LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Meade County High School sophomore is drawing attention to archery. The 15-year-old is the No. 1 archer in the state of Kentucky.

What You Need To Know

  • A Meade County High School sophomore is drawing attention to archery
  • The 15-year-old is No. 1 in Kentucky females for archery
  • In Maddison Puckett's last tournament, she scored 298 out of 300
  • In Sept. 2023, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill that protects funding eligibility for hunting, archery education and wilderness programs in schools

Since the third grade, Maddison Puckett has been aiming for the bullseye.

“I think it’s a little crazy because at my first tournament, the bow was bigger than me, and every arrow bounced out of the target. So a lot of progress. But I’m proud that I made it that far,” Puckett said.

Puckett is like any other teenager, but this Meade County sophomore stands out.

“I like the challenge behind it and that it takes a lot of growing and it takes a lot of mental strength to get through it,” Puckett said.

Puckett isn’t just good in her sport, she’s great. In her last tournament, she scored 298 out of 300. 

“This is going to sound weird, but with time management, it helps in a way because I do a lot of different things. I do this and then track in different clubs, but with archery, it helps you again with focus and you’re doing time management with all that,” Puckett said. 

“We are fortunate in Meade County. We have probably the biggest program there is going,” said Greg Shoulders, head archery coach for middle and high school. “We have four elementary teams, one middle school team, and then one high school team.”

Shoulders said their program took off in the 1990s and continues to grow.

“It is a very disciplined sport. You think you’re just getting up here and shooting arrows, but it is very hard. You have concentration, you have a lot of upper muscle body strength you have to hit to acquire because when you’re pulling that low back, the NASP (National Archey In School Program) bows are set from 10 to 20 pounds,” Shoulders said. 

Programs like this one will continue to grow across the state and nation. That’s because last September, President Joe Biden, D,  signed a bipartisan bill that protects funding eligibility for hunting, archery education and wilderness programs in schools. 

While it’s not a well-known sport, Puckett’s hoping more people aim to play.

“I want it to grow as a program and a lot more kids get into it because I think it is very good for development and for being calm and maturity wise. It’s a very good sport for that. But it would be really great to see it go bigger than that,” Puckett said.

That bill also extends protections for public school culinary programs as well.

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