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Archer overcomes obstacles, wins title
Published October 25, 2009
For Riley Patten, there were many places along the way she could have stopped.
First came the successes. In February, Patten and her Youth Elementary School team won the National Archery in the Schools Program Georgia competition in Perry, qualifying for the national competition in May in Louisville, Ky.
At the national competition, Riley placed fourth in the fourth-grade female division. Those who qualified for the national competition automatically qualified for the first ever NASP World Tournament, held Oct. 9 at Walt Disney World.
The months between May and October would show the true mettle of Riley, who came home with a first-place finish in her age division after shooting a 273.
Before the national competition, Riley suffered a shoulder injury she didn’t tell anyone about. It wasn’t until after the competition it was discovered she had broken her shoulder and was going to be unable to do anything for six weeks.
During that time, Riley began passing out inexplicably and frequently. She was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy.
But one month before the World competition, Riley’s shoulder was feeling fine and the medicine she was taking helped control the epilepsy. In fact, according to her father John Patten, his daughter picked up right where she left off.
Another blow came just weeks before the family was Orlando bound when Riley’s grandfather — who was going to go with them on the trip — passed away.
“To have gone through what she went through and not let it be an excuse, her mother and I are very proud of her,” John Patten said. “Riley always wants to do her best. Sometimes, she may not have the natural ability. But she understands her limitations and feels like if she works hard, she can be as good as anybody.
“More often than not, in the mornings it is me telling her we don’t have time for her to practice as opposed to her saying she doesn’t want to.”
It was the archery unit in Brian Hobbs’ physical education class at YES that first drew Riley’s interest in the sport. Then Hobbs posted a flyer about tryouts for a school archery team.
“Mom didn’t think I could make it, but I did,” the 10-year-old said, who hit the target with her first shot. “And I have learned that you have to be focused and if you shoot a bad arrow, you can’t get down on yourself.”
Riley’s father bought her a bow and arrows for her birthday, and in addition to school practices Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the now YES fifth-grader spends a lot of time practicing in the basement of her family’s home.
While it was this determination to practice that honed her skills, Riley had help as the hurdles stood between her and the Worlds competition.
“My mom kept motivating me, kept pushing me,” Riley said. “My mom said I could do it, I could shoot 280.”
While Riley did not reach her ultimate score, she did improve on her state score of 268 — even though there was greater pressure and a bigger stage. Riley was one of the first shooters in the competition and while he felt his daughter’s score was a top-five score, John Patten didn’t see the championship coming and did as any father would do — prepare his daughter for the worst. This would not be the case, as John Patten, his wife Michelle, their other daughter Linsey and Riley all reveled in the final outcome.
But for Hobbs, who coached Riley at the state and national competition but was unable to be there for the World competition, her overall success came as no surprise.
“Riley has great hand-eye coordination and she’s a great competitor. Those two things, along with parents who know what it takes for success, I think are what led to her finishing first,” Hobbs said. “She was a natural - learned quickly and was easy to teach.”
Now the next archery season is just weeks away. With her success behind her, and her sights set on defending her accomplishments, Riley had one thing to ask of those in the community.
“I want to tell Walton County to expand archery into middle school and high school, because it is so much fun, I have learned so much and have made great friends along the way.”
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