Saltillo High School Archery team continues tradition of excellence
The team won its 12th consecutive state title and won second nationwide
SALTILLO, Miss. (WCBI) – There was a lot to celebrate at this week’s awards banquet for the Tiger Dynasty Archery Team.
For the 12th consecutive year, the team won the state championship, and at Nationals in Florida, Saltillo’s archery team came in second.
There was a big celebration when the triumphant Tigers returned.
John Vines has coached the team since he came to Saltillo High School four years ago. He said the 60-plus archers share a common goal and work hard.
“We spend a lot of time together. We work hard. The payoff is we get second in the nation,” Vines said.
Vines had no experience with archery when he came to Tiger Country. He pushes the students to aim for excellence and to help each other.
“One of the things about being coachable is that you need to be coached occasionally by other archers and that’s the biggest aspect to the team, they work together, work hard,” Vines said.
Archers said Vines inspires them to be their best. They said they learn a lot from archery and encourage others to take a shot.
“It has taught me to slow down. In archery, we take it arrow by arrow. Taught me to take every day, day-by-day, live in the moment and take everything in,” said Clare Beck, an archer.
“This team has meant a lot, taught teamwork, friendship, important things,” said Nate Thomason, an archer.
“If you are new to it, keep pushing. I sucked my first couple of days. I was awful, stayed with it, put in work, and focused. I would tell them to enjoy it and have fun. I would give anything for five more minutes with this team,” said Kailyn Robinson, an archer.
After a brief break, Tiger Dynasty team members will start practicing next month for the upcoming season.
Vines said, that next year, the team has its sights set on the national championship.
