21
USA Archery High Performance Plan 20142017 USA Archery • January 2, 2014
| Date post: | 26-Mar-2018 |
| Category: |
Documents |
| Upload: | nguyendung |
| View: | 214 times |
| Download: | 1 times |
USA Archery High Performance Plan
2014-‐2017
USA Archery • January 2, 2014
Table of ContentsI. Performance Mission and Opera8onal Values
A. USA Archery Vision and MissionB. Organiza5onal ValuesC. High Performance Vision and MissionD. Planning Team
II. Compe88ve AnalysisA. Athletes
1. Interna5onal Results2. Na5onal Results
B. Coaches1. Compe5tors2. Successful Coaching Ini5a5ves
a) Na5onal Training Systemb) Interna5onal Team Staff Programc) Coach Observer Program/Para Coach Observer Programd)Coach Symposiume)Coach Mentor Program
3. Opportuni5es for ImprovementC. Training
1. Training Programs2. Athlete Pipeline3. Facili5es
D. Compe55on1. Priori5es
a) Olympicb) Paralympic
2. Selec5on and Evalua5onE. Leadership
III. Cri8cal Performance FactorsA. Athlete DevelopmentB. Coach DevelopmentC. Priori5zed Programma5c Factors
USA Archery 2
D. Administra5ve FactorsE. Performance Services
IV. Performance Targets, Priori8zed Ini8a8ves, and Resource Integra8onA. Performance Targets
1. Olympic2. Paralympic
B. Compe55on Schedule
USA Archery 3
I. Performance Mission and Opera8onal Values
A. USA Archery Vision
Foster par5cipa5on in the sport of archery with the ul5mate goal of producing Olympic, Paralympic, and World Archery Champions.
USA Archery Mission Statement
Provide the necessary resources to foster strong athlete par5cipa5on, compe55on and training in the sport of archery.
B. USA Archery Organiza8onal Values
USA Archery will be based on the idea of inclusion and transparency and is commiOed to the following five guiding principles:
1. Integrity2. Strategy3. Investment in People4. Execu5on5. Communica5on
USA Archery Key Objec5ves:
1. Increase the number and sa5sfac5on of members2. Increase number and quality of cer5fied coaches in the U.S.3. Enhance current grassroots programs and athlete pipeline4. Outperform other countries in interna5onal archery compe88ons at every level and all
disciplines offered by World Archery5. Enhance the quality and par5cipa5on levels at USA Archery events6. Increase USA Archery generated revenue
C. High Performance Vision:
USA Archery will be the most successful Olympic Archery program in the world by 2020.
High Performance Objec5ves:
1. USA will win the most overall Olympic medals of any country by the 2020 Olympic Games.2. USA will win the overall total points as the top na5on for the Archery World Cups in
2014-‐2017.3. USA will achieve a top three World Ranking for both Men’s and Women’s Recurve teams by
2016.
USA Archery 4
4. USA will medal in both individual and team in the Men’s and Women’s Recurve events in Rio 2016.
5. USA Archery will improve the physical, mental, and technical training provided to Resident Athlete (RA) and Junior Dream Team (JDT) athletes to beOer prepare them for interna5onal compe55on.
6. USA Archery will develop a larger athlete pool and increase talent level entering JDT program.
7. USA Archery will raise the level and depth of both the na5onal coaches and club coaches.
High Performance Core Opera8ng Values and Behaviors
USA Archery’s High Performance program will operate under an inclusive and transparent environment. While embracing USA Archery’s overall values of integrity, strategy, investment in people, execu5on, and communica5on, USA Archery’s High Performance program will be commiOed to the following:
• Be self-‐mo5vated, and innova5ve to become the most dominant country in the world archery• Iden5fy, retain, and develop talented athletes with high poten5al for interna5onal success• Develop posi5ve, cohesive team environments• Be innova5ve in the crea5on, communica5on, program development and execu5on of our pipeline for developing athletes and coaches
• U5lize USOC and USA Archery resources in the most responsible, yet produc5ve manner• Con5nually monitor and review our high performance programs and make modifica5ons when it is necessary to achieve our performance mission
• Serve as a model sport organiza5on by commidng to the legal and ethical standards of the Interna5onal Olympic CommiOee (IOC), the United States Olympic CommiOee (USOC), World Archery, the World An5-‐Doping Agency (WADA), the United States An5-‐Doping Agency (USADA), and the Interna5onal Paralympic CommiOee (IPC)
D. High Performance Planning Team
The following representa5ves from USA Archery and the United States Olympic CommiOee were involved in the development, communica5on, and modifica5on of the 2014-‐2017 High Performance Plan. By signing below, each member of the performance planning team indicates ac5ve par5cipa5on in, and approval of, the process and contents of USA Archery’s High Performance Plan for 2014-‐2017. In addi5on, all team members listed on this page have an updated copy of the High Performance Plan in their records.
USA Archery CEO Denise Parker Head Na5onal Coach KiSik Lee Asst Na5onal Coach/High Performance Mgr Guy Krueger Para Na5onal Coach Randi Smith Coach Development Manager Sheri Rhodes Na5onal Teams Manager Audrey Tyrrell USOC High Performance Director John Crawley USOC Athlete Representa5ve Nick Kale Outreach Director Mary Emmons
USA Archery 5
II. Compe88ve Analysis
A. Athletes1. Interna8onal Results and TrendsThe overall highest scores shot in ranking rounds at interna5onal compe55ons are reaching a plateau, but the frequency of those numbers being shot has increased. There are more archers shoo5ng elite scores, and some of these archers are from countries with no previous major archery success.
