By virtue of his top-eight finish in last year’s United States Archery Team Qualifier Series, Angus Moss had a chance to compete in the World Cup last weekend in Columbia.
But since many of the nation’s top Compound Men’s shooters did not compete last year because of COVID-19, the 28-year-old Columbus native thought it would be more meaningful to try to focus on this year’s Qualifier Series to try to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
So far, the plan is working. The USAT held its Qualifier Series Opener Sunday in Phoenix, and Moss came away with the Compound men’s championship in the Arizona Cup.
“I was proud to make it, but at the same time, I looked at it objectively,” Moss said. “I still have a lot of work to do because a lot of the guys weren’t there. What I really was focused on was trying to do well against everybody.”
The competition certainly was tougher on Sunday than last season. Moss upset the world’s No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Braden Gellenthien 146-144 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Moss beat Kris Schaff 148-145. Moss then overcame a 7 on his first shot to rally to tie FITA World Champion Steve Anderson 140-140 before winning in a shoot-off.
“(It was) faith,” Moss said. “I just shot the best that I could. I didn’t let myself get into my head. There’s always going to be another tournament, regardless, so I just let God’s will be done.”
Moss’ path to professional archery took a circuitous route.
He started shooting on his parents property in western Bartholomew County at age 7. With his father Roger as his coach, Angus practiced 10-12 hours a day. During that time, he said he finished second in several national tournaments and was runner-up in an indoor world tournament.
“We usually got up really early, and since we were homeschooled, we could get through our schoolwork faster,” Angus said. “It was almost sun-up-to-sun-down shooting, or something that was archery related until it got dark every day. We started going to bigger tournaments like state and regional and then national tournaments.”
Angus gave up archery at age 17. He spent a couple years taking classes at Ivy Tech in Columbus before deciding to join the Navy.
For the past six years, Angus has been in the Navy in San Diego. He recently got out of the Navy, but not before he started shooting again.
“I just felt like I was called to do that,” he said of returning to the sport. “One day I just woke up and was pretty bummed out with how my life was going. God was telling me to do that.”
When Angus returned to archery two years ago, he had been away from the sport for eight years.
“I kind of despised it at the time,” he said of giving it up at age 17. “I was so burned out. I did it seven days a week for 10 years. I didn’t really think I would ever want to do that again, and then I thought I’d really like to do it and to do it for a different reason.
“The first time, it was all about me,” he added. “The second time, I didn’t want it to be all about me. This time, I’ve made sure I’m focused on doing the right things. Shooting and doing well in tournaments is pretty superficial in the long term of doing things.”
Angus spent about a year practicing at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, but that program was scrapped when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. So, he set up a range at his home in El Cajon, California, about 30 minutes east of San Diego.
As he did when he was a kid, Angus is back to practicing 10-12 hours a day — but only six days a week this time instead of seven.
“I’m focused solely on shooting,” he said. “I’m learning. I’m making myself a student of things and taking time to learn a lot of things I didn’t in the past.
“Things change with time, and all of the technology behind archery has evolved. It’s a really similar sport to golf. It’s the same thing for archery. You have to keep up with all that stuff. I had to relearn a lot of things and not just jump and go right back at it.”
While the Olympics are reserved for Recurve shooters, the Compounds have the World Cup. The USAT Qualifier Series consists of five tournaments, and individuals take their best four, with the top eight making the World Club team.
Thanks to his victory on Sunday, Angus sits atop the standings going into the next tournament next month in Florida.
“I have very little financial support right now because I’m so new into the professional circuit,” he said. “This is maybe a door opening for something like that.”
One thing Angus is certain of is that he’s ready to return to Indiana. He and his wife Shella, also a Columbus native, are planning to set up a range to train in their hometown.
“I’m moving back as soon as I possibly can,” Angus said. “I want to get out of this state.”
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For more info and photos of Angus Moss, visit him on Instagram at angusmoss_archery or on Facebook at angusmoss.archery
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