From Matter to Mind: Journey to Mental Mastery

February 19th, 2025

The title "From Matter to Mind" captures my shift from chasing archery podiums to diving headfirst into the fascinating world of mindset. It all started at my first national outdoor tournament in 2015. Picture this: torrential rain, gale-force winds, and me - my first time at outdoor nationals - snagging gold against two seasoned archers. It was a thrill, but the real win came from an observation that changed the way I thought, forever.

Amid the chaos, I spotted a well-known Masters barebow archer - poised, calm, and totally unfazed while everyone else chatted and scrolled their phones. She sat alone, watching the range with a peaceful, stoic vibe, fully in tune with her game. She took first, no surprise, against stiff competition. Right then, it clicked, as Lao Tzu said: 

“Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear.”

That calm focus became my first mindset hack - and it changed everything.

That season, I stacked up more wins - state field, indoor/outdoor nationals, you name it - each time leaning on that one gem: a settled mind. It sparked an obsession. I dove into sport psychology, devoured books, and traveled to study Mental Management Systems. At X10 Archery Academy, I started “preaching the mind gospel,” sharing resources with anyone who’d listen. Not everyone bought in, but the seed was planted.

By the end of 2015, I’d crafted X10’d Your Mind, my own class on mental mastery. It drew a crowd and fueled my hunger to keep learning. My path twisted through neuroscience, spirituality, even quantum ideas - what I’m calling “Integrative Mind and Reality Studies.” Then Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. That, and other personal challenges derailed things for a while. But those detours only deepened what I’m bringing back now.

The all-new X10’d Your Mind Workshop will be announced imminently! It’s no-cost for academy members and low-cost for everyone else. 

You may have heard me say that archery is 100% physical and 100% mental. I am convinced that applying this philosophy to everything in life could be beneficial. Years of study, from the range to psychology to metaphysics to the neuroscience studies I’m buried in now, have distilled into this: tools to settle your mind and see clearly, whatever you’re aiming for.

My heart is to tap into everyone’s ability for a focused edge that will cut through the many distractions in life, to find that sweet spot.

Stay tuned for the announcement.

Ten Years of X10: From a Genesis to a Revelation

January 14th, 2025

Many know parts of the story. Most know little. Few know everything that led to where X10 Archery Academy is today. 

The Spark: How a borrowed bow ignited a passion

In 2010, a co-worker at Sagemont Church handed me a Genesis bow and suggested I shoot an arrow across the office into a cardboard box. Neither of us could have imagined that this simple gesture would plant the seed for what would become X10 Archery Academy - the largest archery education academy in Texas.

It quickly became an addiction as I shot the borrowed Genesis bow in the backyard of my then Pearland home. It awakened a passion I didn’t even know I had. True to my nature, I dove in headfirst, keen to learn everything I could and immerse myself in this newfound love for archery. 

I walked into Bass Pro Shop with no idea as to what I needed, and walked out with a pink camouflage compound bow - a Diamond Edge. One of the employees told me about 3D archery, which sounded like a blast, and I quickly got involved in the local shoots, even making it to Dallas a couple of times to shoot the Rinehart 100. 

When a friend told me about a local archery club looking for volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. Before long, I was certified to teach, became the head coach, and founded the Pearland Archery Club.

I attended clout shoots, bowhunted with friends, coached, tried different archery styles and built my arsenal of gear.

Building X10: The journey to finding the perfect location

Having built a decent sized group of private students outside of the JOAD club, my love of coaching spurred me into leaving Sagemont Church for full time coaching. Partnering with a gun and archery range in Alvin, my growing number of students led to a clear need for my own facility. A friend and I scoured the streets looking for suitable buildings, but nothing resonated. 

Then came the call that changed everything: the building where X10 Archery Academy now stands was available, and the landlord was eager to discuss terms. The building had been Viking Archery since the late 60s, and was grim. I really did not want to take on this monster. However, I was convinced to look past the grunge and see the potential. Well... if you shoot at X10 today, you'll see how we made lemonade with what we had.

We started well with many of my students following me to X10. I handed the Pearland JOAD baton on, and that club is still going strong. With a cash injection and lots of TLC, we spruced up the range somewhat.

Building Skills, Knowledge, and Community 

Our JOAD club was steadily building. I continued my archery certifications, and took coaching from Olympian, John Magera, who worked with me to bring further archery education to the Texas archery community with judge seminars, tuning classes, and more. 

I became involved with Buffalo Field Archery Club joining the board of directors as webmaster, back before we had the World Archery field. I created the HOT 'n' Cold outdoor series that was well attended for a handful of years, as well as the indoor JOAD Cup series.

