Hana Hang Hits the Mark

At 13 years old, junior Hana Huang discovered a newfound interest in archery when she shot a finger compound bow at a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) summer camp. This bow releases arrows at high speeds and has many intricate cables, wheels and pulleys. Now, Huang spends five hours at the Trident Archery shooting range in Carson every day, training with her coach and teaching other youth archers. She is currently ranked first in California after earning first place at the Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) competition on Oct. 8. Archery has made a positive impact on Huang’s life, as it allows her to decompress while partaking in an activity she is passionate about.  

“The shooting process of taking your arrow, putting it in the bow and shooting it is very therapeutic,” Huang said. “In the beginning, I [thought] of [archery as a way] to relieve stress from school [because] I was taking [a few] honors classes in my freshman and sophomore year. [Archery] is still a stress reliever for me and has become something I look forward to and enjoy doing at the end of the day.”

In 2019, Huang began competing at a national level with the support of her parents and level four certified coach, Byron Burkhart. According to USA Archery, a level four certified coach must demonstrate the steps of an advanced shooting style called the National Training System (NTS). Over three years, Burkhart has seen Huang’s craft grow greatly through her hard work and determination. At the start of Huang’s training, Burkhart introduced her to a shooting style called the Olympic recurve so that she could compete nationally; this style differs from using a barebow or compound bow because the archer utilizes a clicker to draw the bow and stabilizers for balance. As Huang collected victories on her record in highly renowned competitions, she has qualified for the United States Archery Team (USAT) this year. Burkhart fully believes that her dedication will pay off when the USAT considers recruiting her. 

“[Huang] put the time in to improve and get better,” Burkhart said. “She is strong-willed, determined and works very hard to [ensure] she understands it more. Huang puts in 1,000 percent and it [is] shown in her archery scores and in tournaments. I am really proud of her.”

Before the JOAD competition began, Huang engaged in her usual pre-competition ritual where she sits at the shooting range and listens to heavy metal music. She finds that this helps her keep her composure and her nerves from interrupting her focus. During the competition, Huang competed in the Cadet category, which 30 of the top 15-17 year old girls in the state competed in. Huang plans to continue her winning streak in the national ranking tournaments she has this year. While the JOAD competition changes one’s rankings in their state, the national ranking competitions determine an archer’s rank in the U.S.  

Currently, Huang is a level one instructor, however Burkhart refers to Huang as a coach because she has unofficially coached classes and private lessons for almost two years. She enjoys getting to know the archers on a more personal level and gaining a new perspective through coaching. Freshman and archer Alexsander Mytko recognizes the example that Huang sets through her strong, caring and encouraging attitude and from training together and competing against each other during tournaments. 

“Her positivity and motivation [are] contagious, which [has] made every practice more productive,” Mytko said. “Over the years of shooting with Huang, she [has] taught me to shoot with confidence. Her ability to persevere and learn from mistakes [has] helped her find success [in archery].”