Wabash Valley College is a community college in Mount Carmel, Illinois that offers a wide range of two-year degrees, as well as transfer programs. Surprising to many, however, is the fact that WVC offers scholarships for archery.

The flagship team in its first year competing in the collegiate archery program has six archers, four of which are former participants in the Illinois S3DA program (S3DA stands for Scholastic 3-D Archery). Recently, Wabash Valley College has signed three additional archers who currently participate on S3DA clubs and teams. The three signees for Wabash Valley College for fall 2019 include Dillon Thompson, Cuyler Barnum and Eric Williams.

Dillon Thompson currently shoots for the Wabash Warriors S3DA club. He picked up the sport of archery within the last year. Dillon said, “I enjoy shooting in the S3DA program because I get to compete against archers my age and make new friends that share the same passion I do. If it wasn’t for S3DA, I would not have the chance to further my education, skills and archery experiences.”

Cuyler Barnum is from Pekin, Illinois, and shoots with Havana Outdoors S3DA. He said, “I never thought I would receive a college scholarship for archery. It was really just a hobby for me. If I would not have received a scholarship, I probably would have just attended a trade school due to the cost. I enjoy shooting my bow, and S3DA has given me the opportunity to earn a college scholarship that will benefit my future.”

Eric Williams currently shoots for Carmi-White County in Carmi, Illinois. He said, “I enjoy shooting in the S3DA program because archery is different than other sports. Without S3DA and the opportunities it has provided me, I would not be attending college. I am proud to say that S3DA has paved my way to a college education.”

Earl Lawrence is head archery coach at Wabash Valley College and is an advanced instructor and coach within the S3DA program. He has shot archery competitively for 25-plus years, and his passion for seeing the sport grow is what got him involved with S3DA.

Lawrence said, “I look forward to watching S3DA continue to grow and seeing these archers compete at the collegiate level. It feels good to be able to use the sport that I personally love, to provide young men and women with opportunities to reach their educational goals.”

Started in December 2012 by the Scholastic Archery Association, S3DA has grown significantly as a next step program to follow introductory programs offered as part of 4-H or the National Archery in Schools Program. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving thousands of young archers, grades 3–12.

For more information on S3DA membership, visit www.S3DA.org or email infos3darchery@gmail.com.