Ryan Tyack did not seem to be the sporting type. His mother Lynette persisted - football, soccer but nothing seemed to interest her son.
“He did have a fascination with a computer game called Age of Empires,” said Lynette. It was a game about medieval sports and that was my clue. We decided to have a go at Archery. I found a club and called them.
Ryan took to it. Within 6 months he had not only learnt a skill, practiced it regularly and made new friends, he had even won his first event.
Now, at the age of 15 Ryan has just won the FITA 2006 Archery - Recurve Cadet Men’s World Cup.
“It is a real mind sport,” said Ryan. “There are also a lot of variables and you never know what will happen on the day. Heat, wind - it is all in the moment. It is a very disciplined, almost meditative sport. You must focus, and your mind must also be clear.”
Lynette was originally Ryan's coach and mentor before he joined the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, age 13.
“The institute is pretty tough. We train 5 days a week, before school and after. They also expect you to train on weekends. But my success in Archery has changed my life. I have traveled the world and I am now focused on preparing for the world series. It is my ambition to compete at the Olympics but there is a lot of work to do just to get Australia to qualify as one of the competing teams. Only 32 countries get to compete in an Olympic event.
Then I will have to compete on a national level again to be chosen as one of the team to represent our country, and that will be in adult competitions - but I am ready to try.
“Archery is a fantastic sport and I would recommend it to anyone. You can purchase the basic equipment for around $250 - $300 and the Caloundra City Archers meet on Saturday mornings at 9.30am at the sports facility behind the Ettamogah Pub (ph 5445 7436).
“More importantly though is to find a sport that you really like.
If you don’t like it - don’t do it. There is a sport for everyone - you just need to go and find it.”