Youth Archery for North Port, Florida Athletes — One of Florida’s Fastest-Growing Cities Deserves a Serious Program

North Port is the largest city in Sarasota County by land area — covering more than 100 square miles of southern Sarasota County between Venice and Port Charlotte. It is growing at a rate that makes most Florida cities look slow: the 2025 projected population is approximately 96,000 residents, up from roughly 77,000 just three years prior. Families are choosing North Port in large numbers, drawn by relatively affordable housing compared to coastal Sarasota and Venice, Sarasota County Schools access, and a community in the middle of building its own identity as a serious place to raise children.

The school infrastructure is part of that identity. North Port is served by Sarasota County Public Schools — one of Florida’s top-ranked districts — and has five elementary schools, two middle schools, and North Port High School, along with Imagine School at North Port as a public charter option. The families arriving in North Port are not settling. They are choosing a community they believe in, and they expect the youth programs to reflect that choice.

What North Port doesn’t yet have is a competitive archery program. The city’s rapid growth means youth sports infrastructure is still catching up to the population. Recreational leagues exist; serious competitive programs in specialized disciplines like archery do not. Sarasota Archery Academy fills that gap for the entire south Sarasota County corridor — and North Port athletes are a significant part of that service area.

The median household income in North Port is $81,940 — a community of working families investing in their children. The drive to our Sarasota training facility is 25 to 40 minutes depending on your location in North Port — a city so large geographically that western North Port near Venice is much closer than eastern North Port near the Charlotte County line. Either way, for families who’ve already chosen to invest in a growing community, the commute to a high-quality program is a familiar kind of trade.

Sarasota Archery Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit competitive archery team based in Sarasota, Florida. We field athletes in two circuits: the X-Ring Program for USA Archery indoor and outdoor target competition, and the Upper 12’s Program for ASA 3D field archery. Both programs compete at the Florida state level. Our head coach, Rob Gilbert, holds a USA Archery Level 3 NTS certification — the highest coaching credential in the sport — and three assistant coaches hold Level 2 certifications. All four coaches are volunteers.

For North Port families specifically, there is no comparable program between home and SAA. Nothing in North Port. Nothing in Englewood. Nothing between south Sarasota County and our facility. When a North Port family with a serious competitive athlete finds us, they have found the only option in the region worth calling a competitive archery program. That’s not a boast — it’s simply the state of the sport in southwest Florida. We are it, and we take that responsibility seriously.

Practice runs Mondays and Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. Western North Port athletes near US-41 are typically on-site within 25–30 minutes. Eastern North Port athletes are 35–40 minutes out. We have athletes driving that distance and further from other parts of our service area — because the program is worth the drive.