PORTERSVILLE — Archery is going a long way at Portersville Christian School.

In only its third season with the sport, PCS will be hosting the first school-sponsored on-site National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) tournament ever in Pennsylvania on Feb. 20.

Approximately 300 archers from schools in Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and possibly West Virginia will be participating in this event.

“Archery has really taken off here,” PCS assistant coach Ronee Haller said. “The kids absolutely love it.”

There are approximately 250 students at PCS and none are permitted to participate in archery until fourth grade. There are 36 students — elementary, middle and high school combined — on this year's team.

Approximately 20 kids participated in the program's first year.

Archery is taught in gym classes in grades 4-12 at Portersville Christian — in accordance with NASP rules — to introduce kids to the sport. Grants from the Pennsylvania Game Commission aid the program as well.

“The Game Commission supplies us with targets and some bows,” volunteer coach Bob Reott said. “A lot of the kids on the team are hunters and have their own equipment. Others don't.

“We have enough equipment here that a kid can be on the team if he doesn't own any of his own. This is a sport anybody can do. Some kids go for non-contact sports.”

PCS registers its archers for the state tournament, which takes place at Penn State University in March. There will be more than 900 archers competing in that event.

The top 10 from each division qualify for the National Archery Tournament, scheduled for Louisville, Ky. in May. PCS sent three kids to nationals last year: Mark Haller (elementary), Marissa Slupe (middle school) and Seth Van Gent (high school).

“That wasn't bad for just our second season,” head coach Erica Delattre said proudly.

The national tourney features more than 12,000 archers from across the country competing for more than $100,000 in scholarship money.

Delattre and assistant coaches Susan Walker and Haller all have kids on the team. Walker is a bus driver for the school while Haller is a school nurse.

Delattre was involved in an archery Junior Olympic development program in Murrysville as a youth and competed in the sport at Messiah College. She had not been involved in archery for years, however.

“I got back into it because my son (Leks) got involved,” Delattre said. “I joined as an assistant coach when the program started and took over as head coach at the end of last year.”

Mary Lee Green was the PCS archery program's first head coach.

Walker has four kids — Colton, Zachary, Jacob and Taylor — on the team. Haller has two, Cassie and Mark.

Walker runs an art club at the school along with driving a bus.

“You wear a lot of hats here,” she said. “Archery is a great learning tool. Regardless of ability level, it is a sport for everybody. It's great training for focus and mental skills.”

PCS offers basketball, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading along with archery. The archery team practices in the gym Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Feb. 20 tournament will be held in the gym as well.

“We share the gym. We all work around each other,” Delattre said.

Archery is fast becoming one of the most popular activities at the school.

“The program has room to grow. I have no doubt it will,” Haller said.