The NASP® started when Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Commissioner, Tom Bennett wanted archery to become a high school sport choice. The KDFWR hosted a Step Outside event to introduce the Kentucky Department of Education to the sport of archery. It was suggested that archery would be a popular sport with students. The Department of Education agreed to help if the program was started as a PE class in middle school.

Prior to the start of the NASP®, most schools didnt offer archery for a few main reasons:

-Questions regarding safety 
-Lack of Equipment 
-No place to practice or compete 
-Teachers lacked the appropriate archery training.

Over 7.1 million youth have participated in Archery via the NASP® program
Over 7,361 schools have joined.