A top Louisiana high school archer calls a decorated professional archer and passionate bowhunter the inspiration behind his own success.
To Michael Constance, a junior on the Tioga High School (THS) archery team, John Dudley epitomizes the drive archers need to be successful, particularly when the living legend in his late 40s continued shooting following major shoulder surgery with the aid of a mouthpiece he made to draw and shoot.
Dudley, an Iowa native who grew up in Mississippi, may find an inspirational character of his own when he hears the heartwarming story of 16-year-old Michael Constance, the son of David and Leslie Constance.
The THS athlete, third overall in Louisiana going into 2024-25, underwent open-heart surgery in March 2023. He recovered, rehabbed and re-immersed himself as soon as humanly possible into the sport he loves.
Michael picked up right where he left off and, even, improved. As a sophomore, he shot 292 in the bullseye division and finished fourth among sophomores and 14th among all high school competitors at the National Archery in Schools Program Championship, the NASP’s national tournament held the first week of June this year in Daytona, Florida.
Hayden Constance, his younger brother and THS teammate, recorded a 290 and was 10th among freshmen and 29th among all high school male competitors in Daytona.
“Since the surgery I’ve been able to focus on shooting,” Michael said. “I love the competition between me and Hayden.”
He has learned first-hand that archery really is for everyone.
“Archery is something everybody can do and there’s no limitations,” he said. “If you can practice, you can compete.”
A miracle
Since age 2, Michael has made the trip south to regularly check in at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Eventually, the diagnosis was a hypertrophic aorta.
On March 23, 2023, the visit to Ochsner was for open-heart surgery. Surgeons created a manmade aorta during the long operation, then implanted it.
Hayden, now a sophomore at THS, was supportive and helped his older brother throughout the three-month recovery. Two months later — five months after the operation — Michael was back on the archery line. He made up for lost time, quickly regaining his skills and endurance to log beaucoup hours at practice and at archery contests.
Michael has no limitations in his life post-surgery, he said. His high school archery goals still are within reach, even after he posted that PB of 292 in June.
As his mother said, “… to be where he is now is a miracle.”
Leslie Constance, an eighth grade English teacher at Tioga Junior High School, has watched the budding competition between her two youngest sons for years. (The Constances’ oldest son, Garrett, is 18 and a THS graduate.)
“It’s a constant competition between the two of them. It’s good to see both on top finally,” she said after confiding she’s an archer herself but more of a cheerleader for her sons and the team.
“I make sure they have sandwiches,” she said with a chuckle.
Great coaching
Michael credits his coaches, past and present. Mary Mattox coaches the high school team, while Holley Walton Pace guided him and countless others at Tioga Junior High School. His father also coaches on the school level and at home.
Pace, as his first instructor, influenced him the most in the early stages of shooting competitively, he said.
The biggest key to his success, Michael said, is “the mental part of it, being able to cut everything else out and focus on the targets.”
Dudley, who realizes the values of goal-setting, of rebounding from whatever life throws at you, will be proud of him.
