It's a fun, healthy, team sport that helps its athletes build discipline, confidence, patience, and integrity.

Yes. At ARS, everybody makes the team. No tryouts, no cuts.  

You'll be asked to attend practices, apply your learnings, build some strength, and of course, be a great teammate. You'll need to be passing all of your classes and following the ARS guidelines of appropriate Star behavior. The team participates as completely as possible at most tournaments, and we try very hard to secure enough slots for every willing archer to attend them all, breaking our team into smaller scoring squads as necessary for the 24-archer scoring groups.

We will teach you the safety, the skills, and the techniques to develop all of the abilities required to practice and excel at archery!

Head Coach - Roger Soden

Roger Soden steps in as the new head coach for the Ann Richards School archery team, bringing with him a passion for non-traditional sports and a wealth of coaching and teaching experience. A lifelong enthusiast of archery, he has fond memories of shooting recreationally as a child, an experience that fueled his excitement to join the Starchers.

Coach Soden is a seasoned educator and coach with a history of leading students to success. He has been teaching the Media Technology pathway at the Ann Richards School since the high school's opening in 2009. Under his guidance, students have excelled in the UIL Film Competition, winning the state championship twice and placing in the finals on numerous occasions. In addition to his teaching role, he coached the Ann Richards roller derby team for five years. His own athletic background is just as diverse; he was a competitive fencer for several years, competing in the Junior Olympics and Nationals. This experience taught him the valuable lessons of being a student-athlete—balancing academic excellence with competitive achievement.

Coach Soden's goal is to help every student become the best archer, student, and person they can be. He is looking forward to learning and growing alongside the team this season, supporting the Starchers both on and off the range.

Assistant Coach - Scott Conley 

Coach Scott is in his 4th year as an archery parent/coach. He has picked up a ton of knowledge and experience assisting with multiple Austin-area schools, including a NASP national championship team and two Texas state championship winners. He's coached groups and individuals -- including his own ARS archer -- with technique, focus, and home practice to gain new personal records, working with multiple girls' state champions and several national podium (Top 5) appearances. Scott loves being in the gym with archers and helping them compete and achieve on the range.