Author:
Cassie Gasaway
The Archery Industry Masterclass, a full day of educational courses at the 2023 ATA Trade Show, features presentations on business, coaching, marketing and archery tech from industry experts. The course started in 2021 and returns for its third year at the ATA Trade Show. This year’s Show is in Indianapolis, Jan. 11-13, and all Masterclass sessions are held on Jan. 10, the day before the Show opens.
ATA staff hand-pick the presenters and work with them to ensure the information is easy to understand and integrate into most businesses. The course content goes beyond the introductory-level curriculum covered in morning seminars and Coffee Talks. The Masterclass also focuses on actionable steps to help businesses succeed.
As a sneak peek to this year’s Masterclass lineup, we had three presenters share a few details about their presentation and why ATA members should attend. The full Masterclass schedule will be posted on the ATA’s Masterclass webpage in the coming weeks.
Wise, longtime archer and author of several books on the subject, will present two sessions. Photo Credit: Outdoor Life
Larry Wise, Coaching
Wise has a USA Archery Level 4 certification, coaches privately, and conducts shooting workshops at clubs and archery shops nationwide. He has written many books and has shot archery since 1955.
He’s doing two presentations, including “Building an Effective Mental Game for Hunting” and “Structuring Effective Practice Sessions.” For the mental game topic, he’ll discuss a six-step thought sequence that’s reliable, effective and easy for when bowhunters reach that “high-value moment” and don’t want to mess up. The six skills are establishing the proper shot objective, practicing the proper posture and process needed to release an arrow, executing good practice techniques, designing your focus map and using on-target gaze, using breathing and visualization, and writing and using positive self-talk.
“I’ll do my best to answer your questions and help you learn teaching skills in the second half of this seminar,” he said. “My newest book, Planning to Peak in Archery, can be used as a reference to reinforce your knowledge.”
Similarly, in his second presentation, Wise will demonstrate seven elements that everyone should incorporate into their practice sessions to prepare for bowhunting scenarios and recreational or target archeryThe seven concepts are bow fit and balance, blank-bale form practice, field point and broadhead tuning, paper plant and effective distance shooting, distance shooting and pin selection, mental focus map practice, and single-arrow broadhead practice.
“You can have the greatest plan in the world for both your physical and mental games, but only through effective practice will they help you perform when it counts the most,” Wise said.
Scheuermann is a returning Masterclass presenter and will focus on marketing. Photo Credit: ATA
Michelle Scheuermann, Marketing
Scheuermann is the Archery Wire editor and principal of BulletProof Communications LLC. She manages multiple business social media accounts and is familiar with marketing best practices.
She said influencer marketing is a hot trend. In her presentation, “Aligning Influencers with Your Brand or Business,” Scheuermann will discuss how to engage with influencers, where to find them, troubleshooting issues, defining deal details and contracts, and requesting and using content. She also plans to touch on platform algorithms and how to measure the success of influencer campaigns to discover what is and isn’t working.
“Sometimes working with content creators, or influencers, is like a toss of the dice — you don’t know where you’ll land,” she said. “There are certain ‘red flags’ to look for and questions to ask. Working with content creators in 2023 is going to be more and more popular. (After the presentation, you’ll) walk away feeling confident in connecting with influencers at the ATA Show and beyond.”
Paul Black, Networking
Black is an entrepreneur and has owned four businesses. He sold two of them successfully and still operates the other two, including Odin’s Innovations. He knows the importance of networking and will share his knowledge in the presentation, “How to Use Networking to Grow Your Business.”
“I have made special efforts to network for many years (and) wish I had started earlier,” he said. “I can draw direct lines to many great relationships in business that came as a result of networking. You never know what benefit could come as a result of the effort. It probably won’t come for years in the future, (so you must) make a commitment and be engaged.”
Register for the Masterclass sessions now to secure your seat! Photo Credit: ATA
Register for the 2023 Archery Industry Masterclass
The Masterclass registration fee is $100 for members and $500 for nonmembers. Participants will gain access to all course content, including prerecorded sessions, available before the Show. In-person sessions will take place on Jan. 10.
ATA members can log in to their MyATA member dashboard and click “Register and Book Hotels.” After registering for a Trade Show badge, you will have the option to register for the Masterclass and an archery certification course. Then, you’ll be instructed to book your room. If you registered for the Masterclass, you’ll receive a confirmation email in the weeks ahead with all the Masterclass details.
Nonmembers and members who are unable to attend the Show can register for the Masterclass by contacting Kurt Smith, ATA’s director of industry relations, at (507) 233-8138 or kurtsmith@archerytrade.org. The Masterclass session titles and focus are subject to change.
