By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    When 12-year-old Emily Taylor, of South Portland,
returned from Girl Scout camp last summer, she never had any
conversations with her parents about archery. So her mother, Anne Marie
Taylor, not surprisingly, was a little taken aback when her daughter
later asked for a bow and arrow for Christmas.

    “I had no idea what was involved in archery and you
could go to Wal-mart and buy a toy bow and arrow or you could go to
L.L. Bean or those places and buy a bow and arrow,” Taylor said with a
laugh. “My husband and I decided we would take her to an archery place
first and see if it was something that she really wanted to do and then
go from there.”

    Since her first day on a real archery range in
January, Emily Taylor has been hooked on the sport. She has competed in
eight competitions and, within her age group, has racked up three state
championships and five first place trophies. Last weekend, she placed
second in her age group, known as Cubs, during the Maine State
Championship, held at Lakeside Archery Pro Shop in North Yarmouth.

Taylor said her talent for the ancient sport seemed to come naturally.

    “I’d never tried it before and I thought it was
something different so I just really wanted to try it,”she said of
picking up a bow while at camp. “If you find a place that has a coach,
it’s a lot easier and it’s a lot of fun.”

    Steve Dunsmoor, one of Taylor’s coaches and the
owner of Lakeside Archery, said out of the 28 participants in his JOAD
classes, Taylor is in the top three.

    Dunsmoor started shooting more than 20 years ago and
is one of two National Archery Association Level IV National Coaches in
New England.

    “She has a passion for archery,” Dunsmoor said. “Her
dedication, her drive, it’s something that she’s obviously interested
in. It’s a very disciplined sport and some of my better students have
had a background in martial arts. You have to be very precise and
consistent.”  

    While she doesn’t have any martial arts training,
Taylor is active in several other sports including track, soccer and
horseback riding. When she is not honing her athletic skills, Taylor
enjoys raising sheep for the 4-H Club and volunteering at a soup
kitchen, all while staying on the high honor roll.

    If inspiration strikes in her down time, Taylor can
go out to her backyard and practice hitting a target from a distance of
18 yards. She also trains two days a week at Lakeside Archery.

    On Wednesdays, Taylor trains with the Junior Olympic
Archery Development Program (JOAD). JOAD, a program of the National
Archery Association, is open to youth between the ages of 8 and 18.
According to the National Archery Association Web site, the program
offers training and skill development for youth who wish to compete in
local and regional competitions. Participants who train with compound
bows can try out for a spot on a youth world team and youth who use
recurve bows can try out for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Archery
team.   

    “You set goals for what you want to get for a
score,” Taylor said of the class. “There’s different levels – you can
go from a qualified archer to a gold Olympian, which is a perfect score
and every class you get the chance to move up another level by getting
a certain score.”

    Taylor uses a compound bow, which her mother said
can cost around $350. Compound bows, with wheels on each end, tend to
be more accurate than a recurve bow that has ends that bend away from
the archer.     

    Taylor’s training has progressed from the
traditional brightly colored, circle targets to 3-D targets. The 3-D
targets, made out of foam, are fashioned to be life size
representations of animals such as, deers, bears, lions and turkeys.

    Taylor said there are two small rings on the foam
animals’ bodies that are worth 11 points. The next largest ring is
worth 10 points and the largest ring is worth eight points. A shot
elsewhere on the body is worth five points.

    During a competition, such as last weekend’s state
championship, participants follow a field course through the woods,
stopping at 30 different shooting stations, said Dunsmoor.   

    As Dunsmoor said he insists his students have fun,
Taylor has also had the opportunity to do several trick shots.

    Dunsmoor said trick shots include popping a balloon
suspended from a hula hoop that is spinning on a turntable, shooting
the flame off a candle and a William Tell scenario involving a foam
head, a Halloween mask and an apple.

    “Most of the kids Emily’s age are pretty young and
if they don’t enjoy themselves they probably won’t stick with it,” he
said.

    Taylor said she’s dedicated to the sport. Although
there are few other girls in her training classes, she doesn’t feel
intimidated. Instead, she is more concerned about improving her skills.

    “The kid that got first-he’s really good,” she said,
referring to the latest competition. “He beat me by 20 points and he’s
gotten pretty much the same score every time and it’s really high. You
put pressure on yourself to try and beat them.”