*This article appeared in Oct/Nov ’17 issue of Owensboro Living.
Daviess County High School sophomore Kynsley Redmon and her mom, Lori Ann, a teacher at Owensboro Catholic High School, have experienced a bit of a role reversal for a typical mom and daughter. When Kynsley wished to continue archery after being introduced in elementary school, Lori Ann stepped up to learn the sport – mom became student and daughter became coach.
“I started shooting so she would have some company,” Lori Ann said. “And if I shot well, then she had some competition! That doesn’t happen very often because she smokes me every time.”
And Kynsley loves the quality time with her mom, but she is quick to point out that she was the coach. “You think teenagers are stubborn!” Kynsley jokes.
Lori Ann became hooked, began competing in tournaments with her daughter, and eventually began coaching once Kynsley moved on to join the DCHS archery team.
Kynsley felt a connection with archery from a very early age, starting the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) at East View Elementary School.
“I had tried other sports, but running, and sports in general, were not my thing,” Kynsley said. “But when I picked up my bow, I found that I really had a talent for it, and it quickly became my thing!”
In just the fifth grade, Kynsley remembers the moment she was hooked. She attended a 3-D practice for the first time. In this type of event, archers shoot at 3-D targets with compound hunting bows, instead of shooting round paper circles with Genesis bows. She remembers going home after that practice, setting her bow down, and telling her dad, Kristopher, that she needed a compound hunting bow because she had found what she was going to do.
“The very next day, I had my first brand new Mathews compound camouflage bow, and I was off on this journey,” Kynsley said.
In her first tournament with the compound bow, Kynsley placed third in the state. She has since evolved into competing in three different disciplines in archery: indoor, 3-D outdoor, and outdoor field.
In a recent national competition, Kynsley placed third in the nation for female pins, but most importantly for Kynsley, her score placed third for her team, contributing to her team’s national title.
This year, Kynsley was also the only DCHS team member to shoot in the outdoor field discipline, which has quickly become Kynsley’s favorite, and what she plans to shoot in college. She and Lori Ann trained for the 30-, 40-, and 50-yard shots. It was a proud moment for Kynsley, who won the qualifying round for the tournament, which placed her as the number one seed. She ended that tournament with a second place finish in the nation, which, combined with her other national scores, secured her the title as High School Female Pins National All-Around Shooter of the Year.
“This was the proudest moment of my archery career,” Kynsley said. “I did this as a freshman, and the smile and the excitement on my mom/coach’s face when I received that belt buckle was amazing.”
Kynsley is one of 40 members on the DCHS archery team, but with six boys for every one girl, Kynsley is definitely in the minority.
“Considering there are so many males in archery, sometimes it can be very intimidating,” Kynsley said. “But we are one big family. Even though we compete as a team, we also compete as individuals, but you wouldn’t know it. We support and encourage each other through every practice and tournament.”
Lori Ann can’t help but be proud of the young lady and champion that Kynsley has become. “All the plaques, ribbons, and belt buckles and $88,000 in scholarship offers are impressive, but the young lady and role model that she has become makes me the proudest mom/coach in the world.”
