Posted on: July 28th, 2010 Arrows for Inclusion

Arrows for Inclusion

By Zack Walton 

This day was not your average day in the archery shop.  This day was special. These archers were not your average shooters.  These archers were special.

These shooters were not worried about score.  They were not concerned with form.  They were so genuinely excited about the experience itself that smiles enveloped their faces before the thud of the arrows resonated through the lanes.

“Average” shooters approach shooting sessions with expectations.  These archers had none.  Just an excitement and an enthusiasm that your “average” shooter has had buried deep inside, trapped since the first time they loosed an arrow. 

“They’re not your average kids,” said Tim Burnett, owner of Impact Archery and Hoyt pro staff shooter.  “They are amazing kids—even beyond that. They have no worries and just have fun all the time.”

On the third Saturday in March, Impact Archery in Clovis, Calif. was the spot for more than 25 kids and young adults with special needs and local archers to gather and share in the experience archery provides.

     Paralympian Jeff Fabry getting acquainted with participants

This event, more than 11 months in the making, focused on involving select members from Break The Barriers—an organization that brings together athletes and performers of all abilities.  Founded in 1983 by former New York Yankee Steve Hergenrader and his wife, Deby, Break The Barriers has grown from a one-room dance studio in their home with a handful of members to a 32,000 square-foot facility that hosts more than 3,000 weekly participants with activities such as swimming, gymnastics, dance and martial arts.

Deby’s dream was to offer a place to include and instruct athletes like her sister, Kathy, who has Down syndrome. Now, Break The Barriers has members with different physical, neurological and mental disabilities, and intermingles them with people of all abilities.

“Everyone has disability and everybody has ability,” said Steve Hergenrader. “We try to pull out the ability and the best in everyone.”

This event matched the members of Break The Barriers with local pros.  Highlighted by two-time Paralympics bronze medalist and seven-time World Archery Festival champion Jeff Fabry.  Fabry’s accomplishments in the archery world are numerous.  But what made him of special interest to the participants is not how well he shoots his bow but the manner in which he shoots it—with his mouth.

   Jeff Fabry’s Bronze medal from the Paralympic Games in China

Fabry’s unique shooting style has evolved because of a passion to compete with archery equipment and an unfortunate accident more than 20 years ago.  As a teenager, he was in a horrific motorcycle accident that cost him his right leg and his right arm just below the elbow.  It was the loss of his arm that really shook Fabry.

“I knew immediately after the accident I would lose my leg,” Fabry said.  “But when I woke up in the hospital and saw they took my arm that hit me more than anything.  I was pissed off.”

It was then that he knew things would be different for him.  Fabry said it took six or seven months before accepting his situation.  Not so ironically, it was around the same time he decided to again take up his biggest passion—hunting. 

“Hunting kept me going,” Fabry said.

It was getting in the hills and being around the outdoors that helped Fabry find his new path in life.  At the time, he was solely a rifle hunter and decided to take up archery as a way to get in the field more often.  So he picked up his first bow not knowing how much that decision would shape his life. 

Twelve years later, it is archery that has taken him all over the world.  It is archery that has introduced him to thousands of people.  And it is archery that he says has made him a “better all-around person.”

“There’s no telling what I’d be doing if I didn’t have archery,” Fabry said.

Although he travels around the world for archery competitions, including the past two Paralympics summer games, Fabry now frequently travels to all corners of the United States giving seminars at Paralympic summits and military bases.  Although he will teach anyone who wants to learn about archery, many of the people with whom Fabry works are disabled—including veterans.  Although he admits when he started he didn’t think it was something he would do very often, Fabry now jumps at every opportunity to teach the sport he loves.  While at these seminars, Fabry relishes meeting people and giving them an outlet to enjoy a sport that they otherwise may not have thought possible. 

“Seeing the impact I’ve made on their lives and the smile on their face,” said Fabry, “is the best thing about what I do.”

All of which led to Fabry’s involvement in the March event to bring together archers of all abilities.  The event began with the more than two dozen participants receiving gift bags including hats and tee-shirts donated by archery companies and other local businesses.   Then they met with several members of the Hoyt pro shooters staff and got a peek at Fabry’s bronze medal from Beijing before heading into the lanes for a quick tutorial on safety and archery techniques.  Shortly afterward, the arrows started flying.

With each bow drawn and each arrow loosed, each shooter’s grin grew wider and wider.  Every one of them took to shooting a bow as though they had held one all their life.  And after only a few shots, arrows started smacking spots.  This brought loud cheers from Break The Barriers members and their friends and family as they bounced around high-fiving the instructors and each other. 

With the expression of genuine joy, the participants remind all those in attendance of the real reason anyone picks up a bow and arrow.  It’s fun.  And the members of Break The Barriers had tons of it.  These reactions touched the instructors in an unexpected way.

The day began with the experienced shooters slated to be the teachers. As the day progressed, however, it was obvious that the students had taught the invaluable lessons.

“When they hit a bulls-eye they are genuinely excited,” said Josh Binger, a Hoyt pro staffer and competitive archer.  “It’s refreshing to see that because when you shoot competitively it gets frustrating when you’re not getting the results you want.  It’s a good thing for us to gain that perspective.”