Although there has been a no5ceable increase in the depth of archers shoo5ng compe55ve scores and number of upsets in elimina5on matches, there is s5ll an extremely strong correla5on with ranking round placement and finishing in the top 16 at major interna5onal events including the Olympic Games. On average, 88% of the women who finish in the top 16 of all major interna5onal events are ranked in the top 25 of the ranking round. Similarly, 83% of the men who finish in the top 16 are ranked in the top 25. An average top 25 score for the women is approximately a 1327 FITA and for the men a 1323 FITA.
Although there has been an increase depth of interna5onally compe55ve archers, the majority of medals won at major interna5onal events con5nue to be won by the top-‐ranked archers. Similar to the results of the 2012 Olympic Games, in which, twelve Archery medals were distributed between six countries. Korea, Mexico, China, Japan, Italy, and the United States s5ll seem to be the major players followed closely by France, Ukraine, Germany, Chinese Tapei, India, Netherlands, Russia, and Malaysia.
These top fiieen(15) to twenty(20) countries in the world in archery are now taking very professional approaches to their archery programs. Almost all of these countries have between four to six professional archers per division and on average are paying between $1,500 -‐ $2,000 per month for salary. South Korea currently pays the most at around $40,000-‐$50,000 per year. These top countries also employ several full 5me coaches, and there is a growing trend that more former elite archers are becoming coaches. Some of these programs are more centralized and some have a few regions/center across their country depending on the physical size of the country. Almost every one of these programs is subsidized by either their local or federal government.
Korea started off early this year with a bang and has dominated the first two world cup events in the recurve division and have been very successful in the compound division also. Olympic Champion, Oh Jin Hyek has won both World Cup events and their recurve team has won both world cups thus far. On the women’s side, Yun Ok Hee has placed in the top 2 twice, and the women’s team has medaled at both world cups in 2013. Korea’s early success in 2013 can be aOributed to their professional team schedule, and the fact that by the first world cup event, they had already had four selec5on events to select their world cup and world championships teams for 2013.
In the team events, the elimina5on round scores required to win gold at world events have fluctuated slightly but have remained close to the same score each year since 2006. Both the average score for the men’s and women’s champions have increased slightly aier two world cup events. Much like 2009, USA is experiencing a decrease in our team round performances. This is due to several reasons, including (1) elite athletes life stage transi5ons, (2) athletes
USA Archery 6
moving on from the training center, and (3) lack of team training opportuni5es. Please refer to Appendix A for a graphical summary of historical team round performance trends.
2013 Mid-‐season Recap2013 has proven to be a learning year for USA Archery. Due to the progression of our programs and sport, for the first 5me ever, we experienced a post Olympic lull in performance and intensity in training for some of our elite athletes. Several athletes either moved on from the Resident Athlete Program or had significant life stage changes aier the Games. While some of the veteran athletes are beginning to phase out of the sport, some of the other top athletes just could not maintain the intensity in training following the Olympics and needed 5me to decompress.
Currently these trends are no5ceable in our sta5s5cs of our average scores shot by the top archers at our Na5onal Championships. In 2013, there was slight drop in our overall average score shot by the top 3 and top 8 individuals in our Na5onal Championships. Some of that is due to weather condi5ons this year. Some of this decrease is due to an overall decrease in training intensity or lack of compe5ng for many of our former top archers. It is uncertain at this point if the extra 5me off for these athletes will be a hinderance or actually benefit us at the World Championships which is not un5l October.
Although some of our elite archers are transi5oning, we have con5nued to focus and invest in our up and coming archers. Through this year, we have seen a vast improvement in our depth and na5onal development programs, the Resident Athlete Program and Junior Dream Team(JDT) Program. Several of our younger junior and cadet archers in the Resident Athlete Program became consistent players in the senior division this year. Most of these new faces on the na5onal scene are sixteen to eighteen years old. This young depth was apparent at our Youth World Team Trials where eleven of the possible twelve members(92%) were from na5onal development programs. Eight of the athletes are from the Resident Athlete Program and three are from the Junior Dream Team Program.
As we plan ahead, this year’s experiences have taught us several things as we prepare for 2016 and how we manage our athletes aier the Rio Olympics going into the 2017 compe55ve season. We learned we need to hold athletes who are receiving funding more accountable and that athlete support should be viewed more as an incen5ve to train than a reward for past performances. We also learned that the year following the Olympics is an excellent opportunity to provide more support for our developing archers. As future elite athletes transi5on through life stages, there will also be a growing need to find more crea5ve ways to bring them back to the Olympic Training Center in order to help them perform at their best. We also need to con5nue to develop the professionalism of the sport in this country so we can support the elite athletes more realis5cally so that they can con5nue to compete as they mature. We also need
USA Archery 7
to find a way to u5lize the great talent in our compound division and find ways to develop those archers.
Archery World Cups -‐ 2013 has been an interes5ng year in the World Cup circuit. South Korea is performing well this year and has taken a serious interest in the compound division. Their compound women’s team has been very successful so far and has even seen some success against our compound team. We will need to take steps this year to address the increased compe55veness of the world in the compound division or else we will be surpassed by these other countries.
