MOST ATHLETES look for the blood-pumping adrenaline that allows them to set off the momentum they need to keep themselves in their game. For archers Joseph Alvarado and Dranz Barbin, however, it’s all about level-headedness and composure. Their knack for precision allows them to excel in the field of archery, where they are currently fighting for the position of two of the best in the country.
Alvarado, a management economics sophomore, has been practicing the sport for almost three years. He first gained interest in the sport during his freshman year in high school after seeing a genuine archery bow that got him curious about the game. He watched archery videos to gain more knowledge on the sport, and after a while, tried his hand at it. He found archery enjoyable and has not stopped ever since.
Sophomore psychology major Barbin, on the other hand, first practiced rifle shooting but was forced to put it on hold after an electoral gun ban was implemented. He needed to find a sport related to target shooting and subsequently tried his hand at archery. Like Alvarado, he proceeded to train formally and went on to join both local and nationwide archery competitions.
National Outdoor Archery Championships
Both of the archers’ background and skill in the sport qualified them to participate in the National Outdoor Archery Championships, one of the most prestigious nationwide tournaments in archery. The Philippine Archers’ National Network and Alliance (Panna) invited 34 participants around the country to compete in Siliman University, Dumaguete last October 25 to 27.
An initial screening was first held to determine the starting ranks of the 34 competitors. A series of 72 arrows were shot, each one with a perfect score of 10 and an overall perfect mark of 720. Alvarado garnered the 20th spot with a tally of 513, while Barbin ranked eighth after tallying 569 markers. Only the top 16 contestants were then allowed to proceed to the head to head playoffs.
Barbin started off strong in the top 16 as he breezed his way through his first matchup against Elmar Rigor, finishing the game at a clean 6-0. For these matchups, contestants raced to six and were given two points for each shot garnering a higher tally than the opponent.
Heated competition
Barbin’s performance bought him a ticket to the top eight and earned him the right to face the nation’s best.
He kicked off the last stretch of the tournament against Gaby Moreno, a gold medalist in the recent Youth Olympics. Both contestants scored five points by the end of three shots, care of a draw in the last shot that gave them one point each. This led to them undergoing a one-arrow shoot-off to break the tie. Barbin escaped by a slim margin after garnering a tally of eight versus Moreno’s seven, giving him a spot in the top four. [blockquote author=”Joseph Alvarado, Ateneo Archer” pull=”pullright”]It’s important to try to block all other distractions. The only person we’re playing against is ourselves. Getting a higher score than the others is more of a subgoal compared to trying to get the best score you can get.[/blockquote]
Barbin was then matched up against his coach, Syd Fraginal, who was a Southeast Asian Games (SEA) record holder in the past. Despite his status as an underdog, Barbin remained unfazed and was able to outshoot Fraginal, 6-4, by the end of the game. This allowed him to qualify for the final head-to-head game of the tournament—the gold medal match.
In this round, he faced his toughest opponent—two-time Olympian Mark Javier. While Barbin gave off two impressive shots that brought him close to the gold, Javier outshot him in the last arrow, finishing the game at 4-6 and giving Barbin a second place finish at the end of the tournament.
A composed mindset
Although short of the top spot, Barbin admits that he never expected to end up with a podium finish. Barbin shares, “I just said to myself, ‘Look, you trained hard and you have absolutely nothing to lose. You don’t need to be scared anymore. Just shoot.’ And so, I didn’t feel scared anymore. I just shot my shots and ended up in the gold medal match.”
Alvarado states that he uses the same mindset in every archery competition. He stresses the importance of composure and level-headedness during the game, as focusing on the pressure runs counterproductive to achieving the best possible mark. He shares, “It’s important to try to block all other distractions. The only person we’re playing against is ourselves. Getting a higher score than the others is more of a subgoal compared to trying to get the best score you can get.”
This mentality is what pushes both athletes to develop further in the sport and be better than their best. While they were not able to clinch the top spot in the recently concluded competition, both of them know that, with the kind of mental prowess they display game after game, it will not be long before they climb up the ranks and emerge on top in the competitions to come.
