So I'm from the same area as Bobby and we had met before when I was a kid, and before I was into hunting. Bobby and I are also related although it is distant. I wanted to get his most recent book so I emailed him. We decided to meet Friday in Sparta, TN and I would pick it up. I called him and he was doing a class but they were on their lunch break so I met him at KFC. I walked in, introduced myself, and he introduced me to the people he was with, one of which was Joella Bates, the only woman to ever take the Big 5 in Africa with a bow. So we talked for a while he asked how long I had been hunting, asked how I had my trail cams were set up, and started giving me advice. We talk for a little while and Bobby says, hey we are about to go to the range and shoot a little. We are in the process of completing an instructors course, do you want to come hang out with us? I said yes of course and Bobby rode with me to the range, continuing to give me advice about hunting funnels and how to feed deer through the summer, etc... We get to the range and for approximately 4 hours I get to hear them discuss how to teach archery and why. About an hour in they realize I have zero experience in traditional archery. And when I say zero I mean that I have never shot one arrow from a traditional bow. So the time in the instructor class where they coach each other comes, this is pretty standard in instructor training courses. One person does something, then one instructor corrects them, then they all discuss how they did it and it's the next persons turn. Well they have me start shooting and take turns correcting me. They go on to take turns shooting and correct themselves too. But I basically got a 4 hour private lesson from a couple multiple time world and national champion archers. I can't thank Bobby Worthington and Joella Bates enough for their hospitality. Bobby is going to start teaching more soon, if you ever have a chance to attend one of his classes or workshops, I would highly recommend it, he is an encyclopedia of Archery and Whitetail Hunting!
