Sports can play a key role in a young person's development.

A nontraditional sport, archery is given an avenue through the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) program, which provides participation and competition opportunities for students. Perhaps the most important thing that JOAD does is bring out the best in kids.

"I want (students) to learn about archery, their archery," said Bryan Baker, an assistant manager at the Lancaster Archery Academy. "Their archery is different than other people's, just the mechanics of it. But beyond that, I want them to learn who they are. I want them to figure out what their identity is, especially if they're doing this at a very high level. I don't want their identity to be defined by their success. That's a very dangerous place for an athlete to be."

Located at 2195-A Old Philadelphia Pike, Lancaster, Lancaster Archery Academy both hosts and sponsors the JOAD program, an initiative created by the national governing body USA Archery. The program is designed to teach young people the sport, get them involved with it and develop national and world-level competitors, depending upon each individual's level of interest.

There are fees associated with participation in the JOAD program.

"It depends on the archer, and it depends on their goals," said Baker. "For some, it's a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Some want to have fun with their friends. If the goal is to be able to shoot at states, more time is going to be required, more effort. You need to be able to have flexibility in your program to cater to both types of people."

Lancaster Archery Academy is home to three separate indoor shooting ranges for training, instruction and practice. The facility's main range features 12 targets set downrange at an international standard distance of 18 meters, 23 target lanes, a waiting area and spectator space.

The academy's JOAD program is actually two programs rolled into one. Shooters who attend the program that meets at Lancaster Archery Academy on Thursdays are generally less experienced or more casual, while the Saturday sessions tend to be more intense and designed for archers who are more experienced.

"It's like any skill you want to improve," said Baker. "(Students) are going to fail a lot, and that's a good thing. You make mistakes, and you're going to want to enjoy the process of archery. It doesn't come right away, and it comes with practice. The more you practice, the more proficient you'll get at it."

"The approach I'd like to see archers take is, 'Let's see how good I can get at it. I don't know, but I'm going to find out,'" added Baker. "That's the question everyone should be asking at the beginning and at the end."

Currently, there are about 70 archers between the ages of 8 and 20 enrolled in the JOAD program at Lancaster Archery Academy. The students reside in Lancaster County, southeastern Pennsylvania, other areas across the state, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

"These archers are people you walk past at supermarkets," said Baker. "They're the kids who play with your kids. They're people. They're your neighbors. They're your friends. They're you. You can enter it at any age and excel in it. Anbody can do this and enjoy this really cool experience."

There are 10 instructors who work at the Lancaster Archery Academy, and many of those teachers instruct students enrolled in the JOAD program.

"Patience is important," said Baker. "Teaching archery is no different than teaching anything else. You have to understand the person you are teaching. You have to have conversations to learn on a deeper level. You teach basic aspects at the beginning. A lot of people understand how to do a large breadth of tasks, and all of those require motor skills and a mental frame."

Many of the more serious JOAD archers compete in local, regional, national and international tournaments, as many as 24 tournaments in a year.

"The Junior Olympic Archery Development program was created by USA Archery in order to have a talented pool of competitors to pull from for major international events," said Baker. "It's been a vastly successful program. One of the reasons it's been successful is because each JOAD program is given a wide latitude on how it executes its mission."

For additional information, go to http://www.lancasterarcheryacademy.com.