Although we have not been as successful as the previous 2 years, we have s5ll had some very posi5ve results such as our recurve mixed team gold medal at the first World Cup in Shanghai and the four recurve medals won in Colombia. Khatuna Lorig has also shot very well and qualified with a solid 1344 FITA at the first two world cup events and qualified 2nd with a 1348 at the 3rd World Cup. Miranda Leek won individual silver in Colombia, which was her first individual medal. New comer Mackenzie Brown has shot well over the 1300 level at the first two world cups, and all four women on the US Team shot above the 1300 level in Colombia. The women’s team also went on to win the bronze in Medellin.
On the men’s side, Brady Ellison is climbing back aier taking some 5me to recover aier the Olympics and qualified 1st in Colombia, and finished 5th at the 2nd World Cup and 6th in the finals of Colombia. The recurve men’s team finally regained success in Colombia and won the bronze in the team event.
2013 Major Goals -‐ The major goals for 2013 include 1.Winning two recurve medals at the 2013 World Archery Championships2.winning our first recurve medal at the World Archery Youth Championships in twenty years 3.win two individual medals and one team medal at the World Archery Para Championships These events will all take place in October and November of 2013.
2. Na8onal ResultsDomes5cally we have seen a lot of improvements in scores shot by archers at na5onal events. This year in par5cular we had more new archers shoot over 1300 for the first 5me than any other year in our history. This year we had five new archers, all ages 16-‐18, shoot over the 1300 level for the first 5me, and all of these archers are part of the resident athlete program. In fact, this year was the first 5me we have had more than 3 women shoot over the 1300 level at our Na5onal Target Championships(5 women shot over 1300). Although by comparing our results from the Na5onal Target Championships this is not evident at first since it appears there is a decrease in overall averages for the men and women. This can be aOributed to very windy weather and decreased performances by the athletes that were formerly at or above the 1300 FITA level. Conversely, our top 3 junior scores in men’s and women’s divisions increased around 50 points! Please refer to Appendix B for graphical data on our historical averages for the top 3 and top 8 athletes per division.
B. Coaches1. Compe8torsWe have seen a fairly significant increase as other countries con5nue to increase the professionalism and focus of their archery programs. The top countries in the world are
USA Archery 8
compensa5ng their coaches between $60,000 to $100,000/year, which is significant compared to the US. Korea will even offer their na5onal team coaches as much as $100,000 more on top of that. Several of these countries employ mul5ple coaches through federal or local government tax dollars. In fact, the strongest countries have several full-‐5me professional coaches, and as a result are able to produce a greater depth of talented archers, and develop elite archers at a faster rate. They are also able to create team compe55veness within their countries since each coach works full-‐5me with their team, and these teams compete against each other within their country. Currently we only have two full-‐5me coaches within our organiza5on and three more at regional facili5es.
2. Successful Coaching Ini8a8vesA. Na8onal Training SystemAlthough we have so few professional coaches, we are a step ahead of the rest of the world with our technical system, the Na5onal Training System. This educa5on and coaching system has created con5nuity among coaches throughout the country. Other countries are trying to develop this type of system; even countries like Korea do not have a formal way of teaching their technique. For example, each coach in Korea is trained as an archer and then must take one or two general coaching classes to coach.
B. Interna8onal Team Staff (ITS) Program Our Interna5onal Team Staff (ITS) program has been very successful at providing consistent coaching support to our interna5onal teams. It has also provided our coaches a means to improve their team coaching level by working with athletes at mul5ple interna5onal events. Since 2009, we have sent a total of seven(7) different coaches to World Cup Events and fiieen(15) different coaches to world ranking events.
C. Coach Observer Program/Para Coach Observer ProgramThe Coach Observer Program and Para Coach Observer Programs have been very successful ini5a5ves. The Coach Observer Program started several years ago and allows coaches to observe some of their most experienced colleagues working with athletes using the Na5onal Training System during our JDT camps. Coaches are given daily tasks, assignments each night and have a Level 5 Coach to mentor and train them. This same idea has translated very well to the Para side and is allowing us to familiarize coaches with techniques for helping different Para athletes. The demand is so high for these programs that they usually fill up several months in advance.
D. The Coach SymposiumThe Coach Symposium has also been a very successful ini5a5ve. The Symposium has given USA Archery the opportunity to provide further educa5on and informa5on to our coaches outside our cer5fica5on courses. Typically the Symposium has allowed Na5onal Head Coach KiSik Lee the opportunity to present addi5onal training, further insight, and the latest developments on the Na5onal Training System. The Symposium has also been a great opportunity for USA Archery to incorporate addi5onal coaching sources such as sports psychology, coaching concepts, equipment informa5on, and athlete panels. It has also created an environment for coaches to come together and freely exchange ideas.
E. The Coach Mentorship Program (Resident Athlete Observer Program)
USA Archery 9
This is a new ini5a5ve started this year to train coaches with high poten5al one on one for a week at the Olympic Training Center. So far this program shows promise, but we will need to limit the number of coaches selected to this program to four or fewer in the future.
3. Opportuni8es for ImprovementOur coaching programs are solid, but in order to con5nue to compete with the best and reach our goal of winning the most archery medals by the 2020 Olympics, we will need to improve our coaching in several key areas. One of our greatest needs and highest priori5es is developing more professional and high quality coaches. We are seeing a very shallow and inconsistent understanding of the Na5onal Training System at the intermediate level of coaching (Level 3 and 4). In order to produce more effec5ve coaches, we will need to address this issue by either mentoring these Level 3 instructors or select and train specific instructors to teach the Level 3 course.
Currently we are not compensa5ng our top coaches enough for interna5onal events and training camps. The current compensa5on of $50/day is well below what we should be paying these coaches especially considering for these events they are usually working 10 plus hours per day.
