Sofia Tapia has her goals set for the remainder of the 2025-26 season
An archery target in Sofia Tapia’s backyard has seen its share of arrows launched by the junior student-athlete at Airline High School in Bossier City.
The target’s face was so riddled by practice sessions as of late November 2025, Tapia said she wouldn’t be surprised if she got a new one for Christmas. Her dedication to the sport encompasses 2- to-3-hour practices at school or at home.
The 17-year-old’s practice sessions have paid off with notable finishes in tournaments, including the 2025 U.S. Western Nationals held in Salt Lake City. Her rankings that day in April 2025, when she shot a personal best 282, were 34th out of 392 high school girls, 11th out of 117 sophomore girls, and 52nd overall in a field of 1,174 female archers.
Going into the spring 2026 high school season, Sofia’s overall objectives are to finish in the top three in state competition and to try to get the same amount of 10s as another girl in her regional section, Zoe Bayne of Haughton.
“She gets out of 30 (highest possible), 26 of them are 10s,” Sofia said.
Friendly rivalries such as that one, as well as among her and her teammates, push the junior every time she’s practicing or on the shooting line. The competitive drive showed in her marked improvement from a 258 at nationals in April 2024, then a year later at nationals when she notched a 282.
Important mentors
Sofia’s start in archery began at Greenacres Middle School in Bossier City, where her family relocated after moving south from Indiana. The 13-year-old seventh-grader liked it and kept practicing and competing under the tutelage of Coach Parrish.
“He was very good at keeping me on track as well as helping me calm my nerves at tournaments,” Sofia said. “Funny thing … he’d always say a tournament is nothing more than a glorified practice. I think about that every time I go.”
When she arrived at Airline High School, which has developed a strong winning tradition in the sport, a new archery coach stepped into her life.
Valerie Kirchoff has coached the archer her first 2 ½ seasons in high school. The Airline High School environmental science teacher has taken the archery team to the highest level in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Archery in Louisiana Schools program.
Sofia credits Kirchoff for any success she experiences.
“I think she’s my biggest role model in archery,” Sofia said. “She definitely pushes me to my limit and definitely encourages me on my off days. She helps me learn how to be a team archer and how to be a better player.”
Kirchofff’s husband, Joe Kirchoff, plays an integral role, the junior said, by monitoring the condition of the team’s bows and other archery equipment, especially before meets.
Setting goals
The daughter of Alex and Velynn Tapia, Sofia is one of eight children. Kyla, the youngest child, tried archery for a little bit, but Sofia is the only one who stuck with it.
The sixth-oldest sibling has three other sisters, Whitney, Analia and Bekah, and three brothers, Alec, Garrett and Donovan.
Before the Winter Warmup tournament scheduled for Dec. 12, 2025, she had competed in 25 high school tournaments. She’s oh-so proud of her new PB.
About that 182. Sofia said her father urges her to envision success whenever she competes. As a result, she kept thinking about that before the U.S. Western Nationals tournament in Utah. She made it her goal to shoot a 285.
“My goal for nationals was 285,” she said. “The whole plane trip there I kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to get a 285.’ At a practice tournament the night before, ‘I’m going to get a 285.’ So I was really able to focus.”
Sofia finished three points short of that mark. However, she said about her new PB, “I’m very proud of 282.”
Going into the second half of the 2025-26 season, she has readjusted her goal and that’s to shoot a personal best 287.
“I think that’s a reasonable goal,” she said.
She thanks her parents, her coaches and ALAS for the opportunities.
