Rod

Level 2 Development Coach

Rod’s involvement with archery commenced in 1968 with an introduction through Sunallon Archers, later to become Adur Valley Archers. Enthusiasm quickly followed and he remains committed to promoting the sport to this day. In the intervening years he qualified as a GNAS Instructor in 1972, achieved Master Bowman, was selected to appear with the Sussex County team on numerous occasions, County Field Champion, runner up to Target Champion, and assisted with coaching the County Junior Squad. He qualified as an Assistant Coach in 2003, Level 1 Coach in 2004, Coach in 2008, upgrading to Level 2 Coach in 2010. His background in science and engineering lead to early research into the technical aspects of the sport. As a result, he has developed an understanding of, and expertise in, setting up and tuning recurve bows, integrated with style/performance development of the individual archer. In recent years he has also mentored a number of candidate coaches within Sussex.

Pete

Level 2 Development Coach

Pete was invited to be Lead Coach to the GB&NI Team for the World Transplant Games 2019, held in the UK for the first time in many years. The Team performed magnificently in bringing home 10 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals, and were the dominant force at those Games. He specialises in preparing archers for competition, and particularly enjoys developing the mental performance aspects of the sport. Pete qualified as a Level 2 Development Coach in 2018, and utilises his 18 years of global military experience in high pressure situations as a foundation to this approach. Shooting a recurve bow, Pete has represented Sussex at target and/or field archery from 2016 to 2019, and was Sussex Field Archery champion in 2018 and 2019. He has been involved in archery since 2011, and he was one of three who taught a celebrity couple for Strictly Come Dancing 2019. Pete brings his wider experience into archery, which includes being one of a parachuting team earning a World Record in the USA, being a volunteer scuba diving instructor, and he has also been a supernumerary instructor on the Viking T1 glider.

Graham

Level 1 Session Coach

Graham has been a keen recurve archer for over 20 years and he happily qualified as a Level 1 Coach in 2010. He thoroughly enjoys teaching clout and target disciplines within the club environment, turning absolute beginners into competent club archers. He was on the tournament circuit for a number of years, and was selected to represent Sussex for six of those. Graham loves to share his competition experience and, at some point, he’ll wax lyrical about his head-to-head win at a Premier tournament, the forerunner to the Archery GB’s National Series. Naturally immersed in the sport, Graham is our main coach for clout, and in amongst his other interests he is also the voluntary Treasurer for the Sussex County Archery Association.

Christine

Level 1 Session Coach

Christine has been an active member of Adur Valley Archers in its various incarnations for over 20 years, and easily attained her Level 1 Coach qualification in 2019. She actively toured the target archery tournament circuit, and represented Sussex county from 2003 to 2009, winning her fair share of trophies and medals. Christine’s highest ranking to date was at number 24 in the UK, having achieved Master Bowman status. She is always more than happy to share her knowledge of the sport to beginners and beyond, particularly competition target archery. With toxophily very much in her DNA, Christine is currently the Outdoor Tournament Organiser for Sussex County Archery Association.

Claire

Level 1 Session Coach

Claire-Level-1-Coach

Claire took up archery in 2017 and quickly became addicted to both the longbow and barebow disciplines. Keen to share her passion for this style of archery, she encourages students in gaining confidence to shoot without a sight and relying instead on their posture and alignment. Claire finds her interest in yoga helps her develop this skill in her own shooting technique, and embraces the idea of breathing and meditation techniques to encourage a positive mindset before, during and after the shot. Claire qualified as a Level 1 archery coach in 2019 and gained gold and silver medals at her first competition in February 2020. She earned Bowman classification in August 2020. Claire has over 20 years’ experience teaching adults, children and mentoring her fellow peers as a professional artist. Her unique teaching style concentrates on developing each individual to attain their goals, even in group lessons. This she has translated into her archery coaching style. Claire teaches in a relaxed, friendly and encouraging manner and she is keen that, once we have understood and grasped the fundamental core skills of a discipline, these need to be flexible to each of us as individuals, both in our physical ability and mindset. Claire finds that whatever she is teaching, it is encouraging a positive and confident mindset of the student that allows them to progress and achieve their goals.