Josh Binger has led an interesting life since graduating from Monroe in 2002. The former Cheesemaker has become a world-class archer while shooting for Texas A&M in college.
"I started shooting archery with my dad when I was seven," Binger said. "It has been an amazing sport that has taken me all over the world and given me a passion that will always be a part of my life."
His travels have taken him to tournaments in such places as South Korea, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, England and various places around the U.S.
"Tournaments are a lot of fun. After years of shooting on the national level, you develop a lot of friendships with people from around the country and it is always good to see those people at various venues," Binger said.
Binger graduated as an Aggie in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Science, and currently is working in California as a contract administrator for a large construction company.
"(Working) has limited me from traveling east to compete in a few major tournaments, but that's just life. I'm much more willing to accept that now that I've won my first pro tournament," he said.
Binger has just one win under his professional belt. That win came in the 2009 Arizona Cup, which took place in Phoenix in April.
"On my way out to move to California, I stopped to shoot at the first major outdoor event of the year - the Arizona Cup. I had very little expectations for this other than seeing good friends and giving it my best shot," he said. "I had very little practice outside before the tournament because of the weather in Wisconsin and packing everything I owned to move to California."
The Arizona Cup is a World Ranking Tournament for the Federation of International Target Archery, or FITA, and is one of six major national events in the U.S.
Before he could make the event, Binger had the qualification round for the Arizona Cup. A full round consists of 36 arrows at targets 90, 70, 50 and 30 meters, totaling 144 arrows with a top score of 1,440. Each arrow can get a max of 10 points for a bullseye.
After qualifying, Bigger faced the second part of the cup - the elimination round in a bracket style tournament with 64 participants in head-to-head matches. Each shooter gets 12 arrows at 70 meters, with the top score being 120.
As the first day ended, Binger found himself ranked fourth. Ahead of him were Team Hoyt members Braden Gellenthien (currently ranked No. 1 in the world), Dave Cousins, a former world champion who, according to Binger, "is an archery demi-god, like Tiger Woods is to golf," and Logan Wilde, who has long been a perennial member of world teams.
Team Hoyt get's its name form a bow company that sponsors archers, and has a bitter on-range rivalry with Team Matthews, sponsored by another bow company.
"Hoyt and Matthews have a tournament rivalry, so as a Hoyt pro-staff, I really don't want to lose to a Matthews shooter," Binger said.
Binger topped Nathan Cutler of the England National Team 115-111 in the first round, Dugie Denton in the second round (116-113), and Eric Lydeen in the third round (117-107).
Binger won his fourth round quarterfinals match 116-114 over Tim Gillingham, a Matthews shooter.
"Not a great score, but a solid score to get me into the semifinals. It was windy and rainy, so I had to shoot in my rain coat and adjust for the weather. It was a minor annoyance," Binger said.
In the semifinals stood Cousins, who was to face Liam Grimwood, a Matthews shooter from England, and Binger, who was to take on Rodger Willet, another Matthews shooter.
"Rodger is one of the top shooters in the country. It was unfortunate for me that he knocked off Braden (Gellenthien) 118-117. Braden and I have a semi-rivarly in that I give him really tough matches but haven't quite beat him. I'd like to get another opportunity against him." Binger said.
"Our best match was in the Italy World Cup, where Braden beat me 115-115 in a three arrow shootoff. We both shot 10-10-9, and he beat me by a measurement of six millimeters on a target at 70 meters of distance."
Binger knew going into the match against Willet that if he were to make any weak shots, he was going to lose. He opened his match with a perfect 30, and led 60-59 after two rounds, then 90-87 after three rounds.
In the final round against Willet, Binger shot another 10 on his first arrow, and knew that two nines would clinch him a shot at the title
"Someone told me that I had a shot at 120 with six X's (center of the target) which is a world record, but I wasn't really concerned about that," he said.
Binger hit a pair of nines to end the semifinal match, 118-116.
"I was the only archer to defeat (Willet) on the USAT circuit. He went on to win the Texas Shootout and Gold Cup," Binger said.
