Archery wasn’t originally Corporal Sean Barry’s planned road to rehabilitation.
Looking for a sport that was easier on the body after being plagued with a back injury from serving 17 years and counting in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves, the Wagga Wagga-based corporal joined a local archery club last year.
Fast forward 12 months, and Corporal Barry is putting his skills to the test at the Warrior Games in Florida, an annual adaptive sports competition hosted by the US Department of Defense.
The games bring together hundreds of wounded, injured and ill serving and former-serving service members from the US military, along with a team of 30 Australian competitors.
“I had done a fair bit of shooting as a sport previously and found some of the competitions I enjoyed were a bit too physical to continue doing; lots of getting up and down from the ground,” Corporal Barry said.
“My son was interested in archery. We saw there was a come-and-try day at Wagga Field Archers and went and had a go and both loved it.”
After embarking on his archery journey, the drive for improvement led to goal setting that overlapped with rehabilitation. It has provided the perfect bonding opportunity for Corporal Barry and his 12-year-old son, Jack.
The local archery club has been a golden find for the pair, who can be found trekking through creeks and scrub during local shoots with Wagga Wagga Field Archers every second weekend, while once a month they take part in branch shoots from Lithgow, Sydney, Adaminaby and everywhere in between.
Corporal Barry’s archery foray is now continuing overseas at the Warrior Games, where he is competing in precision shooting and wheelchair rugby. The thought of competing against the best of the best is just one of the highlights.
“America is like the home of archery,” Corporal Barry said.
“They produce the majority of the high-end bows.
“They have massive competitions and hunting with archery over there, so it will be great to experience that.”
Joining Corporal Barry on the trip is wife De, son Jack and 10-year-old daughter, Abby – with local club members keeping an eye on his progress at the games from back home.
“They’re excited to be heading over to the US,” Corporal Barry said.
“A couple of weeks out of school and going to America, who wouldn’t want to go?”
The Warrior Games is underway at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida until June 30.
