Kenny Davis listens during a meditation led by one of the Arch Academy students after fly fishing on the Harpeth River. Photo: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner
The healing power of fly fishing is well documented, and the sport is used as a sort of therapy for veterans, cancer patients and survivors, and other groups in need of spiritual and physical healing. A moving story in The Nashville Banner is one of the rawest, most honest articles about teens who struggle with addiction, and the way that Arch Academy uses fly-fishing to help them (and their instructor) navigate their recovery is inspiring:
Arch’s curriculum is adventure-based, centered around backpacking, high ropes courses, and — once kids reach a certain stage in their recovery — fly fishing. Kenny is the school’s adventure coordinator and a counselor. He pitched the fly fishing program and built it from the ground up two years ago. There are science-backed aspects of fly fishing that lend themselves to recovery. Fly fishing is also profoundly personal to Kenny, a central piece of his own story.
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