WHY NASP Story Series is a collection of individual success stories from WHY NASP. Check back each week for more success stories from NASP Members!
LOGAN KELLY – IOWA
Hello everybody, my name is Logan Kelly. I come from a town called Mt. Vernon in Iowa. I competed in NASP® for 8 years. I graduated in 2020, which unfortunately my career ended sooner than expected. Man do I wish I could step up to line again and compete. I am however still involved by coaching my younger sister and a few other students who ask for help! After graduating, I earned my associate degree in business management at a local community college. I now work full time for our family business.
NASP® has forever changed my life in so many ways, some indescribable. Thanks to all the wonderful people behind the scenes! I can’t tell you how many people I’ve been fortunate enough to meet, anywhere from across the globe to across town. I have made lifelong friendships with coaches, NASP® employees, and an abundance of archers. Two of my buddies who I talk to frequently were met in Africa through the NASP® all-star trip. How cool is that we go out of our way to see each other once or twice a year 7 years after competing on the all-star team. Mind you one lives in Kentucky and the other in Alabama. Another all-star teammate who grew up 30 minutes away who was a mentor to me, we still see one another frequently and work together on occasion. Without mentioning names, there’s a couple 300 club members out of that bunch!
Thanks to NASP®, I was able to go through college without having to worry about going into debt. Thanks to NASP®, I get to say I am a national champion. How many people get to say that? I had a very successful career shooting two 300’s one in each bullseye and 3-D, two world championships runner-ups, qualifying for two all-star teams one of which represented America in South Africa, winning 3 national titles, $22,000 in scholarship money, and 10 state titles. None of these achievements are possible in any other sport except for archery. That’s why I am so appreciative of NASP® and all they have given to me. I will cherish those times forever.
I would like to say a special message to all shooters both young and those about to finish competing. Don’t take it so seriously all the time, it will not improve your score to be so hard on yourself. Go out and have fun because that’s what this sport was created for! Also, thank your parents for traveling all over the state and country for you. To that, I am forever grateful for the support of my parents. As to you volunteers, coaches, and especially NASP®staff please keep doing what you’re doing. you’re changing people’s lives in ways unimaginable!
MORGAN FLOYD – KENTUCKY
In 2004, at the age of 13, I competed in the first-ever NASP® state championship at the Kentucky Horse Park. I was completely unaware of the difficult year that would follow for me and my family, and what archery would end up meaning to me.
Shortly after that competition, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Amidst days of Mom losing her hair and our fear we might lose her; I found an escape in our basement archery range.
I must have shot thousands of arrows that year. Archery was something I could control and as long as I was practicing, everything seemed a bit less scary. It was a long and difficult year, but by its end, mom beat cancer and archery had become something I not only loved but at which I excelled. For Christmas that year, I received a custom-painted pink bow. In the early days of NASP®, bows came in very few colors, and I felt special having something that represented my family’s journey.
In the summer of 2006, we moved to a new town and my new school didn’t have an archery program. I couldn’t imagine giving it up, so I helped start a new team. Slowly, the program gained traction and we qualified for regional, and then state, and then the national championship.
The 2007 national archery championship was a blur. I was honestly thrilled just to be able to compete since our team had not even existed the year prior. Out of some magic combination of practice and a forced, concreted calm, I shot really well and qualified for the scholarship shootout held between the top 10 archers. While waiting and talking with the four other girls in the shootout, I learned I had won the tournament.
When I stood on the first-place podium, my mom’s smiling face was the first thing I saw.
After I won the national tournament, I was asked to write an article for an archery magazine about Mom’s breast cancer battle and my national championship. Matthews Archery then decided to begin the “Aiming for a Cure” campaign, which mass-produces an exact replica of my pink bow and to this day, still donates a portion of each sale to breast cancer research. As of 2023, “Aiming for a Cure” has raised thousands of dollars for breast cancer research and continues to donate proceeds for every pink bow sold.
Through participation in NASP®, I made some great friends, grew in self-confidence, gained self-discipline, and not only learned to believe I was capable, but found through practice that I indeed was. I learned archery isn’t about competing against other archers. Instead, it’s a competition against yourself. If you can hit the bullseye once, you can do it again. Once an arrow is shot, you can’t get it back and it won’t serve you to worry about it. Instead, you must focus on the next shot, and then the one after that. That’s true for archery, and true for life after NASP®.
Archery made a profound impact on my life and I hope it does the same for you. Thank you NASP®!
QUINN ROUSEY – ARKANSAS
Quinn Rousey started 6th grade this year, although I’ve known him since before Kindergarten. He was adopted from China to a wonderful family.
Quinn came to me last year, while in 5th grade, and told me he wanted to try out for my archery team. I allow everyone in 4th & 5th grade to try out, and my only reservation with Quinn was that he does not have a right hand. I already knew in my mind the moment he expressed interest that I would make him one of my 24 archers…NO MATTER WHAT.
Quinn was 1 of 28 students selected for his middle school team, out of 70+ students who tried out.
I did some social networking and found he could use a mouth tab, so we got one. During his try out, not one arrow hit the target. I didn’t care, I still wanted him to be a part of my team.
I reached out to my national PE Facebook page, PE Central, for help with resources. With that research, I encountered a group that called themselves NubAbility. Kyle Smith, Dakota Rogers, and David Mohn are our NubAbility Outdoors Archery coaches and should be able to help you much better than I can. They were so amazing! These men all had a handicap that resembled Quinn’s. With their help… and only with their help, I got Quinn set up. After that it was ALL Quinn. He put in the work, and he became one of the top shooters on the team. His score throughout this season has averaged in the 240s. His love for archery continues to grow. We’re very proud of him, and we’re happy he has found a sport that he loves. Everyone that saw him shoot during tournaments were super impressed.
His mom thanked me for taking a chance on him. My response was that I felt like he took a chance on me.
See more stories at https://www.naspschools.org/why-nasp-categories/why-nasp-archery/ and insidearchery.com
