Share a part of the life of our consultants by discovering their hobbies! This month, let's talk about Thierry De Chalain (d²X Paris) and his passion for archery.

What is your double life?

I practice archery, competing (well, when we' re not in lockdown...) and as a trainer.

When and how did you start?

I discovered archery thanks to my in-laws, in the country house, a dozen years ago. I liked it a lot, so I found a club in Chaville which, thanks to an integrated archery school supervised by qualified trainers, and supervised training sessions, allows a progression in the practice of this complex and very technical sport.

As a beginner archer during the 2009-2010 season, the archery club took me to my first competitions. Since then, I continue to progress thanks to the trainers of the club, and to the other archers with whom the exchanges and the mutual assistance allow to improve oneself.

What do you like about this passion?

Archery is an individual sport, and your main opponent is yourself. This means that you must always push yourself in order to progress. But that doesn't prevent conviviality on the shooting range, as well as kindness and courtesy! Some competitions provide a real rivalry between archers, such as dueling or team competitions.

What I also like about this sport is its complexity. You don't realize it when you try archery in a vacation club or during an open house day, but success on the shooting range rewards a long work on the archer's shooting technique. Golfers feel the same way, it's very similar. That's why one year of archery training for beginners is not too much. But what a satisfaction to see your efforts pay off!

It is a sport that also requires a lot of rigor on the shooting range. Basically, the bow is a weapon, so safety rules are essential. The concentration on the shooting range is therefore constant, for the safety of all and the quality of the shot. This level of concentration allows, on the shooting range, to clear one's mind for the duration of the session. A good breath of fresh air in the middle of the hassle of work or daily life, especially in these times of pandemic.

And in your daily life, how does your passion fit in?

The thing about archery is that it can be practiced outdoors, and it is one of the sports that has resumed very quickly in spite of the pandemic. Although in winter, the climatic conditions are not ideal (cold, rain), I have been able to keep on practicing since the end of the first lockdown in France, even though it is still far from the usual rhythm of practice. What I miss the most at the moment are the competitions.

The archery club has never been closed since the first lockdown. I therefore could continue to ensure the training of my students, while adapting the courses to the sanitary instructions. I have a group of 9 students, whom I train every week with a student trainer currently in training himself.

Have you acquired skills that you use in your professional life?

This sport has taught me several skills that I use in my everyday life, both personally and professionally:

• First of all, in archery, you fix the archer before you fix the equipment. On a daily basis, this pushes you to question yourself before blaming others or the means at your disposal to accomplish the tasks you have to do, when something goes wrong.
• Then, even though you may set a global objective over a season, progress in archery is only possible if you focus on a few points at each training session. Wanting to correct/improve everything at the same time is the best way to spread yourself too thin and not progress at all. It is exactly the same approach in my job, in the management of IT services: we improve the quality of service step by step to achieve a global result.
• I have always liked to pass on my skills in the areas I love, whether they are professional or personal. The coaching program taught me to structure the training over the year around the federal program, while integrating my own experience, and to measure the progress of my students as I teach.

(photo: Thierry De Chalain)

Thank you Thierry for answering our questions!