From Dunwoody to Mongolia, Atlanta Archery Club members take aim at new challenges

Georgia's archery deer season is underway, but there's a group of people who practice their archery skills year-round thanks to the Atlanta Archery Club.

Yale Nogin, the club's founder, says much of archery comes down to mindset and feeling aligned in your body.

"First, we're going to begin with grounding ourselves. There's so much happening in our upper body through archery," Nogin said as he stretched and meditated. "This is a very ancient warrior practice of connecting ourselves to the earth."

He has loved archery since he was 9, idolizing Errol Flynn in "Robin Hood." 

Nogin has spent 15 years teaching the sport and started the Atlanta Archery Club six years ago as people sought ways to connect during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Georgia is actually a very famous place for hunting, because there are still areas that you can hunt in residential areas," Nogin said.

He said the sport has grown in popularity over the past decade and attracts all kinds of people, especially those who love adventure.

"Shout out to Katniss Everdeen, right?" Nogin said.

He credits the "Hunger Games" series with introducing more people, particularly women, to archery.

Members have gone on to compete locally and nationally. In August, 10 members traveled to Mongolia to train in horseback archery.

Anjali Rallabhandy said she appreciates the coaching and structure the club provides.

"It's really helpful to be able to go to open range and have coaches give you corrections as you're shooting. And also the community. Like, everybody's so nice to each other," she said.

Michael Matthews said he enjoys practicing archery at the club with his son.

"I race here in traffic from work," Matthews said. "So this is the first time in the day where I have to just force myself to calm down. So it's like a forcing function to just stop everything else and just shoot."

Nogin said he wants more people to experience the sense of empowerment archery can provide.

"Hopefully, more people will know that we're here and can discover this amazing sport that offers so much, you know, for the mind, for the body and for the soul," he said.

The club meets at its Dunwoody campus on Tilly Mill Road. Anyone interested can visit the club's website for more information.