Grimwood knocked off Cousins in the other semifinals match, pinning Hoyt versus Matthews and the U.S. against England for the title.
"Liam is a good friend of mine. This was just my second gold medal match (Binger lost the Texas Shootout in 2006), I really wanted to win this one," he said.
After the first round, Binger trailed 29-28 and 58-57 after two rounds. He tied the score at 87-87 headed into the final three arrows. His first arrow in the final round, Binger hit a perfect 10, while Grimwood took a bad shot into a slight breeze, scoring an eight.
"It gave me a two-point advantage, and put the pressure on me to finish out the match," Binger said.
Both players shot a nine on the second arrow, and Binger buried a nine to seal the win on his final shot, despite Grimwood's 10. The 115-114 victory gave Binger his first major individual championship.
"I was ecstatic, having shot against three top pros and winning the 2009 Arizona Cup and $4,000 in prize money. Winning the tournament rose my World Ranking to 30th, which was the highest since I was ranked 31st in 2007.
Binger said that his experience shooting in tough tournaments helped him win, not only with his form, but with his mental state of mind.
"This was really a testament to having a strong mental game and executing the shots as I have a million times. Shooting is a lot like wrestling, tennis, golf or any other individual sport. It takes drive to get better everyday and at the end of the day there are no coaches or teammates to blame. There is only one way to point the finger, and every day the challenge gets better," he said.
"There is nothing like the feeling of that pressure in a big tournament and asking yourself, 'Do I have what it takes?,' then making that shot. The feeling of making that shot and hitting that X is euphoric."
Though his new job keeps him out of tournaments, he still is penciling in tournaments for next year, including the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas in February 2010, the Indoor Nationals in March, the Texas Shootout in 2010 and defending his Arizona Cup crown as well as some local events in California.
Though the money isn't there for most archers to consider the niche-sport a full-time career, Binger isn't worried. He said he will keep at the sport and enjoy it like any other hobby.
"I'll still be shooting a few times a week when I'm 80 years old."
"I started shooting archery with my dad when I was seven," Binger said. "It has been an amazing sport that has taken me all over the world and given me a passion that will always be a part of my life."
His travels have taken him to tournaments in such places as South Korea, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, England and various places around the U.S.
"Tournaments are a lot of fun. After years of shooting on the national level, you develop a lot of friendships with people from around the country and it is always good to see those people at various venues," Binger said.
Binger graduated as an Aggie in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Science, and currently is working in California as a contract administrator for a large construction company.
"(Working) has limited me from traveling east to compete in a few major tournaments, but that's just life. I'm much more willing to accept that now that I've won my first pro tournament," he said.
Binger has just one win under his professional belt. That win came in the 2009 Arizona Cup, which took place in Phoenix in April.
"On my way out to move to California, I stopped to shoot at the first major outdoor event of the year - the Arizona Cup. I had very little expectations for this other than seeing good friends and giving it my best shot," he said. "I had very little practice outside before the tournament because of the weather in Wisconsin and packing everything I owned to move to California."
The Arizona Cup is a World Ranking Tournament for the Federation of International Target Archery, or FITA, and is one of six major national events in the U.S.
Before he could make the event, Binger had the qualification round for the Arizona Cup. A full round consists of 36 arrows at targets 90, 70, 50 and 30 meters, totaling 144 arrows with a top score of 1,440. Each arrow can get a max of 10 points for a bullseye.
After qualifying, Bigger faced the second part of the cup - the elimination round in a bracket style tournament with 64 participants in head-to-head matches. Each shooter gets 12 arrows at 70 meters, with the top score being 120.
As the first day ended, Binger found himself ranked fourth. Ahead of him were Team Hoyt members Braden Gellenthien (currently ranked No. 1 in the world), Dave Cousins, a former world champion who, according to Binger, "is an archery demi-god, like Tiger Woods is to golf," and Logan Wilde, who has long been a perennial member of world teams.
