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By Tonia Allen Gould, AKA: #ArcheryMom

There’s a common theme in my family and it has to do with all of us daring to dream BIG. Allowing our children the freedom to dream is a value my husband and I have instilled in our children, pretty much since childbirth. We believe that no one should ever squelch someone else’s dreams no matter how crazy and impossible the dream may sound. After all, I’m currently working on developing an entire 28-acre island along the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua for social good. Had I not dreamt the impossible, I wouldn’t be in throes of conquering my dream in such a magnificent way.

So, it comes as no surprise to me that my son, Miles, has a gargantuan dream of his own.  For the past two and half years, ever since he picked-up his first bow and arrows at a resort during my husband’s company picnic, Miles has dreamt of one day making it to the Olympics. Being good enough is only the half the battle for him. The trouble is, his bow is making his dream impossible–that is, unless compound bows are ever allowed into the Olympics alongside their counterparts, the recurve bow.

But, all that isn’t stopping Miles from going after his dreams. My twelve-year-old currently holds the California State Champion title in both indoor and outdoor archery in the compound bowman division. During this year’s California State Outdoor Championship, in Long Beach, Miles set a new California 30M state record held since 2009 of 355. Miles broke the record with a score of 356 out of 360.  It takes laser-sharp focus to shoot a nearly perfect score in a high-stakes tournament like that one.

Maybe there is hope on the horizon for the compound bowman. All his successes have taken Miles one step closer to his Olympic dream, because Miles has been invited by USA Archery, the archery governing body of the Olympics, to try-out for the Compound Junior Dream Team at a week-long selection camp held in Chula Vista, California.  Up until now, the Junior Dream Team consisted of 36 of the most skilled and promising Olympic-style archers in the country, all shooting recurve. But, recently, compound archers have been added to the program and Miles hopes to earn his spot on the team, as a compound bowman, and one step closer to his Olympic Dream.

Even if the compound bow never makes it into the Olympics, if selected to the Junior Dream Team (JDT), Miles will intensively train weeklong at the Olympic Training Center once a quarter with some of the best junior archers in the country.  Between training camps, JDT coaches and archers will continue to train together by utilizing video conferencing via the internet.

Shooting at Miles’ level takes a lot of practice.  He shoots an average of 100 arrows a day on a range safely set-up in his backyard sport court.  He has an accident-free history if you don’t count one broken window from an errant arrow. Miles is privately coached by two-time World Champion Compound Archer, John Norberg. He shoots a Hoyt Freestyle Compound Bow, 35 lbs., with 70% let-off.  He releases with a Carter Evolution Plus back tension release.  He uses PSA Radial X Weave Pro 100 arrows with Blazer vanes.

Here’s to dreaming big son!  Good luck this month at selection camp and keep dreaming, no matter what the outcome is this time around.

#GOTEAMMILES

Love, #ArcheryMom

Guest blogger Evette Rios is regularly featured on the syndicated TV talk show, “Rachael Ray.” Evette Rios has also designed on camera for HGTV’s “Freestyle”, and TLC’s “In A Fix.” Evette Rios designs interiors through her firm Sitio, bringing experience working in several of Manhattan’s top interior firms. A graduate of Bates College, Evette Rios also attended both Parsons School of Design and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. Evette Rios also shares her design advice in spanish in “Siempre Mujer” magazine.

Walking into The Brooklyn Brownstone School, I couldn’t help but feel elated to see painted on the foundation of their building the following motto: “creating a community of lifelong learners.” It was a thrill to visit the class of precocious second graders! They were all very interested in my read-aloud of Mercy Watson to the Rescue. They even acted out scenes and tried to predict the ending!

We gathered in the library for reading time, I shared a bit of my history with the kids (after all, I’m a Brooklyn girl myself) and we made bookmarks shaped like a pig to tie in with the theme of the story.

My friends from Eight O’Clock Coffee and Candlewick Press provided two brand new books for each child with the help of First Book. They were heroes, donating 250 books for the school – two for every student! But, the real heroes were the children, who delighted in each word and enthusiastically participated in making crafts and story time. Once they received their books, many kids had them opened to chapter 6, the page where we last left Mercy in our read-aloud. They couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

It was a treat for me to join the students of the Brooklyn Brownstone School. I know we were able to make a difference in the next chapter of their lives.