Lancaster Archery Podcast

Ep. 170 Mike Schloesser by Competition Archery Media

Chloe Nelsen, at 16 years old, became the first female to win the Championship Compound Young Adult division at the Vegas Shoot in 2026, just two months after winning Youth Female Open at the Lancaster Archery Classic. Despite her young age, she has an incredible resume of wins and of top-tier scores. We talked to her about the Vegas Shoot, where she was initially declared the third-place finisher, about juggling high school and top-level, competitive archery and about how she approaches the sport at her age.

Ryan Jeffries is a professional archer who competes in the Senior Pro division on the ASA circuit. He won his first ASA pro class title at the Shibuya Pro/Am in March 2026. We talked to Ryan about that win, about competing as a pro and working full time as a civil engineer and about traveling to tournaments with his family.

Gracen Fletcher is a 19-year-old archer from Indiana who competes in women's pro compound events. After winning The Vegas Shoot in 2025, with the only 900 shot in the division, she won her first ASA in the Women's Known Pro division at the 2026 Shibuya Pro/Am in Russell County, Ala., in March. We talked to Gracen about that win, about her Vegas win, about the struggles she said she's having this year with her shot, and, of course, about training Arabian horses.

Senior Known Pro Michael Braden talks about winning the 2026 Hoyt/Easton Pro/Am in Foley, Ala., which was his first win in that division since his "retirement" in 2023. Michael talks about how hard he's worked at being a pro archer since he began in 1996, and how he lost the desire to do that work by the end of 2022, which led to his one-year hiatus. With the advent of the Senior Known Pro class in 2023, Michael felt the fire to come back to the game. He also talks about coaching, his signature index-finger release and how much he loves aiming drills!

Legendary archery coach Kim Hyung Tak visited the CAM podcast studio to talk about his lifetime in archery. He offers insight into what makes the Koreans such a dominant force in archery, and how the country has a system that's designed to produce top-tier competitors.

Coming into 2026, Kyle Douglas had won most tournaments in archery as an Open Pro, including NFAA Indoor Nationals and The Vegas Shoot. But he'd never won the Lancaster Archery Classic, despite several runs in the finals. At the 2026 Classic, Douglas finally got his first win there. We talked to him about how the finals went down, what it meant to him to get that win and what's left for him to fill his plate of accomplishments. He also talked about how the special $20,000 prize for a perfect 660 at the Classic affected his qualification round.

We sat down with Jeff Poole, President and CEO of the Archery Trade Association, to talk about the upcoming, 2026 ATA Trade Show, Archery & Bowhunting Supershow and the Rushmore Rumble, all coming to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis Jan. 6-11, 2026. This will be the first ATA show that's open to consumers - something the general public has been asking for for years. They will have the opportunity to see all the latest and greatest archery gear, and attend the Rushmore Rumble archery tournament, where they can watch some of the best target archers in the world compete. They can even enter the competition if they want. If the ATA Show has ever interested you, listen to our discussion with Jeff Poole.

We got the chance to sit down with new World No. 1 ranked men's compound archer Mathias Fullerton of Denmark right after he took the top spot from the legendary Mike Schloesser, who held the crown for over four years. Fullerton talks about the work he put in to get to the top, what it means to him to be there, and what's next for him in his archery career.

The podcast we've all wanted to listen to! Longtime pro archer Darrin Christenberry, who is the pro staff coordinator for The Outdoor Group - think Elite, Scott, CBE, Altra - talks in depth about the changing landscape of professional archery. What does it take to be a pro? Can you make a lot of money as a pro? How to get to be a sponsored archer? Darrin dives into all these subjects as he works on contracts for the 2026 season.

Elite pro Stephen Altizer won ASA Shooter of the Year this year in his first season as a Senior Pro. Altizer talks about what it was like getting that crown after competing for over 20 years in the ASA. He also talks about the changing face of professional archery and how Elite is navigating those changes, and covers several other intriguing topics.

We sat down with ASA and IBO Women's Pro Emily McCarthy after she won two IBO tournaments and an ASA all in a row during the summer of 2025. Emily talks about her hot streak, and offers insight into her mental game on the range and in the shootoff; her preparation for 3D tournaments; and why the "worst" arrow in her quiver is named after her cat. Listen in as we talk with one of the most popular pros on the 3D circuit.

Elite pro Curtis Broadnax won his second-ever national ASA in the Known Pro class at the Mathews Pro/Am in Metropolis, Ill., last month. That win followed a gold medal in the Mixed Team final with Alexis Ruiz earlier in June at the World Cup in Antalya, Turkey. We talked with "Big Time" about those events, about social media in archery, about how to make the sport more exciting and many other topics in this podcast.

Brady Hempen from Kentucky won his first national ASA tournament in the Known Pro division at the Easton/Hoyt Pro/Am in Minden, La., in April. We sat down with him to talk about that big win, what it took for him to get there, what it's like to compete in the ultra-competitive Known Pro class and what he hopes to achieve in competitive archery going forward, among other topics.

ASA President Josh Grine runs through the aftermath of the deadly tornado that struck Laurel County, Ky., and surrounding areas May 16, forcing the cancellation of the annual TRU Ball Pro/Am in London. Josh discusses what happened; why the shoot was cancelled; how that impacts the 2025 season, including Shooter of the Year races; and how people can help those affected in Laurel County.

Mike Schloesser, winner of 2025 World Cup Stage 2 in Shanghai, China, tied the 72-arrow, 50-meter world record of 718 for the third time last month at Gator Cup. We sat down with Mr. Perfect after that achievement to talk about what it takes to shoot a 718; what it will take to shoot a perfect 720; how he got started in archery in the Netherlands; and what life is like as a professional archer who has been ranked No. 1 in the world for nearly five years now.

Stephan Hansen sits down to talk about his 2025 win in the Championship Men's division at the Western Classic Trail Shoot in Redding, Calif. It was a monumental win for Hansen, who came close several times before, but was never able to pull off the win until 2025. He also talks about his start in archery in Denmark, his plans for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and about the present and future of life as a pro archer.

Joel Turner's Shot IQ training system has taken the archery world by storm. In this podcast, he spills the secret to becoming a successful, high-level archer. And what's the most accurate shooting style today? Sorry hinge shooters. Joel says you gotta have a trigger!

Elite pro Lauren Carver is in her rookie season shooting Women's Pro at the ASA. At her second tournament - the Shibuya Pro/Am in Russell County, Ala. - she qualified for her first Pro Pressure Point Shootdown and finished on the podium. We talked with Lauren about her breakout tournament as a pro, and about what it took to get there. Turns out, that was all part of her own master plan.

Hoyt and GAS Bowstrings pro Tanja Gellenthien has come out of the gate HOT in the 2025 season, winning the first two ASA's in Women's Known Pro and the Indoor World Series Final in Vegas. We talked with her about her great start to the year and about many other things, such as - how close she came to almost NOT becoming a professional archer; how she got started in archery in Denmark; how she transitioned from target archery to being a successful ASA 3D archer; and about being a mom, wife, pro archer and GAS employee.