So the last 3 regions shot this weekend and completed the Junior Olympic and US Indoor Nationals. Extremely proud of our daughter to say the least. Two girls tied just above her in the Junior Olympic Nationals and knocked her out of the medals from 3rd to 5th place. For US Indoor Nationals she's ranked in 8th.

I'm more impressed by her attitude than anything else. She's not disappointed in her finish and not being on the podium. Her attitude is outdoor season is starting and she needs to focus on the Arizona Cup and AZ State JOAD Outdoor Championships. The Arizona Cup is huge, it will be her first truly international tournament. She's also going to have to shoot up 2 age divisions to compete there.

I'm extremely proud of her, more for her discipline and attitude than finish. A top 5 and a top 10 finish are amazing in and of themselves. But it's her attitude about it, she's taken control and responsibility for her performance. My job has been strictly limited to getting her to the tournament on time. Her coach is also incredibly proud of her. Over the course of 3 days of competition, her per arrow average only dropped .05 points.

Thanks to everyone here for their cheering and good wishes along the way.

Excellent work, Maya!

Any chance that she'll get to shoot at the end of one of these tournaments? There can definitely be a psychological advantage to knowing exactly what you have to do to win.

I'd be frustrated as hell to always have be going first.

-Rob

Good for her. She has come a long way in a short time. What has it been 2-3 years since you first started her in archery?

Big stuff! Way to go!

When the zombie apocalypse comes, I'm hiding behind Maya.

Great to hear. I know some "adults" who could take some attitude lessons from Maya.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
Excellent work, Maya!

Any chance that she'll get to shoot at the end of one of these tournaments? There can definitely be a psychological advantage to knowing exactly what you have to do to win.

I'd be frustrated as hell to always have be going first.

-Rob

The dates that one shoots are dependent on which venue is selected. There are 14 different venues that shoot over 4 weekends. Nationals if kind of a double edged sword that way. By having multiple locations it does make it more widely available and eases travel costs. It also makes it manageable. There were over 4,500 archers that shot Nationals this year. Having multiple sites with a few hundred archers rather than 4,500 in one is much easier. The downside is an archer may not stand on the same line as their competition and then there's the wait and see on the bubble feeling.

We were fortunate this year living in Phoenix, we had multiple options of where we could go and have a reasonable drive and not have to fly; San Diego, Salt Lake and Albuquerque. San Diego was the shortest drive, probably the most organized venue in the country and well it's San Diego.

Not knowing what the final scores will be plays heavily into the mental game for Nationals. As coaches, we always teach an archer that they're shooting against themselves, focus on their process not what everyone else is doing, and to get in their 1 meter x 1 meter bubble on the shooting line and focus only what's inside that bubble. That's the theory, reality is there's a of lot of outside distractions.

Good work!

Inspirational and uplifting.

We are all proud for you.

I think the crowd here is happy and proud for her!

Hmm.. maybe she needs a SigForum sponsor patch...

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
She's also going to have to shoot up 2 age divisions to compete there.

Hope you don't mind me asking.... what's causing her to move up 2 age divisions? Is that good or bad?

I enjoyed the pictures you shared. Tell her WELL DONE.

Congrats Maya way to work.
Dad permission to exhale granted.

quote:

Originally posted by SR:

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
She's also going to have to shoot up 2 age divisions to compete there.

Hope you don't mind me asking.... what's causing her to move up 2 age divisions? Is that good or bad?

I enjoyed the pictures you shared. Tell her WELL DONE.

The Arizona Cup is a USAT (United States Archery Team) qualifier event. Since the minimum age for Olympic competition is 15, the Cadet age division of 15-16 years old is the lowest division one can register for. She's not old enough yet to qualify for the team, but she can shoot in the tournament. It's something that we're looking at more as gaining experience and building for the future.

Glad for you and your daughter. Please extend to her our compliments on her journey.

The time, patience, and work ethic it takes to become an archer of that caliber are immense.
You should be proud!

A bit late to chime in here but again congrats to Maya and the Miller family! Bravo Zulu (well done in "navy-speak")!

The Legend of Zelda Maya !