Much like the students on his team, Columbia Academy's archery coach Mike Barber shoots straight to the point. He believes CA has one of the best — if not the absolute best — archery programs in the state of Mississippi, and his team has racked up more than enough accolades to support that claim.
Not only did the Cougars win the 2022 MAIS State Championship, but they've won it each of the past three years. Within the seven years that Barber has been head coach of the team, they've filled their custom trophy case with 18 state title trophies from elementary, middle school and high school competition. As the team constantly grows and more equipment is received to help the Cougars train, Barber said he expects to be in need of even more space to display the awards his students will continue to win over the years to come.
"My kids are exceptional young archers," Barber said of the group. "They don't get intimidated by competing against bigger schools or bigger teams because they know that, at the end of the day, they're only competing against themselves. We've achieved a lot, and we know what it takes to be successful, so we're never really concerned about who else shows up to compete. We're good at what we do, and we know we'll continue to show that."
But it wasn't always that way. Barber said that early on in his tenure with the program, the team had to fight for respect amongst other teams that compete in more popular sports. The more support that was invested into his team — including the investment of a state-of-the-art archery training facility — the more confident each student became in his or her abilities, and the more interest they drew from younger students to join the program.
"It's hard for a lot of kids in programs like this to find their way when it feels like football, baseball and basketball are always in the limelight," Barber explained. "I'm a football and baseball fanatic myself, so I get it. I love those sports. But those aren't the only skills that our kids have to offer, and it makes a significant difference for them to know they have the support of this school and this community."
Never content with less than their best, the Cougars archery team has been striving for even higher goals than simply defending its MAIS state title. It wants to be recognized as best overall program in the state, including teams from both private schools and public schools. This past year, CA placed sixth overall in those standings, and Barber said the Cougars plan to work even harder in preparation to work their way higher up that list in 2023.
"This year I'm obsessed with helping this team become the absolute best they can possibly be," Barber said. "One of our team's goals is to shoot for a total team score of 3,400, which has only been accomplished two or three times in the state of Mississippi. We've scored a 3,399 before during competition, and we went over the numbers over and over again to see if we might have made any mistakes and get that one last point, but we were just short. But that's all right. I'm proud to be coaching a team that works hard enough to be that competitive and shoot for really lofty goals."
In the end, even more so than the accolades, Barber says he's proud of the confidence the program continues to instill in its
students and the lessons they carry with them that are beneficial in everyday life, even after high school.
"We try to maintain a positive program and encourage our kids constantly, and I think the results they produce are a part of their response to that," Barber said. "Archery has taught me so much personally throughout life, so it's a huge honor to be able to pass that down and witness students learn to love it as much as I always have."
