LYNDEN -- For a fledging archery team, the Ebenezer Christian School Eagles are already soaring high.

Less than a year old, the 13- student squad of sixth, seventh and eighth graders from the private Lynden area school successfully competed in the National Archery in the Schools Program State Championship April 12 in Wenatchee.

In taking the state tournament by storm, the first-time team posted a new NASP state record for middle schools of 2,836 total points, placed two individual archers, John Van Dalen IV and Brooke Van Dalen, at the tops of their respective divisions, had four others finish in runner-up positions and qualified as a team to compete in the NASP national championships this weekend in Louisville, Ky.

The team is set to shoot Saturday as one of 197 school squads with more than 3,000 individual student archers.

It’s a quite an achievement for a team of young bow and arrow sharpshooters who came together in November 2007 under the tutelage of independent archery coach and Ferndale area resident Bill Stinson.

An enthusiastic target archery practitioner since childhood and veteran archery instructor, Stinson brought the idea of incorporating the unique NASP program into Ebenezer Christian’s physical education training to school leaders several years ago.

Principal Jim Buss said the unusual nature of the sport, the course’s emphasis on safety first and its ability to provide a nearly universal physical activity for his students made it an excellent fit for the small school.

Buss said that as a scholastic and recreational activity, target archery has one of the lowest injury rates nationally. The only competitive sporting endeavor with fewer injuries annually is table tennis.

“We have kids that can’t play basketball, but who can develop the upper body strength to shoot a bow, so everybody competes, ” Buss said.

Ebenezer Christian adopted the program in January 2007, teaching archery as part of regular PE classes. So far, 80 of the school’s 99 enrolled students have taken the class training, Stinson said.

The course quickly demonstrated its suitability, so, with Buss’s whole-hearted approval, Stinson organized the school’s competitive team, which drew

from the best shooters representing the sixth through eighth grades.

At its indoor practices, while there is the usual chatter and noise, the team of young shooters moves in unisons, with the discipline their safety training has intuitively engrained in them.

To the firing line, they await the order to shoot, then as each finishes their flight of five arrows, they hang up their bows on a rack.

No one moves forward of the firing line until another order is given and they advance in pairs and trios to score their arrows that have pierced the pillowy, bullseye targets lined up against an arrow-proof fabric curtain under a gymnasium basket.

Besides curriculum materials, safety protocols and teacher training, NASP packages archery equipment tailored for young shooters. Stinson said the compound bows, carrying cases, target arrows, finger tabs, arm guards, competition targets and backstop curtain cost about $4,000 but are made available to schools at a substantially discounted price of $2,700.

To further expansion of the program, grants are available to institutions such as Ebenezer Christian, so there is no direct cost to the school.

In order to teach archery in the classroom setting, NASP requires instructors such as Stinson to be certified through an eight-hour, education- based training seminar. Stinson, himself just completed advanced training to teach these instructor courses.

As he sees it, the reason for the course’s success is that target archery shooting is an every-students’ athletic endeavor, a way to perfect complex physical skills and excel in interscholastic team competition.

“Not everyone can throw a football, hit a baseball or run fast, but virtually everybody can learn to shoot a bow for target competition,” said Stinson. “Archery requires development of every bit as much athletic skill as other sports.”

The program’s ability to build individual self-esteem and team pride are tangible and shouldn’t be under-estimated either, said Stinson.

In several inner city school settings where NASP has been introduced, at-risk students on the verge of dropping out, who undertook the course and launched into team competitive shooting brought up their grades and stayed in school, said Stinson.

Under NASP standards, Ebenezer Eagle archery team members must maintain at least a C+ grade average to be on the team.

From a personal standpoint, Stinson is ecstatic to see something he loves so much being taken up with such enthusiasm and enjoyment as his students show.

He’s also extremely proud of his young archer protégées and the rapid development of their skills and success. That’s apparent to his wife, Pam, who helps shepherd the team.

“She says she can tell when I’m coming home from practice, I’m floating a foot off the ground,” said Stinson.

For Buss who has been at Ebenezer 17 years, 10 as principal, NASP and competitive archery shooting has strengthened the pride of purpose at the small Christian school and is demonstrating its capabilities.

“It’s giving us lots of exposure,” said Buss. “People are asking how such a small school in the county is doing such a thing.”

“We are sending 13 of our student archers to the national championships,” Buss said. “This is what good Christian kids can do.”