There is a strong need for us to provide more in-‐depth local workshops to focus on specific areas of coaching or have some version of the Coach Symposium provided regionally. In order to meet the demands of increased par5cipa5on in the sport, we will need to increase the number of properly trained coaches. Taking the coach workshops to the local level will help us reach more coaches while providing the correct informa5on.
C. Training1. Training ProgramsThe top fiieen to twenty compe5tor na5ons are training several professional archers in structured training programs con5nuously. These countries vary from fairly centralized programs located at one center to the larger countries that have more regional centers and bring their top archers together for longer training camps prior to world compe55ons. These countries do incorporate well-‐rounded training programs featuring strength and condi5oning training, mental training, and archery-‐specific training.
With our Resident Athlete Program we are con5nually working with our performance partners to develop improved methods to train our archers. We con5nue to work closely with John Crawley to develop improved periodized training programs in order to develop athletes quickly and comprehensively. We began this year to u5lize all the services the USOC provides from nutri5on, strength and condi5oning, sports psychology, and sports medicine. This approach has con5nued to help us improve our younger athletes more quickly and help our more mature athletes find ways to gain advantages.
In early 2013, we were forced to cancel our first Women’s Excellence Program camp due to schedule conflicts. We plan to con5nue this program later this year. We ini5ally planned to incorporate this philosophy into several levels of our na5onal programs; however, due to a new Psychology posi5on with the US Army, Fernando Lopez is limited in his 5me for our programs. Both Fernando and John Crawley worked extensively with our Women’s Excellence Program and Olympic Team last year in
USA Archery 10
this area of team building, and we believe the improved team chemistry gave us an advantage interna5onally.
2. Athlete PipelineSome countries like Mexico and Korea have very developed athlete pipelines that focus a great deal on mul5ple development centers that feed into mul5ple elite programs. The core of each level of the pipeline is quality coaching. For most countries, numbers play a very important role in their athlete pipeline. France, for example, has more than 40,000 archers.
This year we took addi5onal steps towards refining our pipeline by separa5ng the Red Team, the top 8 archers from the JDT Program, from the rest of the JDT Program in order to have more focused camps. Also, due to the organiza5on’s increased focus on outreach, USA Archery’s pool of available archers has increased by 29% over the past year. USA Archery has also trained an addi5onal 240 coaches and cer5fied over 60 new clubs since 2012. Please refer to our “Dashboard” in Appendix C.
3. Facili8esOlympicFor USA Archery, the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center is the ideal facility to use for our resident program and camps due to the ideal weather, permanent coaching staff, and permanent loca5on of archery equipment. Over the years we have used the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center, but this is normally due to Chula Vista being unavailable or unable to host a camp due to the size. Once the construc5on of the new Easton Archery facility and dormitories are complete in Chula Vista, it will serve as our primary training facility. Un5l the project is complete, we will need to con5nue to use the CSOTC for some coaching courses, JDT camps, and Para camps.
We have con5nued to develop beOer rela5onships with the Easton Regional Centers. Although these centers are not designed for high performance, they have a strong desire to work with USA Archery. These centers have proven to be valuable for hos5ng na5onal ranking events and our regional youth camps.
ParalympicOn the other hand, for our Para US Archery Team, most of the team members are older, have families, and train at home. Local or regional high level coaching with knowledge in Para archery has proven to be difficult to obtain. One benefit of the Para Coach Observer Program is that we can bring this informa5on to more coaches. This is also why consistent na5onal training camps have been important for our Para program. Interna5onally, most countries do not have centralized training programs for their Para archers and operate much like our own.
We use the Olympic Training Centers and University of Central Oklahoma(UCO) on a regular basis for training camps and used the Easton Yankton Archery Center for the Paralympic Team camp before London. In May of 2014, we are expec5ng the new Easton Salt Lake City regional facility to be complete. We currently understand that our Para program will have first priority to use the new facility for camps and events. Addi5onally, we have held camps at the Na5onal Ability Center and
USA Archery 11
the Easton Nock Pointe field in Salt Lake City. We have the op5on to use these facili5es for a host of camps from elite to developmental; however, Lakeshore and the Na5onal Ability Center have worked best for developmental and emerging groups because we can only shoot shorter distances at these loca5ons.
D. Compe88on1. Priori8esOlympicOur biggest priority leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will be the 2015 World Archery Championships and Olympic Qualifica5on Tournament. The 2013 World Archery Championships, the Rio Olympic Test Event, and the 2015 and 2013 World Archery Youth Championships are also extremely high priori5es and offer us an opportunity to evaluate our progress over the four year cycle. The Archery World Cup circuit created by World Archery is also a high priority for us as they provide prepara5on for the World Archery Championships and Olympic Games. Through the Archery World Cups our teams have been able to gain experience, winning against the same teams and individuals we compete against at every major championship. These events are followed closely by our Team Trials events, USAT Qualifier Series and Na5onal Championships.
Interna5onally, we compete at approximately the same number of events as do most of our compe5tors at the Archery World Cup events. Korea is probably the only excep5on, as they typically compete at an average of two to three Archery World Cup events per year while we aOend all four events. However, the reason Korea aOends just two to three Archery World Cup events each year is that Korea’s na5onal compe55on schedule is so full that they cannot aOend every compe55on due to scheduling conflicts. Korea typically has approximately two more na5onal events than we do in the U.S.
