Shot Of The Day
Archery was always something I did. I enjoyed it, but it was mostly for hunting. Then a friend I met through work wanted to compete in the World Police & Fire Games in Winnipeg. I figured archery would be something I could try and maybe I would also get better as a hunter while doing it. So, I signed up for the Games and registered for lessons at Heights Archery.
I remember my first coach, Dave, telling me: “If you shoot every day, you’ll be able to put up a 300 score”.
I don’t think he realized how literal I am.
This is how Shot of the Day started.
After the Games, I was hooked. I decided I was going to shoot every day until the next Games and see how good I could get. On March 31, 2026, I reached 700 days of consecutive shooting. It is a huge accomplishment and a testament to my dedication to the sport. Throughout the Shot of the Day journey, things have looked great on the outside. But underneath all that, I was struggling.
I was having trouble sleeping, struggling with day-to-day things, work felt overwhelming, and I couldn’t find something to focus on. When I started Shot of the Day, about three months before the 2023 Games, I was just shooting alone, going through the motions. What I didn’t realize at the time was how important the shot process was- not just for accuracy, but for my mental well-being. Focusing on the shot… being present… that mindfulness… it started calming my nervous system. PTSD has a way of keeping you in a constant state of alert and feeling unsafe even when you’re not. My nervous system was definitely out of whack. But slowly, archery started teaching me something: if I slowed things down, my body would follow.
When I would have a tough day, and I would start shooting, my groupings would be all over the place, sometimes spread out as wide as an ice cream pail, 12 inches apart or more. But by the end of the session, I’d be grouping my arrows tight, within a two inch group. It became hard to ignore what was happening.
For work, I travel all over Manitoba with some great people, but hotels can be lonely places, especially when you’re by yourself. With nightmares and PTSD, I found myself dreading travel. Before one trip to The Pas, MB, I wanted to keep my training up, so I stopped at a gravel pit about an hour outside town and recorded my first shot. I recorded it to keep myself accountable, and to track my progress as well as finer details such as how I would shoot with certain wind speeds. I posted it online because it is an easy way to store a lot of data. The post had no music and no editing. Just the bow and the target. That was Day 1. By Day 4, I started adding music to my posts- music had always been part of my shooting process anyway. I stuck to a minimum of 30 arrows, but sometimes I’d shoot for hours.
It stopped being about getting better at archery…
and started being about getting better mentally. My shot process became my meditation. And the more I did it, the more the nightmares faded.
I never intended for anyone to follow along. I didn’t think it would go anywhere! But Jeff and Jason from Heights Archery started sharing it and reposting it. Eventually, it grew. When I realized other people were connecting with it, I just leaned in and kept going. Now here I am, coming up on two years. What these posts really show is the mindfulness, the focus, and the reflection that comes with archery. The ability to block out distractions. To be present. To make one good shot and move on. There were other benefits of course- shooting every day means shooting when you’re sick, sore, frustrated, or even on your best days. That carries over into competition. No matter the weather, the noise, or who’s around, you just lock in, make your shot, and move on. That’s all it is. Shot of the Day was a blessing in disguise that I never saw coming. There is a way out of darkness, and it starts with showing up for yourself.
Follow my Shot of the Day on Instagram here.
