Juniors news
29 October 2025
A former Yorkshire junior, now at university, has written a very nice testimonial to Helen and Bryan Woodcock's coaching:
I have attended the Yorkshire Junior sessions hosted by Pennine Archers for the past seven years, and have experienced first-hand the impact that their tuition and guidance can have on a young archer's skill and confidence.
Helen and Bryan's expertise allows for a focus on both the physical and mental side of archery in ways that combine naturally to help archers progress, whilst also being centred on activities that are fun and engaging. By recognising the mental and physical development that juniors are naturally going through at this time, they use games to ensure that archers' attention can consistently remain on what they are trying to do, and by changing activities multiple times throughout the 3-hour sessions, young archers are better shown a fun side of the sport that typically puts little pressure what score it is that they are getting. In fact, many of the games created for these sessions rely on archers hitting different areas of a target, emphasising an archer's need for consistency instead of constantly pushing them to only hit the gold. Over the years this has been incredibly helpful for me as I have experienced fluctuations within my archery and the scores I'm shooting, and so being in such a lower pressure environment without shooting for a full score and instead simply focusing on the individual aspects has helped me greatly in improving my mental space for the sport.
The sessions also help to create a sense of community for young archers, which can be particularly helpful later on in a competition environment should they choose to compete. My first experience at a competition was not hugely enjoyable; I was thirteen and didn't know anyone else there and had very little knowledge of how it would work or what I needed to do, and while I am glad for the experience now, it felt very daunting at the time to be stood in a room full of more experienced archers with very few other young people. As part of the Junior sessions Pennine hosts an annual Portsmouth competition that uses the same timings and rotations used in more formal competitions, complete with professional judges. The experience of taking part in these low stakes competitions while being surrounded by familiar faces has greatly improved my confidence in being able to attend more competitions. By gaining the experience of what it is like to be in a competition environment and also getting to know other people who are in a similar situation, competitions are now a much less stressful affair, and I'm sure that many others feel the same way.
I have truly loved attending the junior sessions hosted by Pennine Archers and I cannot thank Helen and Bryan enough for all of their help and support through the years as I have developed myself an archer. The care and attention that they give to each of their archers demonstrates their personal love for the sport, and is passed on to everyone that they coach.
Abi
Former YAA junior
Helen Woodcock - 20 October 2025
The YAA will be running the Yorkshire Junior Archers Postal League over the winter of 2025 to 2026.
You need to shoot a Portsmouth round in each month from November 2025 to March 2026, inclusive, and mail the results to the YAA Juniors Officer at:
yaajuniors@yahoo.com
The best three scores from five will be used to determine final placings.
Scores are to be sent no later than the 9th of the following month.
The age groups, taken from the 1st of November 2025, are Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 15, Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21.
Here is the score submission form and more details:
YAA Junior Indoor Postal League 2025-26 score submission form (DOC)
This form can be used to submit scores for multiple juniors in a club.
Helen Woodcock
YAA Junior Organiser
Honorary Secretary, Pennine Archers
Pennine Archers
@PennineArchers
Pennine Archers
13th December 2025
Arrowhawks indoor dates 2025-26 (PDF)
01226 218518