There is a strong correla5on between individual and team results at the Archery World Cup compe55ons, and results at the World Archery Championships and Olympic Games. Each World Cup event is just as compe55ve as the World Archery Championships or Olympic Games. Athletes and teams that compete well at the Archery World Cup events are winning at the World Archery Championships and Olympic Games.
ParalympicInterna5onally, there are not very many specific Para compe55ons. Currently, there are two events held annually. One event is in Stoke-‐Mandeville, Great Britain, and the other one is in the Czech Republic. The World Archery Para Championships are held every other year, and the Para Pan American Games will be held in 2015. Our top priority is the Paralympic qualifier(s) that could have a bearing on the Paralympic Games. Aier that, we must look at cost, loca5on, and what other countries are aOending in order to priori5ze the compe55on. This scheme is not expected to change over the next four years, but the priori5za5on of the events will.
Na5onally, when deciding whether or not we will aOend as a team, the first thing we consider is who will be aOending. If there will be Para athletes from other countries, it makes it more likely that we will aOend that event as a team. If no Para athletes are compe5ng at the event, then cost, accessibility, and past experience will be taken into account.
Generally, we compete less than our compe5tors in Para-‐specific events. There are more Para-‐specific events in Europe and Asia than there are in the Americas. Athletes can travel between countries in Europe for compe55ons as easily as we travel between states. This has put us at a slight
USA Archery 12
disadvantage and has prompted us to look into the op5on of hos5ng an interna5onal Para event here in the U.S., possibly at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
2. Selec8on and Evalua8onFor most of these countries, their na5onal teams are selected based on performance at na5onal events. However, some of the countries select, evaluate, or take into account an archer’s interna5onal performances. They may select their top four or five archers domes5cally and then use their performances at Archery World Cup events to narrow down to the top three team members for World Championship and Olympic teams. For example, in Ukraine, if a member of the na5onal team is not performing well at two World Cup events in a row, they will pull that athlete and replace them with the next higher ranked athlete in order to find the athletes that perform the best under interna5onal pressure. Korea, Mexico, Italy, Australia, China, Spain, and the Netherlands use the Archery World Cup events as a por5on of their Olympic Team selec5on process.
This year, Korea had selected their top four athletes per division for the World Archery Championships before most countries were compe5ng seriously in 2013. By the Shanghai World Cup in May, Korea already had finished four selec5on events for the World Championships in October. It is yet to be decided if that will help their chances at the World Archery Championships, but it did help them start out the archery world cup circuit with success.
Currently our process for selec5on is purely based on domes5c events such as our World Archery Championships Team Trials, World Archery Youth Championships Team Trials, U.S. Paralympic Team Trials, and U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Our World Cup teams are selected from our Na5onal Ranking System, which is based on placements and scores shot at our USAT Qualifier Series events. Although our Na5onal Ranking System does provide some bonus points for top 4 and top 8 finishes at the Archery World Cups, World Championships, and Olympic events, our selec5on events currently do not contain any elements for interna5onal performances. This is something we have considered and may include for the 2016 Olympic Trials.
We are also exploring the idea of having an exemp5on for our mandatory event in our current Na5onal Ranking System. This exemp5on would only apply for certain circumstances such as required military service, unexpected death in the family, and serious injuries.
Selec5on processes for the Olympic Games and World Archery Championships Team Trials are very similar. For non-‐Olympic qualifying years like 2013, the World Archery Championships Team Trials will be based on one selec5on event shot in conjunc5on with a USAT Qualifier Series event. The World Archery Youth Championships Team Trials will be an almost iden5cal process as well as the World Archery Para Championships Team Trials.
For Olympic qualifying years, the World Archery Championships Team Trials will be a two event trials process held in conjunc5on with two USAT Qualifier Series events. This provides the top eight finalists with more high pressure training in order to prepare the team for the pressure of qualifying for the Olympic Games. This is also similar to our Olympic Team Trials process, which will con5nue to u5lize three selec5on events. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials selec5on process will remain very similar to the process used this year and in 2008. We are looking at the op5on of adding in an interna5onal performances element to select the final two archers for the Olympic team in order to find the most cohesive team. We will also look at adjus5ng the selec5on process for the 2015 World Archery Para Championships Team, Parapan American Team, and Paralympic Team to be based on more than one event.
USA Archery 13
E. LeadershipUSA Archery has never been stronger, both financially and administra5vely. The organiza5on has increased overall revenues from close to one million dollars in 2007 to nearly three million in 2013. Staffing support con5nues to increase to adapt to the increasing demands of the organiza5on’s programs. Staffing has increased from six employees in 2007 to a total of 14 staff in 2013. Program development and revenue both con5nue to increase.
USA Archery has an effec5ve NGB Board and Staff rela5onship and all Board members have been through training upon taking their posi5ons.
USA Archery has a strategic plan and metrics in place to measure success against those metrics. The Board and CEO review this “Dashboard”, located in Appendix C, and the strategic plan annually and make adjustments to account for trends.
In 2012 USA Archery had a completely clear audit and we are in beOer financial condi5on than any 5me in the organiza5on’s history. USA Archery is posi5oned well to support the high performance plan, staff and ini5a5ves outlined in this report.
III. Cri8cal Performance Factors
A. Athlete DevelopmentIn the last ten years, we have seen a definite change in the body type and size of archers interna5onally. There has been a consistent move from thin, lean archers to larger and taller bodied athletes with more muscle mass. This has been especially true in the women’s division, and has been visually evident at the World Archery Youth Championships, Archery World Cup events and Olympic Games. Larger-‐bodied archers tend to be more stable in pressure situa5ons and in the wind. Oien the larger-‐bodied archer can shoot higher poundage bows. Talent-‐wise, even smaller countries like Mongolia and Malaysia are producing elite level archers shoo5ng over 1350 FITA scores. In the past four years alone our depth of talented archers has increased significantly as well.
