Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Rohde
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My archery career started roughly 16 years ago, in 2008, around age 13, participating in the Memphis Home Education Association Archery Program. As the oldest daughter of six kids, with two older brothers, anything that the boys could do, I could do better. When they joined the Homeschool Archery Program, it was only a matter of time before I was begging to join them and so began my love affair with a unique sport. In late 2008, I expressed an interest in training to become an Olympic Athlete. With the help of my Grandfather, who passed away 2 years ago, I purchased my very first recurve bow. To date, the recurve bow is the only one allowed in the Olympic Games.
In 2009, I began rigorously training and participating in local level, indoor competitions. That rigorous training involved practicing 5 days a week, for multiple hours each day, shooting hundreds of arrows. It started my journey as a fitness buff, as daily workouts were required. I worked on mental toughness, which means that I was training my mind and my emotions to be able to handle high pressure situations. All of this training and dedication meant that sacrifices also had to be made. Time with friends, social outings, other sports or activities, things that my siblings wanted to do, and more were sacrificed so that I could train.
In 2010, I made my debut in the outdoor competition circuit and began attending training camps with other elite archers. The outdoor competition circuit is no joke. Young archers of my age were required to shoot around 50 – 60 meters, while combating any number of weather situations, including wind, rain, and dust devils (Arizona deserts). By the time you reach 18 years of age, you are required to shoot a distance of 70 meters. Roughly a football field. Training camps were what was known as Junior Dream Team Camps (JDT), now known as Red Team. These camps were by invitation only at the time, so it was a privilege to join them not once, but four times. I was invited to the Selection Camp, where the team for the new season were chosen but, ultimately, I did not make the team. By the end of 2010, I held a National Ranking of 15th in my age division. This means that my combined score from all my events, placed me 15th out of the competing females.
This brings us to nearing the end of my Elite Athlete Career. In early 2011, we ran into a coaching snafu that resulted in my being forced to leave the competitive field due to lack of a coach. Unfortunately, in Memphis, there were very limited options for coaching. Due to this coaching snafu, I had received a reputation for being “uncoachable” amongst the elite coaches. That was a problem as it meant that, even if they had been affordable, they would likely not have worked with me. I didn’t shoot again for over 18 months.
In late 2012, my most recent coach and mentor approached me with a proposition. He’d known me and my family for years and was assisting in coaching the Memphis Homeschool Bowling Program. His proposition was that he would coach me to whatever level I desired, if I would pick up a bow one time with him. My career had “failed” previously because of someone else’s mistake. If I picked it up again and failed, the failure would be on me. My mom was ultimately the one who convinced me to give it a try, just once. Her words were “Your fire hasn’t died, I still see it simmering in your eyes every time you talk about archery.” So, I agreed to just one more time. That one time turned into again and again. By 2013, I was competing on a local level. At this point, I was less than 6 months from graduating high school and moving into my college career at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Collegiate Archery was not nearly as big then as it is now, so moving back into the Elite Circuit was not really an option. However, there was another road open.
At the recommendation of my coach, I went through the courses necessary to become a USA Archery Level 2 Instructor. For reference, there are only 5 Levels of Instructors and Coaches. Level 1 & 2 are Instructors, they have a basic understanding of how to teach someone to shoot, how to manage safety, and basic bow maintenance. The Level 3 Coach has a much deeper knowledge of appropriate shooting technique and is beginning to dive into how to train athletes in mental toughness. The Level 4 Coaches go through even more rigorous training. We are required to go through necessary classes, pass exams, and then pass a 2 stage in-person exam showcasing our knowledge. One of these in-person exams is delivered to the US Olympic Head Coach himself, Head Coach KiSik Lee. The last level, Level 5 Coaches, are the Elites. This Level is the highest honor, requiring even more training, international competition travel, coaching athletes to podium wins at specific events, and more.
As I moved into my college career, I found an opportunity to become the Archery Instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin. While there, I also founded the University Skyhawk Archers Club. Through college, I still managed to participate in a few local events until my graduation in 2017 with a Bachelors in Sport Business and Marketing.
Fast forwarding to summer 2018, I was approached by several Homeschool parents who wanted to know if I could work with their daughters to help them achieve their archery badges for The American Heritage Girls. I was thrilled as I hadn’t found an opportunity to work with athletes since graduating. After helping them, it became clear that there was a void in Memphis that I could fill. Youth needed a sport and someone to teach them. So, in early October, Memphis Archery Coaching was born and by late November I received my Level 3 Coaching Certification.