The Archery Trade Association invited me speak at their trade show a couple of times, to promote building an archery academy to other retail outlets, and recorded education material at the X10 range. X10 is a proud service provider for ATA, offering consulting services for archery clubs and pro-shops.

A niche area in archery - mental mastery - was starting to really get my interest. I attended several Lanny Basham mental management courses and devoured all of his materials, searching and absorbing more and more similar materials. I developed a program, X10'd Your Mind, which was well attended and stirred the juices to add on related fields of health and nutrition, which I also started studying.

I spent some time on the Texas State Archery Association (TSAA) board of directors as webmaster, around the same time that I was asked to apply for the head coach position for the south Regional Elite Development (RED) team - a USA Archery program. I accepted the position and felt that I was at the pinnacle of my archery career, bringing education to many, being involved in the bigger world of archery growth, and having shot competitively winning state and national medals.

This is where things took a turn...

Challenges and Triumphs: Overcoming Hurricane Harvey and setbacks

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated my family home. It was the archery community that stepped up, helping us strip out sheetrock, flooring, and all our damaged belongings - a reminder of the strength of the bonds we had built.  The same archery friend, who had helped look for a facility in 2014, opened up their home for my family while we repaired our home and were able to move back into the shell. 

Soon after this, I received a call from the then president of TSAA who told me that concern had been voiced by a couple of TSAA members about the "conflict of interest" of me being on the board, and it was felt that I would "take advantage of the situation to promote myself" while running X10 and being head coach for RED. 

I was devastated. I had been so excited at having the platform to be able to grow archery and grow athletes in such a powerful way, and had not considered how it might ruffle feathers. It was a heartbreaking setback that felt personal, and left me questioning my role in the archery community.

I resigned from RED and the TSAA board, and withdrew from the archery community, not knowing who I could trust or what people really thought of me. This was all exacerbated by some personal challenges. 

I became a different person with my zest for archery gone. There was much to think about as things were rapidly changing. I had installed a new head coach for the X10 JOAD program and became less involved in coaching - which was the very reason that I created X10, as I loved investing in people. I chose to stay more in the background as the Wizard of X10. The X10 shirts weren't as ubiquitous at the competitions, but we ticked along, still creating archers and putting smiles on faces, thanks to our amazing pool of coaches. 

While my light had been dimmed, there was still an ember that I knew was just waiting for the right time to explode back into life. Through and since the pandemic, I continued to build on my personal knowledge base and skills. I had been a long time "prepper", and honed those ideas. I obtained my ham radio license and FFL license. I started gardening and canning. I learned about the power of the mind and visualization, and continue learning on subjects such as neuroscience, the quantum field, and related scientific discoveries. I still had a burning desire to help others grow, and made connections with groups that could help bring relevant skill sets to the table for the X10 community... fishing, self-defense, survival. Clearly, these ideas didn't stick. (We did have a self-defense program for a short time until the teacher had to step down). And while that's frustrating for me, I recognize that it's all part of the process for refining the vision. It always has, and always will be more than just archery.

A New Dominion: The evolution of X10 and its broader mission

As we step into 2025, ten years since X10 Archery Academy's inception, we celebrate this past era as a testament to resilience, growth, and vision. Today, we proudly operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, supported by a dedicated team of coaches and a thriving JOAD program that continues to grow and inspire. Our partnerships with the Archery Trade Association remain strong - I had the honor of serving on the council that developed the ATA bow tech certification program, and I’m now excited to contribute to a similar initiative for recurve tech certification. I also serve on the ATA retail council.

Our collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife has deepened, collaborating on programs in NASP and bowhunting, and we’ve established meaningful connections with Independent School Districts through our PE credit initiatives. These achievements, combined with years of collective effort and personal growth, have solidified our foundation to invest in the lives of others in meaningful ways - with archery at the heart of it all.

Our vision remains: to bring archery to all, no exceptions, and to uncover potential in every individual. But the dream has grown even bigger. We aspire to shape future elite athletes, and help people become the best version of themselves - on and off the range.

It has taken a decade of personal and organizational growth to arrive at this clarity of purpose. In a world where daily life can feel overwhelming, many are searching for something deeper, a sense of awakening to their true potential. Archery, with its unique blend of focus, discipline, and inner stillness, offers the perfect path to finding that elusive sense of peace and fulfillment.

My vision is to bring inner peace, clarity of mind, and purpose to those who are seeking it, with Archery at the foundation. I truly believe that the critical thinking and discipline that makes a great archer will be instrumental in creating cohesive communities and future leaders.

If you're already in the X10 family, thank you!  You are part of something bigger than all of us. If you're thinking about joining the X10 family, come on in! There's room for everyone. A Genesis bow became the genesis of this. That's profound. Who knows, maybe your journey will evolve into something profound, too.

From my heart.