Elgin Academy pupil wins Scottish archery title just 18 months after first trying his sport at Center Parcs holiday activity
A shot at firing arrows during a Center Parcs holiday turned a Moray schoolboy into an archery champion.
Daniel McManus first pulled back a bow just 18 months ago while on a family break, not realising he would soon have glory in his sights.
Now the 13-year-old Elgin Academy pupil is a national barebow champ, and is inspiring other youngsters to try and hit the bullseye on their sporting targets.
Incredibly, Daniel has won every archery competition he has entered, including the Northern Area Championship twice and most recently the Scottish Indoor title in East Kilbride at the first time of asking.
“I saw archery on TV once but I didn’t really know much about it,” he said. “It was just something I wanted to try out,” he said.
“I tried it on holiday and I would say I took to it pretty much right away.”
Daniel was advised by his holiday entertainment rep who witnessed his sharp-shooting performance to sign up for his local club.
He duly became a member of Moray Archery, and under the guidance of head coach Andrew Kelly his talents have really developed.
His first competition was a club ‘Frostbite’ event held outdoors against all the elements at the club’s base in Birnie, a location often exposed to the wind and chillier weather.
“It was quite difficult because near the end I had to put gloves on,” Daniel recalled.
Archery has different forms, including recurve and compound bows which have sights attached. But Daniel took up the hardest version of barebow, which as its name suggests does now have any guidance aids.
“You don’t have sights, and they're usually more difficult to hold and control. I've got to use my dominant eye with barebow.
“It's always been barebow for me but at one point in the summer I tried compound but I didn't really like that. I’m going to stay with it now.”
Last year he made his debut at the Northern Area Championships in Banff and won. This year he retained his crown, and moved on to the Scottish indoor championships where he won the under-14 barebow gold medal.
“I was happy and excited,” said Daniel, reacting to his big win.
The second year pupil may be a relative newcomer to the sport and admits he feels the butterflies in his stomach before big competitions, but refuses to let it distract him.
“I do feel nerves quite a lot, especially when there's a lot of people there,” he said.
He repeated his coach’s advice on how to combat his nerves. “Focus, and cancel out the silence,” is his approach.
Daniel has been given good guidance by Andrew Kelly at Moray Archers, and his coach is impressed by the progress made by one of his star pupils.
“When I first started at the club, he sounded really helpful,” Daniel said regarding the head coach’s support.
“Whenever I've made a mistake, he's been watching me doing it and correcting me on how I've shot.
“When I first joined, we started off doing some fun shoots at different targets like zombie heads, or playing tic-tac-toe or darts.
“I was taught how to set up a bow properly and then Andrew got me working up to shooting longer distances.”
Andrew spoke about the youngsters ability in archery, less than two years after taking up the sport.
“He has come on a good bit since he started with us,” he said. “There are a few different bow styles that are recognised for competitive archery and Daniel has decided to chose barebow.
“To hit the target you have to rely on your skills as no additional equipment like sights are there to aid you.
“It’s a great achievement for Daniel to become the area champion and then to go on the weekend after to become the Scottish indoor champion.
“Daniel will now have the opportunity to try shooting at longer distances outside and we look forward to seeing how he will do with the skills he has learned throughout the indoor season, and with training with us and the northern area squad.”
The schoolboy takes part in six development days throughout the year at locations spread across the north.
In the winter season he trains up to twice a week but after Easter time he will step up his efforts for the outdoor campaign with at least three weekly sessions to hone his talents.
Daniel is also a member of Elgin’s 423 Squadron air cadets, and is adding another string to his bow by agreeing to help his squadron set up an archery division, where he will offer his expertise and skills as a Scottish champ.
He has also persuaded some of his school friends to give archery a shot.
“A lot of them started the sport through me, because I told them about it.
“I just really enjoy it, and I will enjoy doing it at the cadets as well.”
Moray Archery has members aged from 10 years old up to their mid-80s.
“Archery is a good inclusive sport that the whole family can take part in,” Andrew added.
“For us the indoor season has now ended and we will be shooting out at our outdoor range two miles south of Elgin.”