From there, I worked through a local outdoor company that offered a full archery range to grow the sport from those four girls to well over 50 families today. In that time, I passed my Level 4 Coaching Certification and am currently the only active coach in Memphis and surrounding areas, at least as far as I am aware. Over the years, archery has grown significantly, and I am now in the process of expanding to own my own archery range in the heart of Bartlett near Freeman Park. Additionally, combined with my archery career, I added Fitness Coach/Instructor to my list of skills in 2019 and since then I have become an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, and Sport Conditioning Coach.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road is the dream, is it not? This journey has been more like a rollercoaster ride.
The primary struggle for me has been that I do not specifically work for the outdoor company that I utilize for coaching. This has presented its own series of obstacles as I had to carefully navigate what I was allowed or not allowed to do through the facility. As the upper management changed, so did some of the aspects surrounding what I was allowed to do.
The location also presents a huge challenge. Currently, I offer my services in the Binghampton area, which is not the safest, most ideal location. I have had many athletes choose not to explore archery as a sport due to the area. While the area has improved over the years, it’s still an area that many do not feel comfortable being in.
As with many sports, archery has seasons where there is high participation and low participation. For me, maintaining that participation, especially during the summer when so many athletes go on vacation, attend VBS, go to summer camps, is a challenge that often requires some unique thinking.
The current obstacle is a financial one. I mentioned a business expansion with the goal of owning a fully functioning archery range. Any business expansion requires financial support in order to succeed. The goal of Memphis Archery was never to make me rich, but rather to share my love of a beautiful sport with others. This has allowed me to maintain affordable rates, while still providing myself with a comfortable living. The unfortunate side is that expanding into a facility of my own, with all the necessary equipment, will require between $50,000-100,000. Being a newer business with not much capital to invest, finding financial support through traditional banking has proven to be difficult and has resulted in a Crowdfund Campaign to raise even part of the necessary financing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I offer a wide variety of archery related services to those in the Memphis area. From individuals as young as six years of age to grandparents. From the Scouts of America to the Blind Veteran Associations. From recreational athletes to competitive athletes to hunters. From beginner to advanced lessons to summer events to hosting competitions of my own. Athletes come to me at whatever skill level they may be and with whatever goals they choose, and my goal is to help them improve.
Currently, I specialize in tying fitness and muscle awareness in with archery. The sport requires a great deal of muscle control in order to truly excel and I have spent my years as a fitness coach learning how to teach athletes to tap into those muscles. This helps them to excel in the sport by providing them with the most energy efficient techniques while also helping them to avoid injuries.
As for what I’m known for, well, you would have to ask my athletes that question as I work hard to be in the background so that my athletes shine. I believe I’m known for how I care about each athlete. I tell the athlete parents when they sign the registration paperwork that, “Your kid just became one of my kids.” What I mean is that I will put your athlete first, their goals are my goals, their dreams are my dreams, their win is my win – whether that is in archery, school, their career, or life in general. It means that I care about where they are mentally, emotionally, and physically. They will always have me in their corner to help them become better than they were before.
I’m not one to speak of myself or my archery accomplishments very often, I don’t care for the spotlight, but I am most proud of how far I have come in the past five years. If I had been asked, sixteen years ago if I could see myself running a business and coaching over 50 athletes, oh how I would have laughed. Over the five years that I have run Memphis Archery, I’ve had the support of all the families and the community, but all of the behind-the-scenes work has been done as a one woman show. The late nights building training plans, reading books, and watching videos for further education. The finance and marketing, planning the next steps of the business so that more athletes could experience the sport. It’s not an endeavor for the faint of heart.
What sets me apart in the Memphis area is that, aside from some schools that offer archery programs, I’m the only Coach who is actively offering archery lessons and programs on a full-time basis.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Not particularly actually. Archery is a very social distance friendly sport. Since it is not a team-based sport that requires athletes to interact closely with each other, it was no trouble to simply space the archers out in order to maintain the appropriate health recommendations. Additionally, archery is both an indoor and an outdoor sport, so it was easy to find alternatives to the indoor facility when necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.memphis-archery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memphis.archery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memphis.archery
