Always keep your eye on the target. Doing the same thing in the same way over and over and over again can provide desirable results. Following through is important.

Some of the same things that produce success in archery can also produce success in other areas of life.

Bob Lauffer is a coach and a mentor in both archery and in other interests of life.

"I think the key to success (in archery) is you have to enjoy it," said Lauffer, who founded the Reading Archery Club (RAC) a decade ago. "You have to spend time on it, and to do that, you have to enjoy it. You have to be able to focus, and you have to be able to do the same things every time. A lot of it is muscle memory. Once (archers) start having success, it kind of snowballs. You have to get them on the right path, and they've got to buy in."

RAC is a developmental, community-based archery program that provides life opportunities for youths ages 6 to 18 from Lancaster County and Berks County. RAC is headquartered on its 38-acre, wooded property at 880 Church Road, Reading.

"What I want (the archers) to understand is that it's OK to try and it's OK to fail," said Lauffer. "For some kids, archery is easy. For other kids, they've got to really work at it. I want them to get out of it whatever they can. Those are the big life lessons that I want them to learn."

RAC participates in and hosts as many as 20 regional, state and national archery competitions each year. The year is loosely broken down into three seasons by disciplines - indoor target, 3D and outdoor target.

RAC also conducts community events like fundraisers, and the organization awards scholarships to deserving student-athletes. There are costs involved with competing in archery.

"The mission is for students to learn safety during archery," said Lauffer. "We want them to enjoy it and become a lifelong archer. We have about 10 passionate coaches who really enjoy working with young people, and they're really dedicated. You need to have organization. For us, our best recruiters are the kids themselves. Providing a framework for competition is another big part of it. Archers love to compete."

"Every kid is different," he added. "For some, you just let them do their things. Different students learn different ways."

Currently, there are more than 45 student-athletes involved with the RAC program, including eight from the Garden Spot School District, as well as archers who reside in the Cocalico, Twin Valley, Boyertown, Governor Mifflin and Wilson school districts. For competition purposes, the students are broken down by age groups: 8 and under, junior eagles; 9 to 11, eagles; 12 to 14, youths; and 15 to 18, young adults.

"They're diverse. Some are second- and third-generation archers," said Lauffer, who taught agriculture, advised FFA and coached track and field at Garden Spot High School for more than 30 years. "Some come from families who do archery hunting. They're kids who love the challenge of putting an arrow where they want it time after time. That's what they have in common."

The student-athletes' motivations for competing are as diverse as the archers themselves.

"You do not have to be a great athlete to be a great archer," said Lauffer. "But we have had great athletes who have been great archers. We have kids who are involved with other sports. It's something you can do for the rest of your life. I want it to be a positive experience for everyone out there. I had one young lady who did archery and never competed, but she had a great experience."

Lauffer founded RAC with six Garden Spot Middle School students in 2016. The team grew quickly, with 20 participants in the program's second year and 30 archers in the third year.

"It's important to take advantage of opportunities presented to you, but archery is not for everyone," said Lauffer. "There might be somebody out there who's thinking, 'I've always thought about it, but I've never tried it.' We want it to be accessible."

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