Team Hoyt get's its name form a bow company that sponsors archers, and has a bitter on-range rivalry with Team Matthews, sponsored by another bow company.
"Hoyt and Matthews have a tournament rivalry, so as a Hoyt pro-staff, I really don't want to lose to a Matthews shooter," Binger said.
Binger topped Nathan Cutler of the England National Team 115-111 in the first round, Dugie Denton in the second round (116-113), and Eric Lydeen in the third round (117-107).
Binger won his fourth round quarterfinals match 116-114 over Tim Gillingham, a Matthews shooter.
"Not a great score, but a solid score to get me into the semifinals. It was windy and rainy, so I had to shoot in my rain coat and adjust for the weather. It was a minor annoyance," Binger said.
In the semifinals stood Cousins, who was to face Liam Grimwood, a Matthews shooter from England, and Binger, who was to take on Rodger Willet, another Matthews shooter.
"Rodger is one of the top shooters in the country. It was unfortunate for me that he knocked off Braden (Gellenthien) 118-117. Braden and I have a semi-rivarly in that I give him really tough matches but haven't quite beat him. I'd like to get another opportunity against him." Binger said.
"Our best match was in the Italy World Cup, where Braden beat me 115-115 in a three arrow shootoff. We both shot 10-10-9, and he beat me by a measurement of six millimeters on a target at 70 meters of distance."
Binger knew going into the match against Willet that if he were to make any weak shots, he was going to lose. He opened his match with a perfect 30, and led 60-59 after two rounds, then 90-87 after three rounds.
In the final round against Willet, Binger shot another 10 on his first arrow, and knew that two nines would clinch him a shot at the title
"Someone told me that I had a shot at 120 with six X's (center of the target) which is a world record, but I wasn't really concerned about that," he said.
Binger hit a pair of nines to end the semifinal match, 118-116.
"I was the only archer to defeat (Willet) on the USAT circuit. He went on to win the Texas Shootout and Gold Cup," Binger said.
Grimwood knocked off Cousins in the other semifinals match, pinning Hoyt versus Matthews and the U.S. against England for the title.
"Liam is a good friend of mine. This was just my second gold medal match (Binger lost the Texas Shootout in 2006), I really wanted to win this one," he said.
After the first round, Binger trailed 29-28 and 58-57 after two rounds. He tied the score at 87-87 headed into the final three arrows. His first arrow in the final round, Binger hit a perfect 10, while Grimwood took a bad shot into a slight breeze, scoring an eight.
"It gave me a two-point advantage, and put the pressure on me to finish out the match," Binger said.
Both players shot a nine on the second arrow, and Binger buried a nine to seal the win on his final shot, despite Grimwood's 10. The 115-114 victory gave Binger his first major individual championship.
"I was ecstatic, having shot against three top pros and winning the 2009 Arizona Cup and $4,000 in prize money. Winning the tournament rose my World Ranking to 30th, which was the highest since I was ranked 31st in 2007.
Binger said that his experience shooting in tough tournaments helped him win, not only with his form, but with his mental state of mind.
"This was really a testament to having a strong mental game and executing the shots as I have a million times. Shooting is a lot like wrestling, tennis, golf or any other individual sport. It takes drive to get better everyday and at the end of the day there are no coaches or teammates to blame. There is only one way to point the finger, and every day the challenge gets better," he said.
"There is nothing like the feeling of that pressure in a big tournament and asking yourself, 'Do I have what it takes?,' then making that shot. The feeling of making that shot and hitting that X is euphoric."
Though his new job keeps him out of tournaments, he still is penciling in tournaments for next year, including the World Archery Festival in Las Vegas in February 2010, the Indoor Nationals in March, the Texas Shootout in 2010 and defending his Arizona Cup crown as well as some local events in California.
Though the money isn't there for most archers to consider the niche-sport a full-time career, Binger isn't worried. He said he will keep at the sport and enjoy it like any other hobby.
"I'll still be shooting a few times a week when I'm 80 years old."
