By: Marc Hardin , prepsports@enquirer.com
November 13 was a difficult day for former Covington Catholic golf coach Robb Schneeman.
With another coaching job and teaching duties at CovCath on his plate and family obligations coming to the fore, he decided to step down as Colonels golf coach to free up more time.
"With my wife and two kids, it's tough missing half a summer and being gone 10 weekends during the season," Schneeman said. "My oldest daughter is 5. My kids want to play sports themselves. But I wanted to continue coaching and archery fills that void."
Schneeman guided the golf team to four regional championships and four runner-up finishes in eight years. He was so effective that CovCath has decided to replace him with two coaches with strong ties to the school: former coach Steve Sorrell and former player Alex Ammerman.
"The golf team won a state championship with Steve in 1986. Alex played for me so I know the program is in good hands," said Schneeman, in his second season as archery coach. He also teaches business at CovCath.
Trading golf clubs for bows and arrows brings new challenges, something that appeals to the coach. But the crucial element of accuracy remains the same.
"What's different is the number of kids," Schneeman said. "We have 27 guys on the archery team, more than golf. We break it down to a top 12. I've been used to 100 kids at a golf tournament. There can be as many as 400 kids for archery and that's at a small tournament. Some of the biggest have 750 kids."
That's more than the CovCath student body of 597, and they're all shooting arrows. But Schneeman hasn't questioned his sanity. "It's exciting and it can be a little nerve wracking," he said. "We're getting so many kids who otherwise would not be playing high school sports. And it's fun molding a new program."
Schneeman said a handful of CovCath students approached him about starting an archery team after the sport was sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. The sport was introduced into CovCath's physical education curriculum this year.
"The seniors came to me as juniors and wanted to start this," he said. "They are invested in the program."
Seniors Noah Davis, Steve Metzger and Josh Schultz jump-started things. They are some of coach Schneeman's top performers. Freshmen marksmen Carson Caudill and Nolan Kramer are among those who represent the future.
An important team milestone is coming up Dec. 28 when the school hosts its first-ever home tournament in the CovCath gym. Nearly 400 archers are signed up to participate in the event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Participants compete as individuals and in three team divisions: elementary, middle, and high school. Spectators are welcome.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Schneeman said. "It's an interesting sport."
A high school archery team consists of 24 members and must contain both male and female participants. CovCath partners with Dixie Highway neighbor Notre Dame Academy to form a coed squad. Team scores are composed of the top 12 individual scores and must contain at least four scores of the opposite sex. Each archer shoot three ends (15 arrows) at 10 meters, and three ends (15 arrows) at 15 meters. Scores are based on number of bullseyes and overall accuracy. Each arrow has a maximum point value of 10 points. A perfect score is 300.
The CovCath/Notre Dame contingent has enjoyed some quality outings, placing fifth at an early-season event at Pendleton County with a score of 3,198. The team finished fourth with 3,216 at Williamstown and second most recently with a score of 3,232 at Twinhofel Middle School.