Whether it be in the grassroots level or at the very top, it would be unusual to not sense the companionship archery brings.
Even during competitions, you will sometimes see archers chatting, helping their competitors whether it be giving advice or mending equipment, as did para pioneer Matt Stutzman for compound women open world record holder and fellow armless archer Sheetal Devi.
Therefore, trying to find the ‘nicest person’ in archery would be riddled with arguments for a variety of people but if it were, hypothetically speaking, a competition of some sort, Adam Kenyon would certainly give anyone a run for their money.
Whilst Great Britain’s New Year’s honours list stole the spotlight over the holiday season – which saw Paris gold medallists Jodie Grinham and Nathan MacQueen awarded for their services to archery – the BBC’s unsung heroes awards were also given out, the country’s state broadcasting cooperation rewarding those in sport for helping others away from the public eye in smaller communities.
Sittingbourne Community College archers head coach and founder Kenyon was the southeast region’s unsung hero of 2024, nominated by colleagues and students not for his contributions in the year alone but 15 years of work to coach and help aspiring archers.
“I think it ended up where it got to because I was enjoying it,” said Kenyon, formerly a science technician, now caretaker at the school in Kent. “Once my daughters got involved and my son got involved, the emphasis shifted from what I was doing more towards how they were doing and how they were progressing.”
“It’s the adage that you do what you can as an archer and then become a coach because once you become a coach, you never get that free time again to truly concentrate on yourself and you’re always listening to what’s going on in the shooting line.”
The idea behind Kenyon’s conception of the club was part of his original mandate as a staff member to give Sittingbourne something to “polish the badge” with in a low income, single parent demographic area and a rising transient population.
The former prison service officer currently coaches 45 junior archers that include three visually impaired and one para.
Kenyon’s finest example of making a difference though is not through aiding a school student but a parent.
Hayley Hudson’s daughter and husband were first taught by Kenyon at Maidstone Crown Archers, his first club, before eventually following him to Sittingbourne Community College where the children’s parents are just as welcome.
