Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Members of Hoover’s archery program practice in a spot between Finley Center and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium during the outdoor season.
Gil Coutin always wanted to try archery when he was growing up in New York City, but there wasn’t much of an opportunity for that in the city, he said.
Once he moved to Hoover later in life, he decided it was time to channel his inner Robin Hood. About five years ago, at age 62, he found archery ranges in Tuscaloosa and Cullman and started teaching himself how to shoot.
Then, Coutin learned the Hoover Parks and Recreation Department had started a new archery program, so he signed up about three years ago.
He was looking for more structured training, and the program in Hoover was very accessible, he said. Plus, the classes were affordable enough for someone on a fixed income, he said.
The retired video editor and technician said he enjoys the challenge and the opportunity to interact with others, and he’s hoping to compete in the Masters Games of Alabama eventually.
Coutin is among a growing number of people showing interest in archery, said Dee Nance, a superintendent with the Hoover Parks and Recreation Department who oversees the archery program.
“There are archery programs popping up all over the state,” Nance said.
Due to the rising interest, the Hoover City Council approved $50,000 in the city’s 2018 budget to establish an archery park. Officials have not yet found a space to put the park, Nance said. It doesn’t require a lot of property, but they need at least 100 yards, she said.
The archery program started at Sertoma Park, behind Green Valley Elementary School, in 2013, but the archers had to move in early September due to the field there being re-sodded, said Toni Leo, one of two instructors in the program.
They went to Wildflower Park in Riverchase, but other park users there did not welcome them, so they only practiced one time there, Leo said. They moved to a spot between the Finley Center and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium for the remainder of the outdoor season, which runs from April through October.
The indoor season runs from November to March, with classes held at a 3-D archery range inside Hoover Tactical Firearms.
Leo was a physical education teacher for more than 30 years before she retired from Bumpus Middle School in 2013 and always included archery in her curriculum, she said. She even had an archery team at Bumpus.
The city recruited her to help start the city’s program, and she has stuck with it ever since. At first, the program was offered as part of a summer day camp, but it was so popular that city officials decided to offer classes in the afternoon after school.
There were eight people in the first class, and now there are 25 to 30 people, Nance said.
The classes are open to anyone age 8 to adult, and there were about five adults in the most recent outdoor classes, Leo said. The youth start out shooting 15 meters outdoors and gradually can move to farther distances, while adults start at 30 meters, Leo said. There are only two distances offered indoors, 9 meters and 18 meters.
Most of the archers just do it for fun and socializing, but the team does have frequent intra-squad competitions and travels to one or two optional competitions against other teams each year.
At the Alabama Parks and Recreation Association competition in Dothan in August, 14 archers from the Hoover team went, and nine of them won awards, Nance said. Seven members of a therapeutic recreation team for people with disabilities went, and four of those won awards, she said.
“We have some really outstanding archers,” Nance said.
Classes typically meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 and 5 p.m., with a beginner class at 5:30 p.m., but beginner classes are only for the outdoor season, Nance said. Prices normally are $45 per month for Hoover residents and $56 for non-residents, but the cost is $23 for residents and $28 for non-residents in November and December because there are fewer classes those months.
Registration forms are available at hooveral.org under Parks and Recreation. For more information, call Dee Nance at 444-7765 or email her at nanced@ci.hoover.al.us.
