Archery is not just a game of mental strength

Archery is a sport that doesn’t get too much attention but it’s a sport that our country could excel in internationally with enough support and proper direction.

We have a number of young talents just waiting to burst into the limelight.

One of them is 20-year-old Andrea Lucia Robles who won a medal (Gold) in her very first international stint at the 2015 Asia Cup in the compound event. She has also won medals in other tournaments abroad such as the Thailand Princess Cup, Kasetsart Open in Bangkok, Hong Kong Interport Indoor Archery Tournament and Unisza Archery Tournament in Malaysia. 

Philippine STAR: Where did it all start? 

Andrea Lucia Robles: I wanted to try something new during the summer break of 2013 so I enrolled in a summer archery program, which then turned my mere interest into a love for the sport. I went on to train towards a more competitive level, starting with club shoots before gradually moving on to national and international tournaments

How much time do you allocate to train?

A typical day for me would be to wake up at 6:30 a.m. to go to the range and shoot for three hours before heading to my afternoon classes in Ateneo. Afterwards, I would go to the gym for my strength and conditioning, which I do with a personal trainer.

You obviously enjoy representing the Philippines.

It is always very exciting whenever I am given the chance to represent the country in something that I love doing since being able to compete at that level of play provides me with a great opportunity to gain new knowledge and experience that can help me grow more as an athlete. Through these experiences, I am better able to learn more about what I need to improve on (both mentally and technically), and also how I can better deal with the different emotions involved in order for me to perform at my full potential. It is also a great honor to be able to meet and shoot alongside the best archers of different countries and personally learn from them based on their own experiences. 

Would you recommend archery to everyone? 

Archery is a sport that takes a lot of practice and focus because it is a game of mental strength apart from skill and technique. I would definitely encourage everyone to try archery as their sport because it is a fun and productive way to learn about patience, consistency, determination, and most importantly resilience — qualities that I believe are highly valuable and can extend even to life outside of sports. It is also something that builds confidence and character among shooters, as nothing can beat the feeling of satisfaction after hitting the center of your target multiple times and also the feeling of determination to better yourself in order to reach your goals.

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