Elite Next Gen: Haley Stevens

I first took an interest in archery early in 2016 after attending a 3D tournament my older brother was shooting in. It looked really fun and I thought I would enjoy it and was I ever right! Since that time it’s hard for me to imagine my life without archery in it. I was in middle school at the time and started shooting with the school 4-H program and then later got involved in a few local area 3D tournaments and it’s there that I found my true passion. Outdoor 3D archery really found a place in my heart. I dedicated most of my free time away from school to practicing and getting better and participating in as many local shoots as I could to try and become the best archer I could be. My dedication paid off as I won the state level ASA 3D championship in my class my first year shooting and I have made so many new friends who enjoy the sport as much as I do.

The couple of years following that were spent doing everything I could to improve my abilities as a 3D tournament archer. I started taking lessons from a great coach and upgraded my equipment. I am now shooting the Elite Energy 35 and I absolutely love it. I also upgraded my competition level and now shoot the national ASA 3D circuit trying to make as many of those as I can each year. I have found a lot of success at this level of shooting as well which continues to drive me to keep going. It’s a lot of travel and consumes a lot of time preparing for, but that is just the price to be paid in order to compete at that level and I have the drive to make that happen.

Being a girl dedicated to this sport at my age is a bit tough because it isn’t a thing most of the girls at school decide to spend their time with. There are not too many of my friends from school that I get to share and enjoy this sport with but I am perfectly fine with that because I shoot for myself and for the happiness it brings me. I still find time to enjoy all the other things a high school girl does - I just find myself in my back yard a lot shooting arrows instead of shooting selfies! I always look forward to the ASA tournaments though, because it is there that I get to share my passion with other girls who enjoy it as much as I do.

My goals are to keep improving my skills and be a consistent top shooter in my classification with ASA and try to become a sponsored shooter with Elite. I shot last year in the High School Girls Fixed Pins Class but am moving to the H.S. Girls Open Class this year. I am looking forward to participating at the open class level and seeing where my Energy 35 and hard work can take me.