We recently spoke to Jordan White, the youngest U.S. archer to qualify for the Paralympic Games, about the upcoming event. He discussed how his training led him to the Olympic level, how he prioritized finding a coach that believed in him, how a video delay app helps him improve his form, and how he balances preparing mentally and physically. He’s hoping to take home a very important piece of hardware with him from Paris. Check out Part 2 below!
A360: What steps do you think got you to the Olympic level?
JW: I was part of JOAD for a little bit of time, but I transitioned to working with private coaches. The one-on-one coaching style always worked a little bit better for me so that I could have more time with my coaches. I would recommend to anyone else who’s trying to become a high-level archer to make sure that they have one-on-one time with their coaches because that was really what allowed me to advance from an intermediate and beginner archer to more advanced.
A360: How did you find your first coach?
JW: I started archery at a local YMCA and I stayed there for two years shooting barebow. After that, when I really decided to go all in to archery and really try my hardest to become the best that I could, I tried to find coaches that believed in me. That was one of my top criteria when choosing a coach. My second coach told me at my first class that she believed that I could go to the 2028 Olympics. She told everybody there that she believed we could go to the 2028 Olympics and that she would treat us all like we were future Olympians until we proved otherwise and we decided to leave archery. That mindset really stuck with me. I made it a little bit earlier than expected. I made 2024 instead of 2028. I’ve always tried to make sure that my coaches really believed in me and wanted me to succeed.
A360: How do you improve your form?
JW: I used to use a light bow to help me with my form, but I also think recording myself has been very important in developing my form. I have a video delay app so that I can watch my form right after I shoot instead of trying to take a video of myself the entire end and then watch every shot and delete it. The video delay app makes it way easier to analyze my form and really find out what I’m doing wrong and where I can improve and make my shot as consistent as possible.
A360: How are you preparing mentally as well as physically for the games?
JW: Christian at Archery Strong has been giving me workouts with archery-related exercises, which has been very important because there are some muscles in archery that you don’t use that often in everyday life and other workouts. So, having archery-specific workouts has been really important in physically preparing for the Games. Mentally, I’ve been working with Josh at HeadStrong to help increase my performance. With his help and with the mental acuity I’ve developed at HeadStrong, I think that was very essential in my victory in the Paralympic Trials.
A360: What would you say you’re most excited to see in Paris or at the Games themselves?
JW: I am so excited to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris and I plan on bringing home a piece of that in my medal with me.
Watch Jordan and the Rest of Team USA at the Paralympics
We’re excited to see Jordan, and the rest of Team USA, go for gold at the Paralympics starting Aug. 29. Tune in to NBC and their affiliate channels, keep an eye on World Archery and USA Archery’s social media, and sign up for their Archery+ streaming service for access to all the action on the Big Stage this summer.
Missed Part 1? Check it out: here.
