Photo by Ava Persaud/The Choate News
Life can lead us into beautiful experiences if we give something new a shot — for Choate Archery team’s head coach, Mr. Sergio López, that shot came out of a bow and arrow. Although Mr. López, who has taught Spanish at Choate for three years, was always interested in trying out archery, he never got the chance before coming to Choate, as the sport requires expensive equipment and a large open space.
Choate provides students the opportunity to participate in this sport that “teaches you about concentration and how to deal with your anxieties, how to focus on the target and not let one bad shot affect your next few,” elaborated Mr. López.
“As soon as I began working here, I contacted the head coach at the time, Mr. Marq Tisdale, and began working with him as assistant coach for the program,” Mr. López recalled. After improving his skills with the bow under Coach Tisdale for a short while, Mr. López stepped in as head coach during the 2020-2021 academic year. This year, Choate’s archery team returned to playing against other clubs; however, due to the surge of Omicron cases this winter, the archery team was unable to compete until Wednesday, January 26, 2022 — its first meet in two years. With preparation and renewed energy, Mr. López was able to lead the Boars to a victory.
Although Mr. López and the archery team are expected to have only one other meet this year due to Covid-19, he is still overjoyed to be coaching this diverse group of students. “The athletes, the students we have on our team — they are the best part about the coaching experience. They are a very fun group of kids to work with,” Mr. López said. Drawing on the variation in experience and skill level within the co-ed team, the athletes “are all fun, and so we have a really good time together.” Unfortunately, the team has had to make numerous cuts due to limitations influenced by the size of the Maguire Gym, where the archery team practices. “When you are practicing, you are using 80 percent of the space to actually shoot, and so it is unfortunate that we can’t physically have a bigger team due to the size.”
Mr. López has left a positive impression on the team. Archery Co-captain Elton Zheng ’22 noted, “[Mr. López] is always supportive and encouraging, especially with the less experienced players.” Zheng, who takes Spanish at Choate, noted that he also sometimes practices his Spanish speaking skills with Mr. López during practice. “A few of [us] are really looking forward to [Mr. López] taking us to nationals soon.”
Mr. López’s interest in coaching archery may not have been rooted in childhood or previous experiences of playing the sport, but it has been a positive experience for him “Three years ago, when I first came to Choate was the first time I actually shot an arrow,” he said. Mr. López has come a long way in his own improvement of the sport and recommends that students take advantage of this unique opportunity because that is what Choate is all about: fostering old passions and discovering new ones along the way.
