Olympic Dreams

Olympic Dreams 23 June 2010   Hello Wietse!   My name is Luke and I am a 14-year-old very interested competitive archer. I have similar dreams as yours as a youngster (I presume), of becoming an Olympic champion. And my question is: What exactly did you or do you do in terms of training or practice? I have investigated but have yet to find a true and detailed answer to this question.   Thank you!   Luke Higgins, England     Dear Luke,   Good to see that a young archer like you has Olympic ambitions and dreams. Keep it up!   About your question, if I have to write down exactly what I did, it will be a very big book, but I can divide my training in three different parts:   Ø Archery Ø Strength and conditioning Ø Mental   Archery was a daily routine in my life, once or twice a day 6-7 days a week. What many people forget is to train with full focus and attention. It is better to train 100 arrows with full focus than 300 arrows with no focus (too much talking and joking on the shooting line).   Strength and conditioning was a weekly programme. Two times a week strength training and minimum two times conditioning. I am a big fan of cycling and I ride my bike 3-4 times a week.   Mental is for everybody but at the same time it is personal. There are some basic skills that every athlete should know/do and there are hundreds of skills/exercises which can be thought to people who have difficulties on and off the competition field.   This is as detailed as I can be. I hope this is of good help for you in your Olympic quest!   Good luck,   Wietse