Hunter Hobby, 17, is a master of archery. He has won 30 competitions this year, and finished fourth in the nation at the Archery Shooters Association Classic in Cullman, Ala. in August.

Hobby is a Marshall County High School junior and a starter on the football team and is also a member of the Beta Club.

Hobby has been shooting since he was eight years old. He got interested watching his father.

"When he finally got big enough, we started letting him shoot," said his father, Charlie Hobby.

Not long after he began, they started taking him to local shoots, and eventually ended up at even bigger shoots.

Road to success

This year alone he participated in competitions in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and Kentucky.

He has participated in many of the major Pro/Am courses. There are seven competitions each year with audiences as high as 3,000 to 4,000.

Hobby was invited to shoot on the USA Archery team in Costa Rica and Guatemala, but due to a conflict with his school schedule, he was unable to attend.

At the time of the interview, Hunter Hobby had three sponsors.

Practice makes perfect

Practice is something that must be done year round in order to stay sharp, and Hobby has a practice field set up behind the family home in Belfast.

He also practices at indoor archery ranges in the area.

Hunter Hobby won Shooter of the Year at the competition at Tims Ford.

Because of that win, he got to compete in the Big Hunt in Kentucky. He also won a deer-hunting tournament in

Tullahoma.

Overall, Hobby has over 80 trophies and plaques he has received from winning or placing in tournaments all over the country.

Facing the best

Not just anyone can participate in these competitions; a person must meet specific qualifications. An archer who wishes to compete at a state level must place at a state qualifier, and an archer must win a state shoot in order to compete at the national level.

Tennessee's state competitions take place near Chattanooga and Nashville.

The location alternates depending on the year. The competition season begins in February and lasts until August.

A typical competition takes two days. On the first day, archers shoot at 20 known targets, and on the second day, they shoot at 20 unknown targets. The maximum range for Hunter Hobby this year was 43 yards, but next year it will be 53 yards.

"Archery is a great sport to have kids involved in, it really keeps them busy over the summer," said Charlie

Hobby.

Hunter Hobby hopes to continue competing in archery and see where it takes him.