Carthage archery instructor wins national award

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News from the region
Southwest
Published Date
05/29/2019
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CARTHAGE, Mo. – Caleb Patrick realizes the benefits archery can provide to teenagers go beyond the satisfaction of being able to stick an arrow inside a target ring. The Carthage High School archery instructor’s dedication to using the activity to raise self-esteem and promote personal confidence through the Missouri National Archery in the Schools Program (MoNASP) – a program coordinated by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) – has resulted in Patrick receiving national recognition.

Patrick has been named the National Archery in the Schools Program’s (NASP) 2019 Coach of the Year. Patrick coaches the Carthage High School archery team and oversees the other archery teams in the Carthage R-9 School District. This entails coaching 84 students at the high school level, 45 in grades 7-8, and 116 students on teams in grades 5-6. These teams participate in MoNASP, which is an an affiliate of NASP. NASP promotes education, self-esteem, and physical activity for students in grades 4-12 through the sport of archery.

NASP’s Coach of the Year Award is part of the organization’s On Target For Life Award program. This program consists of six awards designed to identify, recognize, and celebrate people who demonstrate the positive influences NASP can have in lives of young archers. The Coach of the Year Award is a student-nominated honor that recognizes the attributes of a coach beyond their ability to teach the fundamentals of archery. The nominee must have a history of making a difference in the lives of participating NASP students. Those characteristics are easily seen in the work of Patrick according to MDC Outdoor Skills Specialist Andy Rhodes.

"Caleb is one of those coaches that is always looking to help archers be better on and off the shooting line. He’s always willing to chip in and create opportunities that improves the future of his students,” said Rhodes, who works with MoNASP teams in Jasper, Newton, McDonald, Barry, Lawrence, Dade, Cedar, and Barton counties.

More than 2.3 million Missouri students participate yearly and nearly 720 schools have participated in MoNASP since the program’s introduction in 2002. This year’s state MoNASP tournament in Branson featured more than 2,300 students from nearly 150 schools statewide. More information about the program can be found at: https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/teacher-portal/monasp