gave her parents a list of Lindsey's achievements during each year at the annual Family Fun Tournament. She was Top Archer of the Year twice. After about three years the classes got too crowded, which was dangerous for her, so her dad, Ron Carmichael, who by that time was getting more and more involved in the archery organization, searched for new paths to help her succeed. Ed De Bee, who used to do the Texas State Archery Association website asked me if I knew someone who could take over. I suggested Ron, and things just took off. Now the TSAA website is one that hundreds of archers refer to all the time! Later, Lindsey went on to UT, and Ron started coaching there. In 2004, she went to the Paralympics in Athens and on to meet President Bush in a White House ceremony. And now, after ten dedicated years in archery, Lindsey has brought home the bronze medal in archery for the USA ! How proud we are of her perseverance and strength. Keep going Lindsey! Everyone should read this great article that she wrote the night she won the medal!  And just remember - the Olympics is not a dream....it's a long-term goal!  http://www.bloggernews.net/117762

Archery World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland (Sept. 27) - Watch the videos afterwards at http://www.youtube.com/archerytv

Starting Sept. 20: We have a new class - ATP 1: Austin Target Archers USA Archery Adult Training Program (ATP). This new adult program is part (and in support) of Austin JOAD Archers. If you are interested in attending a first-time qualifier class on Sept. 20 or Sept. 27 from 4:00-6:00 p.m., go to http://archery.meetup.com/14 , become a member of Austin Target Archers, and RSVP "Yes" for one of those dates. If you can't come on Sept. 20 or Sept. 27, you must register for a CLASS 1: FIRST-TIME QUALIFIER CLASS 1:30-3:30 on Saturdays on THIS website under "Register" on the homepage. We will take a maximum of 3 adult (non-parent) archers in that class each week, so that we always allow space for the JOAD archers and their parents, but all archers will be registered on a first-come first-served basis. After you qualify in Class 1, you can join the other adults in the regular ATP 1: AUSTIN TARGET ARCHERS Adult Training Program each Saturday 4:00-6:00. Every week you want to attend the ATP 1 class, you must RSVP "Yes" on the above meetup site. Fee: $20 per person per week. See you soon! (If this is confusing or you have any questions, you can call 436 8813.)

Interested in becoming a sponsor? If you or your company is interested in becoming a sponsor of our Junior Olympic Archery Club, please contact us through this website or call 436 8813. Also remember we are a non-profit organization!

Blasts from the Past - Indoor and Outdoor Nationals and other USA Archery tournaments - in the "Gallery" - Keep looking....We'll put more up as we find them in the archives! And if any member has some cool ones - e-mail them to us!

Links - Don't forget to look at the really cool links (at the very bottom of this page). Lots of Olympic archery.

Birthdays - Most of your birthdays are up on the Calendar - Tell us if we need to add you or we've got it wrong!

Tournament Champions has been added to the Top Archers section. Take a look!

Personal Best scores and award levels are up under Top Archers - Just keep clicking until you see them! These will be updated weekly (usually on the following Saturday evening).