The main cri5cal performance factors that determine how successful an archer can be are technical skill, mental skills, physical strength and condi5on, adaptability, and leadership skills. Together these factors determine the archer’s compe55ve DNA. These skills allow an archer to be technically consistent and perform well under pressure.
Technical skill is a key performance indicator for archery. In pressure situa5ons, being able to execute a clean shot is the most important thing an archer can do, and this is why the Na5onal Training System is so important. The technique we teach is designed to allow the archer to execute a clean shot repeatedly and under any environmental condi5on. Currently, our top archers are very good in this area compared
USA Archery 14
to the rest of the world, but we must con5nue to develop in terms of technical skill. It is just as important for our top archers to con5nue to develop this skill as it is for our lower-‐ranked archers in order to increase their overall abili5es.
Another cri5cal performance factor is an athlete’s mental skills. The ability to stay calm, focused, and to maintain a strong self-‐image are important skills we look for and will develop. In order to be successful in interna5onal compe55ons, athletes need to display maturity, toughness, and even some independence while shoo5ng. Our archers have been improving in these areas, but we s5ll need to improve the athlete’s pa5ence in developing these skills.
Physical size, strength, and muscular endurance are among the important physical characteris5cs that create the makeup of a talented archer. Worldwide we have seen a shii to larger bodied, muscled archers in both the men’s and women’s division. Cardiovascular condi5oning and coordina5on are also vital to an athlete’s success. Recrui5ng athletes with size at an early age is s5ll a challenge for us, as well as developing size and strength for our current athletes. We also need to develop a talent iden5fica5on program to help introduce stronger and larger bodied athletes to archery. Our best archers are fair to average in this department and this will be another key ini5a5ve for our programs for 2013 to 2016.
Strategic and tac5cal capabili5es are another area of great importance. These include the ability to adapt to different situa5ons and environments quickly and the ability to compete without fear of making a mistake or losing. For example, at the Olympic Games, athletes will get almost no prepara5on 5me in the actual finals venue; in some loca5ons, weather condi5ons can change constantly. The only way to be successful in this type of environment is to be able to adapt to situa5ons quickly. We are one of the best countries currently, but we need to find beOer ways to train athletes to improve adaptability.
Leadership ability is another piece of the puzzle. Our men’s team did a very good job of demonstra5ng different leadership skills at the Olympics. In an interview, the athletes explained that each led the team in a different way, and having confidence in those leadership skills was vital to their success.
B. Coach DevelopmentThe best countries in the world have two types of coaches. The first type is developmental coaches who are able to teach athletes the basic founda5on of technical, mental, and physical condi5oning. These coaches have to have a very clear understanding of the most important concepts in our Na5onal Training System, and they have to be able to teach it mostly to younger athletes.
The second type of coach is the elite coach. The elite coach has a greater understanding of the technical details and an ability to relate and communicate effec5vely with the athlete. This type of coach must also understand physical condi5oning and be able to create athlete-‐specific designed training programs. This coach also has a clear understanding of their personal coaching philosophy and is not merely a “waiter” or “concierge” for the athlete. In other words, the coach is willing and able to provide the athlete honest, professional feedback in order to improve the athlete’s performance. In order to develop a mature athlete, the coach must also have the ability and desire to teach the athlete to have some independence from the coach.
In an interna5onal compe55on sedng, the coach must be familiar with the athlete and must remain calm during the compe55on. In order to produce the best performance, the coach needs to have a fine eye for detail and be able to keep the athlete focused mentally and technically. The coach must be someone that the athlete can trust.
USA Archery 15
Improving our communica5on and coordina5on with our regional facili5es, university teams, and local club teams will be necessary for us to develop beOer quality coaches. This will be a priority topic in our upcoming High Performance planning mee5ngs and will compliment and promote na5onal team compe55ons.
C. Priori8ze Programma8c FactorsThere are several cri5cal factors that will contribute to improving and sustaining performance. These are the priori5zed cri5cal factors for the following programs:
Athlete Development Pipeline1. World Cup Prep Camps and Camp Bonuses2. Resident Athlete Program s5pends3. Con5nued separa5on of JDT Red Team (elite) from the normal JDT camps to provide more
focused training4. Team building focus in all areas of our pipeline5. Increase pool of talented archers via new outreach strategies and Outreach Director
Coach Development1. ITS S5pend and beOer compensa5on for coaches2. Produce more consistent and in depth Level 3 instruc5on3. Increase pool of qualified coaches by providing more regional coaching seminars and
training
Regional and Local Facili5es1. Con5nue to partner with regional facili5es to develop beOer coaches, athletes, and
educa5on materials2. Develop more compe55ve local teams
D. Administra8ve FactorsA key factor in the success of USA Archery’s High Performance Program has been the hiring of Na5onal Head Coach KiSik Lee nearly 8 years ago. He has transformed not only the technique we teach, but also the structure of our training, including moving to a single loca5on and the addi5on of the JDT program. His current contract will put him with USA Archery through the Rio 2016 Games. However, it is our understanding at this 5me that at the end of 2016, there is a strong possibility that Coach Lee will want to re5re from this posi5on and we will need to hire a new Na5onal Head Coach.
