Name: Natalie Brockman
Shop Name: Crazy Horse Archery & Tackle
Hometown: Campbellsville, KY
Coach: Doug Brockman & Shawn Canada
My Bows: I use my Spirit for hunting and ASA tournaments, and my Energy 35 for outdoor target and longer distance 3D shoots.
My Accomplishments:
- Indoor S3DA East Regional - 1st (2018)
- Indoor S3DA West Regional - 1st (2018)
- Indoor S3DA Central Regional - 1st (2018)
- Indoor S3DA Nationals - 2nd (2018)
- Indoor State S3DA - 1st (2018)
- Indoor Nationals - 4th (2018)
- 3D S3DA East Regional - 2nd (2018)
- 3D S3DA West Regional - 1st (2018)
- 3D S3DA Central Regional - 1st (2018)
- 3D State S3DA - 1st (2018)
- ASA Cullman - 2nd (2018)
Who introduced you to archery and at what age? Did your interest start in the hunting realm or target side?
My dad got me my first bow when I was four and I shot my first ever competition when I was 7 and ever since I have been hooked! At the time my biggest goal in life was to be able to shoot my bow with my older siblings, so, I guess you could say that it was more on the target archery side of things.
How many arrows do you shoot per week, and what does your training regimen look like?
I don’t really have a set number of arrows that I like to shoot, but I’d say that I shoot about 300-400 arrows each week if I had to guess. My training regimen is to just put in the work and make sure that I am working hard enough to be the best. If there is something about my shooting that needs work I will spend time really pinpointing that and working on my weaknesses. Awhile back I was practicing my yardage judging as much as I was my actual shooting and I found that by practicing judging more I was doing more harm than good, so now I don’t spend as much time judging and instead I focus on my shooting for the most part. I always make sure that I practice, but not too much.
We all have bad days – how do you overcome the bad ones as to not create bad habits?
On bad days when I’m just trying to practice in my backyard and nothing I do seems right I try to keep from overthinking things. I will go inside or find something else to do for a few hours to give myself a small break and later on I go back out and try things again. Generally, after my break, things will be just fine. Bad days that just so happen to be tournament days are a different story though. When I’m at a competition and things just aren’t going how I’d like them to I tell myself that at the end of the day I am not going to care about the score and I just do my best to make good shots because somedays that’s all you can do.
What adjustments to your equipment have you made in the last couple of years to create a more consistent shot?
One thing that really stands out to me is that I have started running a lot more weight on my stabilizers in the last year. I went from having about 8oz on my back bar to now having 18oz. It seems to have helped me hold a lot steadier and I feel like I don’t have near as much pin float as I used to. This past winter I added magnification to my sight and a clarifier in my peep, it has really helped me be able to aim at smaller spots that are farther away. About a year and a half ago I went from a trigger release to a hinge. I can honestly say that switching releases was the best decision I have ever made because with the trigger I was struggling with target panic and after a couple of days with the hinge I was able to hold on the 12’s!
When did it become apparent to you that Elite was your bow brand of choice?
I actually ordered my first Elite Spirit before I had ever even shot the bow at all, but I fell in love with everything about it the first day I shot it. I think what I loved most about it though was the back wall when I got drawn back. Before that bow, I had never shot a bow with limb stops so it was a whole new world! The more I shot it and the more I saw how accurate it was I never wanted to put it down.
What about your equipment makes it so you are consistent and confident in your game?
The consistency comes from all the practice that I do and all the time that I spend on making sure my shot is where it needs to be. One of the things that helps me to be more consistent is spending time shooting at dots on a bag target at a comfortable distance and trying to make myself into a robot that does the same thing each time. My confidence is a big thing for me. To some, it may seem that I’m too confident, but to be competitive you have to be confident. My confidence comes from knowing that I have a bow that is shooting lights out, my shot feels great, and my judging is where it needs to be.
What’s your greatest strength as an archer? Weakness?
I think my greatest strength as an archer would that I want to be the best so bad that I that I am able to keep my head down and keep working towards it. My greatest weakness would have to be that I just want to help everyone and sometimes that leaves little time for myself.
Where would you like to see your archery career take you, and what advice would you give to younger archers looking to achieve the same?
I am only 16 years old and I have almost achieved my number one goal and that is to become a professional archer, but there are still lots of things that I would like to see myself do with archery. A few things I would like to do is compete on Team USA and travel the world to shoot, go to the Olympics if compound ever became a recognized sport, and I want to earn the #1 female rank in world archery one day.
To the younger archers there will be people to doubt you and say that you’ll never do it, but you can - trust me. I had someone from my own hometown who was so sour and jealous of my achievements that they began to spread things that were untrue and the only thing that I could do was prove them wrong, so that’s what I did. People will say things that are discouraging, but you have to take those comments and turn them into fuel for your fire. You can do anything with a lot of hard work.
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