THE EDMONSON VOICE
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
    • VOICE Calendar >
      • About VOICE Calendar
    • County Schools Calendar
  • Obits
  • Sports
    • WildcatsLive/Schedules
    • Recorded Game Videos
  • Weather
  • Features
    • Recipe Of The Week
    • Opinion
    • Ask Mongoose
    • Arts/Entertainment
    • Legal/Professional Policy
    • Our Staff
    • Contest Rules
    • Our Sponsors
  • FAQs
Picture
Picture
Picture

ECMS Archery, From Nothing To World Ranked In One Year

7/27/2015

3 Comments

 
Darren Doyle, Edmonson Voice
You don't see a story about a middle school archery team in the headlines very often, but it's not often your local team becomes world ranked, especially in less than one full year. 

"We're like the Bad News Bears," said head coach Chris Shelton, laughing. "We started with nothing... and we really shouldn't have been here."

The team just finished the season ranked 71st in the world after this past weekend's NASP World Archery Championship in Nashville, TN where the ECMS team competed against teams from the U.S. and 5 other countries. 
Picture
2015 ECMS Archery Team (W. Ritter)
Talk about humble beginnings...Shelton, who had previously coached at North Warren Elementary, said a few parents had asked Edmonson County school officials about putting together a local archery team and that Shelton might be interested. Soon after, officials along with Athletic Director Kyle Pierce contacted Shelton and things began to blossom from there.

"We started putting this thing together around September of 2014 and in about 3 months, things started coming together," he said. "The kids began to see that we could be a real team."

The team quickly began to gel, gaining confidence, and having fun, which led to a regional competition, then to state, which eventually ended up at the grandaddy-of-them-all, the world championships.

With the success of such a team starting from scratch and ending up with a world ranking, Shelton and his coaching staff, Wally Ritter, Darren Smith, and Keith Sanders (booster club president), have obviously done something right, but Shelton says it's all about the kids.

"I can't say enough about these kids," he said. "This really shows their heart and character. Out of thousands of teams, and we're rankied 71st in the world? It's unbelievable."
Picture
Head Coach Chris Shelton gives some instruction to his team at the NASP World Championship in Nashville, TN. (W. Ritter)
The team's top male competitor was Jarrod Sanders, who finished with an overall score of 1101. This ranked him in the top 10% of all 8th grade boys in the world. Adri Ray, the top female competitor, finished with a score of 909, placing her in the top 26%, worldwide. 

So with these amazing results in only one year, where does the team go from here? "I'm really excited about next year's team," Shelton said. "No one knows what will happen, but it sure looks good. I'd say we're 2 or 3 years ahead of schedule."

Shelton wanted to publicly thank his coaching staff, parents, volunteers, sponsors, and all the supporters for everything done to help the team this past year. He noted how much it meant to the team that Supt. Waddell made the drive down to Nashville to watch the competition. "There are so many people and organizations we'd like to thank for everything, but especially Jim Wilkerson at Forks of The River Archery. We couldn't have done it without him."

Shelton said the scores, accolades, and experience has been great, but that the best part of all is seeing kids come into their own. "Many of the kids haven't ever played other sports or been in school clubs. They've come out of their shell and they're good young men and women that make our team and Edmonson County proud." 

The Edmonson Voice salutes Coach Shelton, Coach Ritter, Coach Smith, Director Sanders, and all the fine boys and girls that make up the ECMS Archery Team. Way to go, and we look forward to covering more of your accomplishments in the seasons to come. 
3 Comments
Joyce Alford
7/27/2015 02:35:12 pm

I'm so proud of this young team of girls and boys. Way to go!

Reply
Robin Lich
7/28/2015 12:59:29 am

Awesome Job kids!!!!

Reply
Terri and Steve Webb
7/28/2015 11:28:39 am

We are so proud of the team! We would like to thank the coaches, boosters, and the parents for being so supportive. Dillon has had a wonderful time while on the team, posting his personal best at the World Competition (256). We look forward to much more fun and success this coming year.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
HOME
NEWS 
COMMUNITY


OBITS
FEATURES
WEATHER
​​
WILDCATS LIVE
​
SPORTS
CONTACT
copyright 2014-2023 The Edmonson Voice.
Call or text: 270-597-6550 ​editor@edmonsonvoice.com
PO BOX 94
BROWNSVILLE, KY 42210
CLICK HERE FOR DEADLINE INFO
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
    • VOICE Calendar >
      • About VOICE Calendar
    • County Schools Calendar
  • Obits
  • Sports
    • WildcatsLive/Schedules
    • Recorded Game Videos
  • Weather
  • Features
    • Recipe Of The Week
    • Opinion
    • Ask Mongoose
    • Arts/Entertainment
    • Legal/Professional Policy
    • Our Staff
    • Contest Rules
    • Our Sponsors
  • FAQs