In order to minimize risk of turnover in 2016, we feel that it is important to con5nue to improve all of our other elite coaches over the next four years. A key program for this is the coach mentoring and development that takes place through the JDT program coach opportuni5es. These coaches need to con5nue to improve and it will be cri5cal that we have the right coaches in this program, in order to invest in the best coaching talent that we have in our country.
Another pool of coaches and high performance administrators we want to focus on is those working in regional training centers, college programs and successful JOAD clubs. We feel strongly that the key to sustained high performance coaching ability will be directly 5ed to how many coaches out there are able to make a decent, if not good, living coaching archery. As we have seen from other countries such as Korea and Mexico, this is a cri5cal factor to sustained success and a strong pipeline.
USA Archery 16
USA Archery does not intend to look beyond USA coaches at this point as a succession plan, but the key will be how well we can develop our pool of coaches over the next four years. This is why coach development is so important for our organiza5on at this 5me.
E. Performance ServicesIn training, most countries are u5lizing mul5ple types of performance support such as physical therapy, biomechanics, technology, psychology, nutri5on, and strength and condi5oning. In order for our programs to be successful, we believe we must con5nue to work with the USOC in these areas and con5nue to develop posi5ve rela5onships with contractors outside of the USOC as well. We kindly request that the USOC provide support for our programs in some of these areas, such as biofeedback, sports psychology, nutri5on, strength and condi5oning, sports medicine, biomechanics, and training design.
True sports psychology is an area in which we desire to work with the USOC sports psychologists like Dr. Peter Haberl on a more consistent basis with our programs. Our athletes need to improve their ability to calm themselves and perform under pressure, and we believe they increase performance by improving medita5on skills and mental imagery. Our athletes, especially our Resident Athletes, need consistent one-‐on-‐one mee5ngs with sports psychologists, and our coaching programs have con5nued to use Dr. Haberl on a regular basis. We are interested in training our coaches with the ability to teach mental imagery and medita5on to their athletes in order for athletes to develop this skill.
Biofeedback tes5ng is an area of great interest to us. We have worked with brain wave monitoring technology developed by Dr. Lee from NeuroSky and have now started to do some more in depth tes5ng with Lindsay Thornton. With Lindsay’s help, we can have a more complete picture of how compe55on affects each of our athletes and what we can do to improve our athletes’ compe55on abili5es.
Team building, communica5on, and conflict resolu5on are also important components of sports psychology for USA Archery. We have worked with Fernando Lopez, team-‐building specialist, in dealing with these areas in the past. However, due to a new posi5on with the Army, Fernando’s availability will be limited and we will need to u5lize Dr. Haberl and John Crawley for these ac5vi5es going forward.
Mental Management is another important area of sports psychology that can contribute to our success. Mental Management is a company that provides educa5on, ideas, and solu5ons for athletes and coaches to improve performance through crea5ng a posi5ve self image and a solid mental shot process. Crea5ng a posi5ve self image is highly important for athletes and coaches in archery, and this is something with which Mental Management does an excellent job. We also believe that learning how to run a mental program mirrors the specific, programma5c technical approach to archery of our own Na5onal Training System.
In the physical therapy realm, we are very fortunate to benefit from the experience of the team at USOC Sports Medicine Services. Physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and doctors are
USA Archery 17
important factors in our athletes’ ability to train as hard and smart as possible. We have been fortunate to create posi5ve rela5onships with the sports medicine staff. Kevin Pearce has become a valuable partner for our Archery World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic Teams.
Training planning and sport performance are addi5onal key areas for us. John Crawley has been instrumental in our success over the last few years and is a valuable supporter of our program. Over the last year, John has con5nually challenged us with new ideas pertaining to training in order to help us become the most innova5ve archery program in the world. He has also helped us with the crea5on and improvement of programs like the Women’s Excellence Program. We will also con5nue to u5lize his assistance in developing a structured, well-‐rounded support system of the USOC sports psychologist, nutri5onist, Strength and Condi5oning department, and Sports Medicine department.
The Strength and Condi5oning department is also another valuable partner for us as we con5nue to prepare for Rio 2016. As our depth has increased, we have been fortunate to bring beOer athletes into our programs. It is our desire to develop our archers into beOer overall athletes. Athle5c ability is important for our archery because beOer coordina5on, strength, and cardiovascular condi5oning will allow our athletes to perform beOer in stressful compe55ons like the Olympic Games. We will con5nue to work with the Strength and Condi5oning Department to develop more structured training for our athletes and develop specific training programs for different cycles for the yearly and quadrennial training cycles. We have also con5nued to work with the company Flexor on developing core physical training programs and warm-‐up programs to increase flexibility and stability in our archers.
This year we began to develop a much more consistent rela5onship with Sport Die55an Shawn Hueglin. She has been valuable for educa5ng our Resident Athletes on improved ea5ng and fueling habits. We believe this is something that has helped our athletes train, recover and perform beOer, and we will con5nue to work with her.
We would also like to do some biomechanical tes5ng in the off-‐season. We would like to be able to do more biomechanical tes5ng in the off-‐season over the next four years to help our athletes and coaches have beOer technical understanding and for us to con5nue to improve our technical system. One area in par5cular that is of great interest to us is the area of three dimensional imaging systems. We have begun working with some companies to develop this, but believe that this type of imaging system will allow our archers to make technical adjustments very quickly for beginner, intermediate, and elite archers and will give us an extremely valuable tool to teach and train our coaches.
