Legends tell of a famous thief whose skill with a bow far surpassed that of the realm of Nottingham and beyond. This famous archer went by the name of Robin Hood.
Perhaps you’ve heard of him.
Robin’s archery skills were so sharp that not only was his arrow able to locate the very center of a target’s bullseye, but that his second arrow was able to hit the exact same bullseye of the exact same target, splitting the first arrow in half. The world loved Robin Hood.
Now travel with Robin Hood hundreds of years in the future (via cryosleep or time machine. It really doesn’t matter) to present day America and introduce the famous archer of the late 14th century to today’s archers and study the man’s expression. As Robin spectates the skill of the majority of today’s bow-and-arrow enthusiasts, you might notice his face to be unchanged as nonchalant thoughts of, “Oh. Yes. I’ve seen that done before,” and “I could do that with my eyes closed,” will likely pass through his mind. Not impressed, right? But suddenly his expression changes from sheer boredom to complete shock, surprise, and a touch of fear, for this new archer before him has skills that come close to his own. Maybe even matches. Maybe even surpasses. One would ask, “Who is this young archer who would dare to match her skills with that of the legendary Robin Hood?” to which another would answer, “Oh. That’s Kali Pavlik. She’s in my math class.”
Although the stories of Robin Hood wallow between the waters of fact and fiction, the stories of Kali Pavlik are 100% true. Some years ago, Kali was given a bow from a Scheels store and decided to attend a father-daughter tournament with her father, Tom Pavlik, with no intentions of partaking in the actual event. Once there however, young Kali decided to enter the tournament anyway because, you know, why not?
“I was really nervous at first,” said Kali. “I was really nervous because I had never competed before. I went there to watch.”
The end result? She placed first.
Immediately, a desire sparked inside Kali and her love for the sport of archery became unsurpassable. She started enrolling in archery classes with a variety of coaches and her skill with a bow did nothing but improve more and more at an alarming rate. Archery coach, Eric Tollefson, was among many of the first to train Kali. “He would tell me I had a talent for it,” she said. “I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Now, at the age of 17, Kali practices 5 to 6 days out of the week for two to three hours. Her archery skills surpass most students her age and she has the medals to prove it. Aside from obtaining first place at her first tournament, Kali made the first USA compound Junior Dream Team in 2014. She has also received both gold and silver medals in the National State Games of America in 2015 as well as becoming the 2015 Nebraska Grand Champion for the Young Adult Female Freestyle division (in which she broke the Nebraska state record for NFFA). Her most recent endeavor was a United States tournament. “It was about a 20 hour day,” said Tom Pavlik, Kali’s father. “She arrived at 7:20 in the morning and practiced until about 6. There were some delays. She was worn out and it was all very exhausting. She made 6th place out of 20 places. I was so proud of her.”
“I felt like I tried my hardest,” said Kali. “It was an exhausting tournament.”
Kali says she takes a break or two after partaking in major tournaments which allows her to regroup and refresh herself from all the excitement.
Apart from gaining the satisfaction of winning various competitions, Kali enjoys the opportunity of traveling to various parts of the country to compete. She has competed in several USA team trials in locations including Newberry, FL, Hamilton, OH, Chula Vista, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Decatur, AL, College Station, TX, Albuquerque, NM, and a few NFAA tournaments in Las Vegas, NV and Louisville, KY. Kali has even traveled outside of the country to compete in Rome in 2015 where she was qualified to compete with the Junior Dream Team, representing the USA team, in the European Youth World Cup. “I was there for about eight days,” said Kali. “People from thirty different countries were there. I traveled with a friend from New Mexico and we ended up becoming real close. I didn’t get a chance to tour, but I met a lot of new people.” Kali wishes to someday travel and compete in Venice. “I have always been interested in European culture.”
Although constantly faced with competition, Kali doesn’t allow the stress to play a major role in her life. “You can’t control their arrow,” she said, “What you do affects only you.”
Being talented in such a challenging sport, Kali has developed a variety of relationships with those who have encouraged her throughout her endeavors. Because of this, Kali has obtained a bright outlook on life. “I have had people tell me I can’t do archery,” she said. “This has pushed me to do good. I definitely have someone stronger to lean on and I think it’s great knowing you have fun and friends. You realize how many people have bad attitudes, but archery has helped me keep a good attitude.”
Some of those that have made a positive impact in Kali’s life and talent in archery include a number of archery coaches such as Eric Tollefson, as well as support from her mother and father. Kali has even become a role model for younger, budding archers as well and wishes to use her talent to become an archery coach down the road.
