A shot in the dark

Houston High School junior Carole Bottom pulled back on the compound bow, steadied her body and let the arrow fly toward the target.

"A little more to the left," Jerry Fletcher, of Fletcher's Archery, told her.

"How much farther?" Bottom asked.

"About an inch. You actually moved the balloon with that shot, that's how close you were," Fletcher replied.

With that, Bottom again pulled back the bow and steadied her body. Then, instinctively, she moved her aim a fraction of an inch to the left and let go. A millisecond later the balloon taped to the foam target exploded, and Bottom's face lit up with pride.

Bottom is visually impaired. She can't see the target, and the only way she knew she was successful with her shot was the popping sound of the balloon -- and the cheers of her adaptive physical education teachers and that of Jerry Fletcher, who feels like he just "Robin Hooded" an arrow himself every single time Bottom hits the target.

"We started shooting from three or four yards, and we've moved all the way back to 10 yards," Fletcher said. "These kids are phenomenal. It's great for them. It's great for me."

No sight? No problem.

Carole Bottom and Tommy Class have been going to Fletcher's Archery for a few weeks now, fine-tuning their aim and their form. Being legally blind presents challenges every single day, and immediately, one would think archery would just about be impossible. But don't tell Carole and Tommy that.

"It's pretty hard to explain," Tommy, a fifth-grader at Tanaina Elementary School, said. "You aim where you were aiming before, and then move a little. You have to have a very good memory."

Carole and Tommy can see shadows, and that is the key to their archery success. Fletcher has been putting bright-colored balloons against a white background, and because of the contrast, the two students can at least get an idea of where they are shooting. Then, Fletcher stands behind them, instructing them how close they are aiming to the target. The kids may be blind, but they are very accurate.

"All archery is is form and muscle memory, and these kids have to have those things with that every shot in order to hit the target," Fletcher said. "Once they get aim, they are very still, like Olympic archers. A sixth sense takes over."

Both have been to Camp Abilities, a summer camp for visually impaired students. Participation in sports is something they both enjoy. The fact Carole was even at Fletcher's Archery on Wednesday is testament enough.

"My class is watching Harry Potter right now, but I decided to come here," she said. "I enjoy it. If I'm feeling frustrated or angry that day, it helps me get over that. It makes me relax."

Both Carole and Tommy went to Camp Abilities last year, which brought together visually impaired students from around Alaska to participate in a number of sports.

"I can't wait to do those things again at camp this summer," Carole said. "I'll probably do archery there, too."

Adaptive education

in motion

Tommy and Carole got to participate in archery because of the Mat-Su School District's adaptive physical education program. Jacob Snedeker helps run the program, and he has gotten the kids into many different activities in which they normally wouldn't participate. He works with special education students in the middle and high school levels, and the visually impaired students are a just one part of the student population he works with.

Snedeker said he has one goal for all his students.

"I'd like to get them in the gym in the physical education classes with their peers," Snedeker said. "But sometimes, that is a challenge. Changing perception and changing people's thinking is tough to do."

Just getting something like archery going is a challenge. Snedeker has to coordinate transportation, which he said the district has been very helpful with, and things like teaching schedules and cooperation with local businesses.

Working with a skeleton staff and a very limited budget makes things even tougher, and that's why help from businesses is so important.

"Jerry [Fletcher] has just been awesome to do this for us," Snedeker said. "We need that kind of community support to make it work."

You only have to talk to the students to find out if the program is working, and you'll get an authoritative answer -- yes.

"I've played goal ball, beep baseball and I love swimming," Tommy said. "I really like archery now too. I'm even allowed to shoot at the bear targets now."

Bottom's actions speak louder than words, Snedeker said.

"Here's a teen-age girl skipping the chance to see the latest Harry Potter movie with her class to come here," Snedeker said. "That's phenomenal."

The future

After several weeks of expert instruction and plenty of practice, Tommy and Carole are now done with the archery component of their adaptive physical education program. They both said they want to keep up with the sport, and Tommy has already been practicing with his family outside of class. That's the main goal of the program -- to let kids realize that just because they have a disability, there is plenty of ability left in them.

Snedeker is trying to work with a number of local businesses, and he already is planning a tumbling unit and an ice skating unit for his students.

Larry Ouellette, a special education teacher at Wasilla High School, is trying to get a "partners" club started, in which students with disabilities are teamed with students without disabilities, and they can participate together in a wide range of activities.

"That's going to be a great program," Snedeker said with a smile.