At the urging of his uncle, James Louviere of Dallas, Noah Louviere went deer hunting this past season in Texas. Noah, an accomplished target archer, killed his first doe with a bow and arrow on that January trip.

Every bullseye Noah Louviere hits with an arrow from his compound bow brings him closer to his goal to beat the best in competitive archery in Louisiana and elsewhere across the U.S.

The bullseyes are proof he is doing more than coping with dyslexia, a learning disorder he was diagnosed with as a boy. The 19-year-old outdoorsman is blazing a trail, one traveled before by Nolan Ryan, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Agatha Christie, Steve Jobs and others who demonstrated dyslexia is no obstacle to success.

What obstacle? Dyslexia is one of the reasons he got into the sport at age 16, Noah confided a week ago Saturday. Watch him shoot and it’s clear why he’s been a consistent winner since 2018.

His compound bow, heavier than it looks, appears to be an extension of his body as he nocks the arrow, lifts the compound bow, attaches the metal three-finger release grip in his right hand behind the arrow, draws and aims. For those moments all is serene. He looks calm, at peace and motionless, like a statue.

When Noah releases the drawstring, which was taut, shaped like a large V meeting at the arrow, the arrow speeds to the target. After practicing daily for three years, that arrow’s tip usually pierces the white circle he says looks like “a little dot” more than half-a-football field or more away.

Each arrow he shoots stops near another for an eye-opening grouping. That’s why he has several sponsorships, a college scholarship offer from NAIA archery powerhouse UPIKE (University of Pikeville in Tennessee) and a promising future.

He has excelled in all the alphabet organization competitions he’s entered — 4-H, LFAA (Louisiana Field Archery Association), SYWAB (Shoot Your Way Across the Bayou), FITA (Federation Internationale de Tir a l’Arc, now the World Archery Association) and ASA (Archery Shooters Association).

“It’s just a lot of, lot of hard work. I’ve been shooting arrows every day,” Noah said last week, three years after winning the first district 4-H contest he entered in Iberia Parish.

His rapid rise in competitive archery was made possible by the New Iberia-based Bayou Bowmen Archery Club, Noah and his parents agree. Bayou Bowman members welcomed and treated them like extended family.

The archery club has carved an outdoor archery shooting mecca with 3D and field ranges near the site of Camp Pratt, a Civil War site at Spanish Lake. Noah spends as much time there as possible.

It shows. In 1 ½ years, he’s won six LFAA state championships competing in the adult division. He also holds two state record scores: 295 of a possible 300 with 27 Xs in the LFAA International Round in June 2019 and 1,199 of a possible 1,200 with 96 Xs at the SYWAB state championship of 2019-2020.

With a fourth-place overall individual finish, Noah helped Louisiana claim a 4-H national title in June 2019. It was the state’s first national championship.

“When we got back is when he joined Bayou Bowmen. From the moment he walked in the door, they accepted Noah like their own,” Joe Louviere, his father, said.

Joe, a supervisor at Breaux Brothers Enterprises, where he has worked 36 years, thanks the archery club members, particularly Toni St. Upery and Neeci Falgout.

“We realize that with all the people and without all the hard coaching that none of this would have been possible,” Joe said.

His son said, “They’re so friendly. They’re incredible people to be around.”

Noah saluted one the veteran archers and members who took him under his wing — the late Chad Stansbury.

“He (Stansbury) believed in me,” he said.

On April 10, he paid more tribute by winning the Adult Men’s Open of the inaugural Chad Stansbury Memorial Invitational. He shot 280 to finish ahead of Chad Dyess, 275, and Ronnie Derouen, 273.

Noah, who graduated May 13 from Acadiana Christian School, is at home on the range. He’s also in his element on the water.

With a father who was an avid bass angler and an uncle, his father’s brother, James Louviere, who competes in kayak bass tournaments across the country, the young Louviere leaned to competitive bass fishing. He enjoys wetting a line.

While Noah was thinking about that, his mother, Tracy Louviere, got in touch with Iberia Parish 4-H. He tried it.

“My wife put him into this, got him involved in Iberia Parish 4-H. Both my wife and I felt that God kind of put this all in place, kind of got it started. There were too many things that occurred along the way,” Joe said.

“When he was younger he was diagnosed with dyslexia. It made his schoolwork very difficult for him. He had to work harder than the average kid.

“I think where it (dyslexia) definitely affects his schoolwork, it’s like an asset in archery, actually helps him focus on the target and shoot. Where most people get what’s called ‘target panic,’ it seems to affect Noah a lot less.

“We have so many people to thank who either inspired him or helped him.”

Something about competitive archery, Noah said, told him “this is what I want to do.”

“I like doing it,” he said.

Noah was exposed to world-class completion last year at the Las Vegas Indoor World Championship.

“He shot in the Pro Division alongside the best in the world from every country,” Joe said about the three-day tournament. His son’s best score was 895 out of 900.

“He handled his own. He handled it very well,” he said. “The biggest thing is when he got back from Vegas, he was contacted by Daniel Mathews, a rep from Elite Echelon Archery and The Outdoor Group. He offered Noah what is called a DSA sponsorship.”

And for good reason. At Las Vegas, Louviere also scored a 599 out of a possible 600 with 43 Xs.

Noah’s compound bow, an Elite Echelon 37, weighs 4.6 pounds, plus a 15-inch, 27-ounce back bar stabilizer and a 30-inch front bar stabilizer weighing 10 ounces, as well as a target-style sight. His father makes his arrows at home with components from Gold Tip.

Noah’s other sponsors include Squatch Bowstrings and T.R.U. Ball / Axcel.

Men, women and children with challenges are treated with respect and understanding in archery, Joe said.

“This sport doesn’t discriminate against gender or size” or people both with challenges, he said.

“The people in it are more than willing to help mentor the young people,” he said, encouraging boys and girls to get into archery.

He wishes corporations and companies in the state would support the sport as some do in other states.

What’s ahead for Noah? The Olympics, perhaps, and he’s aiming to go as far as he can as a pro.