They’ve shot, and they’ve scored big time. With three first-place victories and a state tournament just around the corner, the archery Rocks are on a hot streak this year.

Led by head coach Jim Hanson, the team boasts several top team placements, as well as many individual accomplishments, such as the first-place finish of junior Joseph Eng, who shot a 290 out of 300 over the weekend of Mar. 4.

“Coach Hanson has helped with a lot of little things many people don’t notice,” said Eng, one of the 24 varsity shooters for the team.

Hanson, who became varsity head coach at the start of the 2019-20 season, has many years of experience with the sport, as an archer, coach, and program pioneer.

“I’ve hunted and started out in high school as a sporting good’s salesman. I sold the most hunting bows in the Kentucky area and got to meet Fred Bear, who started Bear Archery,” Hanson said. His mother was also an archer, and he has many friends who shoot professionally.

Hanson wants to pass on his passion for the sport to younger people. He said, “I started St. Athanasius’ archery team because St. Michael’s didn’t have one, and I got my daughter to shoot there once we went back to St. Michael. My son was still at St. Michael, so I started the archery team there and stayed there for four years, also helping Mercy out.”

Trinity and Mercy had a joint program until the 2019-20 season, when the National Archery in the Schools Program changed their team rules. The connection with Mercy began Hanson’s journey to become Trinity’s head coach.

He said, “When (previous head coach) Rich McCauley left, I took over for him and coached the Trinity team.”

Even in his short time with Trinity, Hanson has taken full notice of the unity within the Trinity community.  “I wasn’t a graduate from Trinity, but I see that there’s a big brotherhood. Since being a coach at Trinity and the father of a son at Trinity, I would love to consider myself a Trinity alum for the rest of my life.”

Hanson has a team of more than 50 archers, who practice their skills every Tuesday and Thursday nights. With archers from all four grade levels, the Trinity team has new and experienced archers.

Members of the archery team come together from varied backgrounds. “I know lots of people from archery that I wouldn’t have known through school, and we’ve become good friends, which wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the sport,” said junior Graham Miller, who joined the team as a freshman.

“I’ve never been on a team before Trinity, so I really got a sense of community,” junior Krish Gupta said. “Being on a team where everyone has the same interests as you is awesome.”

Hanson enjoys seeing the team camaraderie. He said, “One of the things I’ve noticed is that if you surround yourself with enthusiastic young people, you usually have enthusiastic feelings. I love seeing the world from their eyes.”

The archers appreciate the efforts of the coaching staff.  Miller said, “The coaching staff for our team is absolutely amazing. They do an excellent job of helping everyone improve, no matter their skill level.”

Junior Lenny Garcia also commends the coaching staff for their efforts. “One thing I love about Trinity archery is the advice from coaches, how they explain everything. If you need something, they’ll help you fix it.”

Though archery’s focus is nailing the bullseye every round, the sport brings more to the table than just the ability to shoot straight.

Gupta said, “One thing that archery has taught me is to keep your eye on the target so you can accomplish your goals, on or off the shooting lane.”