New Prague’s Tupy aims to be on target

Dane Tupy knows how to make adjustments when things aren’t quite right. This weekend, he hopes there will be no need for adjustments and he’ll be right on target.

Tupy, a sophomore at New Prague High School and the son of Shannon and David Tupy, is one of the top high school archers in the state. In a sport where 300 represents perfection, a year ago he finished a meet at 297. This year, he’s had to make adjustments more often yet is still the Trojans’ top performer. He’s coming off a tough weekend and hope some adjustments will pay dividends at the state meet this weekend in St. Cloud. He finished last weekend at 283, a performance he deemed “terrible.” Tupy admits he’s his toughest critic.

The archer who started in fourth grade scoring between 200 and 220 has come a long way.

Standing a few meters away from a target Sunday afternoon in the gym at New Prague High School, Tupy fired one arrow after another into the target. He referred to the exercise as playing a game with his head. He wasn’t interested in hitting the bullseye but was instead seeking to replicate the perfect, or near-perfect, process of the shot. From the tight grouping of arrows, Tupy seemed to be making progress.

He walks a fine line between not dwelling on an imperfect shot and learning from it and making the needed adjustment in his process. The bare compound bows archers use is pretty basic, free of fine devices an archer can adjust.

He tries not to display any frustration, but rather maintain his focus.

“He’s got a natural toughness,” said NP coach Scott Mackenthun. “If he’s off, even a little bit, he’ll make an adjustment. Mentally, you have to be in the right place at the right time. Dane does that better than most kids his age.”

There’s a lot of things to concentrate on, Tupy said. From the moment...

To see more on this story pick up the March 27, 2025 print edition of The New Prague Times paper.