Sophomore Hanz Baek takes a deep breath, digging his fingers into the string of his bow. The timer ticks down from 30 seconds. He stretches the string until his pointer finger nudges his chin. Five seconds left. After waiting for his nerves to steady, he straightens and exhales his final breath of air. These are the final moments: he relaxes and releases the taut string, the arrow making a clean path into the yellow center. 10.
Hanz was introduced to the world of archery through Harker Summer’s lower school program in fifth grade. After participating in introductory private lessons in archery beginning that summer, he joined more rigorous group training specialized for competitions two years ago.
Hanz’s coach Hye Youn Park noted his innate ability to understand the game, a trait that allows him to adapt and learn quickly. As the Head Coach of HYP Archery, Park considers Hanz a role model for younger athletes, respecting his attitude and drive.
“Archery is a mental sport,” Park said. “During a competition when you miss, most guys feel very depressed, but Hanz is an action guy. Even though archery is an individual sport, he includes other members, in-state and outside-state. In tenth grade and eleventh grade, most people get stressed, but I don’t think he’s become stressed — he just enjoys.”
It was not until the 2022 Las Vegas International competition that Hanz truly felt content in pursuing archery for the rest of high school. Despite the competitive aspect of archery with individual victory, he found a tight-knit community of archers who all collectively aim for success in archery and learn from each other in the process.
At the tournament, Hanz found encouragement to keep sharpening his archery skills through meeting professional archers like 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Ku Bonchan.
“One of the big factors that made me say, ‘Oh, I want to do this,’ is meeting people from other parts of the U.S. and seeing them again at the next competition,” Hanz said. “That’s really exciting, and it makes you not dread a coming competition but look forward to it.”
Currently, Hanz stands at fourth place in the California state Junior Men’s category from a collection of competitions. He placed fifth in the U21 (Under 21) 2024 California state outdoor round and seventh in the 2024 Pacific Coast championship.
Unlike other sports, one match or tournament does not determine an archer’s state ranking; rather, the results of three games add up to finalize an archer’s standing. Hanz emphasizes how the cumulative nature of state rankings impacts his mindset during games.
“I learned not to focus on individual competition, but focus on a more general approach and keeping the mindset,” Hanz said. “Even if I do badly on the first competition, I can do better on the second and third.”
Other than immense physical strength and technical training, archery also requires a sturdy mindset that remains unwavering despite unexpected obstacles during matches. Hanz highlights the mental discipline the sport demands as a skill he has come to understand over years of practice.
“If you’re shooting, you shoot three arrows in around 120 seconds,” Hanz said. “If you miss one arrow, your mental state is really down. You have to get back up and immediately get into a good mindset to shoot your last two arrows.”
When standing on the line with a group of competitors who have already taken their shots during matches, Hanz’s breathing technique helps him find the right moment to release his arrow after his nervous anticipation transforms into confidence.
Reinforcing these types of habits during practice allows Hanz to continuously remind himself of his overarching motto: practice like you perform and perform like you practice.
“Practice speaks for itself,” Hanz said. “When I practice shooting, I’m more free. When I actually shoot, that means actually taking my three deep breaths and doing that exact procedure — that’s going to help calm myself down. Don’t think of it as a big stage with everybody watching, it’s more like what you did at home or competing with your brother.”
Over the years, Hanz transformed archery into a source of calm and personal satisfaction.
“I see it more as a way to relax. It acts as a physical therapy for me to feel better,” Hanz said. “If I have a good shooting day, that really helps me with my mental state. Archery changed from something really simplistic to a place where I can relax and look forward to a new day.”