IV. Performance Targets, Ini8a8ves, and Resources
A. Performance TargetsOlympicOur goal is to win the most archery medals of any country by 2020. In order for us to do that, we will need to accomplish several performance targets on the way. By 2017, we will need to be able to win at least three medals in the recurve division at the World Archery Championships. This means that we will need to be prepared to have developed enough depth by the end of 2016 to compensate in case any of our top archers re5re. This means we will need to have approximately 6 men and women who are capable of shoo5ng a 1350 level score by the beginning of the 2017 outdoor season.
USA Archery 18
For the 2014-‐2016 compe55on seasons, we would like to achieve the following targets with their respec5ve priori5es:
1. Win an Olympic medal in both the men’s and women’s team and one medal in the men’s or women’s individual events in Rio(3 total)
2. Increase the number of athletes in the USA capable of shoo5ng 1350 level scores by 100% by 2016; currently we have 3 men and 2 women capable of these scores
In order to accomplish this we will need to qualify our quota slots at the 2015 World Archery Championships, and believe winning medals in both men’s and women’s events will put us on track. The intermediate goals that need to happen in order for us to accomplish our main goals for 2016 are:
1. 2013-‐2016 Archery World CupsA. Earn the most total country points each year
2. 2015 World Archery Youth ChampionshipsA. Win two recurve medals and have our Junior and Cadet teams average over 1300 in the
qualifica5on round
3. DevelopmentA. Women -‐ Develop our women’s team to compete successfully against Korea at least
once by 2014, and move into a top three world ranking posi5on by 2016
B. Men -‐ Maintain the men’s team number one world ranking
C. Depth -‐ Develop a full second 5er of archers who can be interna5onally compe55ve at any moment by the end of 2016
Our short-‐term goals for the rest of 2013 and 2014 that will put us on track are:
1. 2013 World Archery Youth Championships A. Win one recurve medal
2. 2013 World Archery Championships A. Win two medals in recurve events in individual, team, or mixed team for men’s or
women’s divisions
3. 2014 Interna5onal EventsA. On average, win a minimum of 2 recurve medals per World Cup event
B. Send our Junior USAT and Sr. USAT teams to compete in European Grand Prix events
4. 2014 Na5onal EventsA. Increase our top 3 and top 8 ranking round scores per division
B. Provide consistent opportuni5es and incen5ves for team round training and compe55ons
C. Increase the number of 1350 level shooters in the country to 4 men and 3 women
USA Archery 19
In order to achieve these goals we will need to con5nue to create depth through our na5onal development programs like the Resident Athlete Program and Junior Dream Team. 2017 will be an important year moving forward to the 2020 Games. In 2017, we must be prepared for some athlete turn over and have more depth ready to step in and perform.
ParalympicFor the 2014-‐2016 compe55on seasons, we would like to achieve the following targets with their respec5ve priori5es:
1. Win two individual medals in the individual compe55on and have teams compete in all of the team rounds at the 2016 Paralympic Games
2. Increase the number of Paralympic athletes in the USA capable of shoo5ng interna5onally compe55ve scores by 100% by 2016
The intermediate goals that need to happen in order for us to accomplish our main goals for 2016 are:
1. 2015 World Archery Para ChampionshipsA. Take full teams in the Men’s W1, Men’s and Women’s Open Recurve, and Men’s and
Women’s Open Compound classifica5ons.B. Prepare teams to win Paralympic quota slots at the 2015 World Archery Para
Championships
2. Men’s and Women’s Development A. Develop both our men’s and women’s teams to the point that we have enough athletes
for all team compe55ons, and increase the number of interna5onally compe55ve athletes
B. Provide emerging athletes more interna5onal compe55on opportuni5es by funding teams to interna5onal Para events
Our short-‐term goals for 2014 that will put us on track are:
1. 2014 Para Archerya. Win 4 medals at the Czech Para World Ranking Eventb. Host a Para World Ranking event in the U.S.c. Con5nue athlete development at open camps
In order to achieve these goals we will need to con5nue to create depth through our na5onal development programs, which include na5onal and open team camps, as well as military and Paralympic camps and clinics.
USA Archery 20
B. Compe88onOur most important compe55ons for 2014 are the four World Cup Events. In order to peak at these compe55ons, we have adjusted our na5onal events schedule to give us the best opportunity to be successful.
The compe55on priority for 2014 is as follows:
Priority Level Olympic Paralympic
1 Archery World Cup Events Czech Para World Ranking Event
2 PanAm Games QualificaSon Event USAT Events with Para EliminaSon Rounds
3 Larger World Ranking Events U.S. Para World Ranking Event
4 USAT Events Para-‐only Events
5 World Ranking Events
6 World Indoor Championships
Typically we send our top 4 archers(Na5onal Ranking System) in the senior division to the World Cup events. In the past there was liOle change in our top 4 athletes which prevented our senior archers ranked 5-‐8 and top Juniors from gedng highly compe55ve interna5onal experience. For 2014, we believe sending our top 4 Juniors and our Seniors ranked 5-‐8 to larger and more diverse world ranking events will be an excellent opportunity to increase our depth of archers capable of compe5ng at the World Cup, World Championships, and Olympics. This will only be the case if we can get those athletes to the right compe55ons. We believe this will also put us in an excellent posi5on to be more successful at the 2015 Youth World Championships and World Archery Championships.
Para-‐only events are our pipeline events to reach new athletes. Veterans Affairs(VA) and other military programs fund these events, and the level of compe55on is rapidly improving. Since these events are para-‐only, the para athletes can gain more experience and confidence by advancing further in elimina5on rounds.
USA Archery 21
