The Virgin Islands benefited from a visit by World Record holder in Compound Archery, Recurve and Compound, Coach Raymond Michael Gerard (better known as Mike) of St. Thomas, USVI, and Olympian and Archery Coach Tatyana Muntyan of St. Thomas, USVI.
The coaches came through the initial invitation of Virgin Islands Archery Federation (VIAF) in St. Thomas, USVI, who graciously extended the invitation to us in the Virgin Islands.
Mike has over 44 years of experience in the sport – shooting competitively since he was 14 years old – and now shares his love for the sport through coaching. He has won every major US Championship in Indoor, Field and Target Archery, except for 3D Archery. Currently he has the World Record for the youngest Archer that shot indoors and which he accomplished when he was 14 years old with a score of 598 out of 600. The closest anyone has gotten was a score of 596. He has trained several Junior Olympic Archery Olympians and Junior World team members. He serves on the National Coaches’ Development Committee and the Board of Justice of USA Archery. He has written articles for several magazines and has given numerous seminars on archery.
Tatyana came with a wealth of 35 years of experience in various disciplines in Archery and has shot at national tournaments in the US since 2015 and was part of the squad’s Olympic trials for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. World Archery Championships Silver Medalist, 2-times Individual Gold Medalist in Indoor Archery, Bronze Medalist in individual and teams in Indoor Archery and Silver Medalist in Field Archery. She has worked with National teams in the Ukraine, Romania, and France along with individual archers around the world.
Mike shared with the Compound Archers the information required for their discipline whilst Tatyana shared with the Recurve Archers the knowledge needed for their discipline, as both have different mechanisms that rely on completely different aspects of the sport.
VIAA President and Archery Coach Patrick Smith re-iterated a few key messages imparted by the two visiting Coaches including “Know your equipment”.
Coach Dwayne Donovan mentioned that he liked hearing about “magnetic resonance” and that to “tune into your body and not the people around you” were key lessons to be learned.
When the team of younger Archers were asked about their greatest take away, Shile David mentioned that “Coach Tatyana’s approach methods, specifically for warm up before, during and after along with the Archer’s form and shot process” really stood out.
Both visiting coaches were asked about their experience of working with the Archers in the BVI.
Tatyana responded by saying “It was amazing to practice for all of us. All of the people that I met, talked to, and practiced with, they are positive, they are coachable and teachable. That is very, very important! Coach Patrick and all of you did a great job to have that level of Archery in the BVI. I respect that very much.
Mike mentioned that “coming to the BVI was a fantastic experience. It took no time to see that the archers are “all in” with regards to enjoyment and growth in their abilities. Sky is the limit as a result!”
When asked, “What did you see as the greatest challenges and Strengths?”
Mike stated “the greatest strength is the commitment from both coaches and athletes and the respect shared throughout the team and the patience I witnessed. Everyone seems to enjoy each other. Low friction is huge and allows for unrestricted progress.”
“The biggest challenge is access to the equipment and information you need. Because you work harder for that, than many, the value is higher and appreciated. I believe you are doing well so far and on the right track.
Tatyana mentioned that “As you can see in the videos and pictures that I took during our 1-day practice, all the archers made a great form transformation in a short time. All the archers’ form transformation is possible because of my systematic training method that was developed by me from the decades of experience in archery as an Olympian, pro archer, and National level coach.”
They were asked “What goal would you like to see achieved by the team?”
Mike said that it “would be great to set up a monthly video conference with the team to discuss needs, challenges, and triumphs. The next move is to get the ability to compete remotely with other teams. This will inspire your inner greatness! It will add value to your hard work.”
The Archery team has its largest delegation to date gearing up to compete in the Caribbean Developmental Championships from September 6 through 8 and the CAC Games Qualifier from September 5 through 12, both in Santo Domingo, so this training was timely.
