Middle School Student Shoots a Bullseye

When Ethan Chan ‘26 was four years old walking through Target with his mom, something caught his eye. It was a Disney Brave plastic bow and arrow with suction cups. After some convincing, Ethan walked home with this new toy and never looked back. According to Ethan, “I played with it until it broke, and shortly after, my mom found me an archery range to learn the sport.”

After many years of practice and honing his skill, Ethan started his competitive career in archery. According to Ethan, “Everything in archery has to be so precise. It is also mostly a mental sport. If you are not mentally prepared or get frustrated easily, the sport will be very challenging.”

Recently, Ethan competed in the NFAA Indoor Nationals and took home the championship and first place slot. Earlier this year, he also won the Texas State Championship with a record-breaking score (run by TFAA) and the Southern Sectionals for five states combined (TX, OK, LA, MS and AK). His ambitions don’t stop there. When asking about his long-term goals, Ethan says, “I want to go to the Olympics and compete for Team USA!”

In addition to his individual archery goals, Ethan wants to promote the sport of archery to more people and encourage his friends to come to the range and shoot together. He says, “It might take some time to shoot a bullseye, but it’s nothing to be discouraged about. Anyone can do archery. There is a South Korean archer named Im Dong-Hyun who is legally blind, and he set a world record!”

The Chan’s family love for archery has only grown as Ethan’s talents have progressed. According to Ethan, “When I first started archery, my dad learned with me. Through exploring a new thing with my dad, I learned I can overcome difficulties with confidence and as we compete with each other, I improve. We also have a lot of conversations at the dining table about archery. Because of this, it is my family’s favorite topic--my sister is a shooter now too!”

Congratulations, Ethan, on a successful archery season. We are eager to see what you do next and hope your triumphs encourage more SBS students to take up this exciting sport!