I’ve been shooting for around 9 years. I first tried archery at a have a go day run by Whitby Company of Archers whilst on holiday in Yorkshire. Both me and my daughter Molly fell in love with the sport instantly and did our beginners course at Deer Park shortly after we got back home. I knew I wanted to shoot longbow from the very first time I shot and got my first Gary Evans Artisan bow (46lb at 28”) as soon as I’d finished my beginners course. I now have 4 longbows, all Gary Evans bows of different draw weights, far too many arrows, and a compound bow and recurve/barebow set up which I use as training aids for longbow archery.
I’m a level 2 coach and currently working through a UK Coaching performance coaching program with support from Archery GB. Before archery I coached football and have L2 coaching football, L3 FA Youth Award and L2 Goalkeeping Coaching qualifications.
My other hobbies include music, I play bass guitar in a couple of bands, and shooting air rifle and pistol although not competitively. I also enjoy watching football and cricket, and cooking and eating BBQ
My daughter Molly was a very strong recurve archer who shot for England and is hoping to return to shooting soon.
My biggest achievements in archery are winning the 2022 50+ Gents Longbow National Championship and finishing 2nd in Gents Longbow at the 2022 National Indoor Championship – not too shabby for someone who doesn’t like shooting indoors! I now need a bronze medal to complete the set! Other than that, coaching archers and seeing them develop and achieve their goals is amazing.
I’ve had the pleasure and honour of coaching archers to national championship titles and place medals in both longbow and barebow, although the credit is theirs as they put in the work and shot the arrows.
My nickname – depends who you talk to, most people call me Gray, some G, and some use other names that are not so complimentary!
My coach is: myself for the most part.
