Being consistent throughout a tournament and even throughout
the entire shooting season is a very difficult task even for professionals. It
takes a lot of focus, time, and effort along with the confidence and a
willingness to get back up after falling. Major tournaments that take place in
the shooting world such as regionals, US Open and Nationals are long
tournaments that by the end of each day many shooters are completely exhausted both
mentally and physically. The summer months do not help with this as many events are in southern states with unforgiving heat. With this constant cycle
of shooting long days and ending the day exhausted, your mind begins to lose
focus and wander, causing your shooting style to waver from what it usually is,
whether that is beginning to set up too close to the trap, not going through
your pre-shot routine, or just simply having a hard time fully seeing the
target, these faults work their way into your shooting very slowly. The end result is the shooter not even
realizing these mistakes are happening.
Very often I find myself at the end of
a tournament making movements I have not made in years which results in missing
targets I would normally hit a hundred times in a row. There are two things I
have found to be able to combat this. The first is a direct approach, create a
list of so called “basics” of your shooting style or key phrases that remind
you of your specific shooting style. Throughout the tournament when you don’t
feel like you are shooting like your normal self, go through the list and
reflect on the recent events you’ve shot and see if you’re wavering on your
basics. If you are, the biggest thing is not to get frustrated at yourself
because of it as its in the past. The more you reflect on your basics
throughout the tournament and even the year, the quicker you’ll be able to
recognize these “wavering” moments and eventually be able to make adjustments before
a miss occurs.
The other main part of staying consistent is to not overwork
yourself. Sometimes a good rest from shooting is exactly what people need after
a rough shoot/event. Give your body time to recuperate as well as your mind
time to recover it is focus and to subconsciously reflect on the shoot during
an incubation period. Many times, after I had a rough shoot or rough couple of
events in a row, a nice relaxing break was all I needed before I came back guns
blazing. Trying to push through a hard time in shooting can cause the new faults
to become more dominant just like how scratching a mosquito bite causes it to
itch even more.
With a good mix of both running through the basics and giving your body and mind time to recover, the consistency to your game is sure to follow soon after. By incorporating this strategy, I have been able to raise my
consistency throughout the entire tournament season this year. Do not get discouraged if it doesn’t come
immediately, personally I have struggled at times to stay consistent over the
past couple of years before having a breakthrough this year.
Good Luck
Dalton Kirchhoefer
MEC Outdoors Sponsored Shooter
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