After an hour of shooting, the group was ready for some advanced training.  So they gathered around Fabry and watched one of the world’s elite Paralympic archers in action. 

Seated in his wheelchair with a large “Team Redneck” sticker plastered firmly across the back, Fabry carefully knocks the arrow with his left hand before using the same hand to grip the bow’s riser.  Leaning forward, he finds the dimpled markings on the nylon tab that have been perfectly molded to fit his molars from thousands of shots.  With a slight tug from his neck and the steady extension of his arm, Fabry settles at full draw.  Zeroing on the spot, he allows his clenched jaw to relax.  Sending the arrow streaming toward the target where it buries deep in the “X” ring.

                                               Fabry taking aim

A burst of excitement and applause erupts through the high-ceilinged lanes.  The audience has swelled to nearly 50 people, each of whom, regardless of their level of experience or ability in awe of the ease with which Fabry stacks arrows in the spot.  But there is no doubt that the kids and young adults, for whom this event was put together, were the most inspired.

“Jeff is so amazing,” said Terra Lynch, a wheelchair dancer on the Break The Barriers performance team.  “He blew me away.”

Lynch, a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy, has been involved with Break The Barriers for more than 15 years where she has been teaching American Sign Language since a very young age.  She has also traveled internationally with the Break The Barriers traveling performance team on “Ability Awareness Outreach” trips. 

Over the past several years, Break the Barriers has traveled to Romania, China and South Africa.  During these performances, the performers entertain and educate audiences with dramatic gymnastic routines and stimulating visual effects.  The performing team uses their shows to promote the message about the importance of inclusion—involving all people of all abilities.

“We learn so much from the members about not being shy, not being afraid to try,” said Hergenrader.  “That’s a major problem with able-bodied people, they are shy; afraid to include.”

Hergenrader pointed to the performances as the chief way to advance the cause of inclusion locally and around the world.  He also said the audiences for which they perform were very important.  Involving schools, churches and government officials helps to better promote their message as the presentations showcase the talents and capabilities of each member of the performing team and allow audiences to see and enjoy what members can accomplish instead of focusing on what they cannot.

“It’s a win-win situation for everybody when people open up their hearts and doors to allow these kids to come in and be involved,” said Hergenrader. 

Break The Barriers involvement with Impact Archery began nearly a year ago with shop shooter and event organizer Mike Hernandez.  Being a long-time volunteer at a cancer hospital, Hernandez wanted to find a way to involve other organizations and his passion for archery.  After contacting Hergenrader, a group of individuals with athletic backgrounds and abilities where chosen to partake in the event.  Many of whom have Down syndrome. 

“They may have a disability but the disability definitely doesn’t have them,” said Hernandez.

 

               Several members of the Break the Barriers team

One participant of the event especially defined that statement. His name is Gary Howery.  Barrel-chested, with an upper body like a bodybuilder, the smiling 28-year-old with spina bifida sits erect in his wheelchair as he grips a bow that looks like a match stick in his strong hands.  A natural athlete, he combines the perfect amount of strength and finesse as he draws. Straining the limbs of the undersized recurve, he easily supports the weight to take slow and deliberate aim before launching an arrow toward the target.

Having competed in wheelchair athletics since 3rdgrade, Howery cites his involvement in sports as a major confidence booster throughout his life.  So when he decided to join Break The Barriers a year ago, he was a perfect fit.  Since that time, he has joined the performance team and uses his athletic abilities to carry out over-the-head lifts of other wheelchair-bound members and spin “360” wheelies during shows.  Howery said the biggest surprise of his involvement in the performances is the impact on audiences.

“Not knowing that I’ve changed people’s lives or that I’ve inspired people,” said Howery humbly.  “I just don’t see it.  I’m just being myself the best way possible.”

Having set his sights on training for future Paralympics events such as pentathlon, other field events, and now possibly archery, Howery’s focus on competing has never been stronger.  And his positive experiences with Break The Barriers have helped to cement his goals. Now, he has embraced the Break The Barriers message, offering advice to others in similar situations to overcome their concerns and consider involvement.

“Stop being apathetic and get out there and do it,” said Howery.

March’s event served as a great way to spread the message Break The Barriers promotes about inclusion.  But it also served as a great way to promote the sport of archery.  The event exposed dozens of people to an activity that they never before expected they could enjoy.  It now serves as another outlet for those people of all abilities to enjoy physical activity and competition.

A long-time archer and instructor himself, Tim Burnett values the importance of spreading the sport of archery and increasing its popularity.  A job he takes very seriously. 

“Everybody wants to be a great shooter,” said Burnett.  “But I think being a great ambassador is just as good as being a great shooter. I don’t believe you have to be the greatest archer in the world, if you can be a great inspiration to one person, it makes your whole day.”

                                     Mike Hernandez with Andy

Hernandez was able to gather many volunteers and sponsors, who should be thanked including Easton, Hoyt, Impact Archery, Spot-Hogg, JB’s Photography, Eddie Melikian, Tim Burnett, Jeff Fabry, Steve Hergenrader, Alex Delgado, Victoria Blackwell and everyone else who helped.

“People forget scores, forget who won what tournament, but they never forget a helping hand,” said Burnett.

                           Tim Burnett high-fives a shooter

          Terra Lynch enjoying the day

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