10-year-old aims big at Oasis Archery, with sights on the Olympics

Elena Taifane is only 10, but she keeps her eye on the target.

Two targets, actually. One is a bullseye in a grassy field; the other is a dream.

The first is at the Oasis Archery Science Institute of Stockton, where she spends hours several times a week perfecting her aim.

And the dream? That’s to land a spot on the U.S. Olympic archery team.

While other kids are spending a carefree summer at playgrounds, swimming pools or in their own backyards, Elena is shooting arrows. She is honing every aspect of her form, style and execution. It’s a lot of work, but she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I love it,” said Elena, who just completed fourth grade. “I really like how everything is super technical.”

Oasis Archery offers indoor and outdoor ranges as well as different levels of classes on its 5-acre site. It’s all under the watchful eye of founder Matthias “Wayne” Macasaet, a USA Archery-certified coach. He said he has tutored more than 200 elite-level archers over the years. He continues to compete himself, and is currently training for his own run at the 2028 Olympic team.

Macasaet, 33, was a taekwondo enthusiast as a teen, but said “I never felt good beating up on people.” Instead, he took up archery at age 20. He loved the world of bows and arrows from the start. The problem was the inconvenience of having to travel 90 miles from his home in Stockton to Pacifica, near San Francisco, to find the level of training he demanded.

That led him to create a range closer to home. Oasis draws competitors from across Northern California, but the center does more than host tournaments. It is open for birthday parties, weddings and other special events — all while exposing people to archery in order to build an interest in the sport.

Macasaet said Oasis archers have ranged from age 6 to those in their 90s.

Even at her young age, Elena has already had brushes with success. She placed third in a Pacific Coast contest last year. She competes in national championships, including one in Albuquerque where she was the youngest female archer.

Her father, Eric Taifane, who works in logistics, said Elena is putting in the work she needs to become a champion.

Her journey began in 2022 when COVID-19 fears were still restricting social activity. Taifane said he had driven past Oasis and was curious about the Baldwin Lane facility. Elena, age 6 at the time, was “itching to get out and do something,” so he took her there.

From her first efforts, Elena adored archery. And as time went on, she became increasingly serious about the sport. When she expressed interest in becoming an Olympian, Taifane gave her a reality check.

“I told her, ‘You are going to miss birthday parties, weekends with your friends. You are not going to have the same life.’ “

She was willing to accept the challenge. Through intense practice, “every year, she’s done better,” Taifane said.

He found he enjoyed archery just as much as his daughter did — so much so that he has become a coach at Oasis.

The Taifanes, who live just outside Stockton, aren’t the only ones who discovered Oasis during the pandemic. Alexis Garcia Cardenas gave it a try as well.

“I had just watched ‘The Hunger Games,’ ” Garcia said, referring to the movie based on a book series in which the heroine is an archer. Even with the hype, she admitted, “It took me awhile to really fall in love with it.”

But archery grew on her. The 18-year-old Stockton resident found she had a natural talent for it. In fact, Macasaet said she is now the most accomplished female archer he has ever trained and has placed in several competitions.

“I’m very proud of her,” Macasaet said of Garcia, adding that she has a “very distinct personality.”

That personality really shows in her equipment. Garcia, who is about to start her freshman year at the University of the Pacific as a political science major, has a unique bow with a color that stands out: hot pink. And she carries not only arrows but “a million stuffed animals” in her quiver.

Garcia is one of about 10 archers whom Macasaet considers competitive-level among the 200 who regularly use his facility. But he wants anyone who is interested to join in, no matter what their skill set.

“I hope people can see that if you want to chase your dream for archery, this is the place to do it,” he said.