Shooting a major match

[thebigdogg316]

I shot a major match last weekend. Finished 7th out 9 in the l-10 division. I know that I am a better shooter than that but my question is how come I can practice well and shoot my monthly match well and tank in a major match.

[KPIC24]

Read the Inner game of tennis by Timothy Gallwey it explanes self 1 and self 2 I will always be working on self 2. I think this is where B.E. started. BTW Thanks Brian for the suggested read

[XRe]

First - "7th out of 9" doesn't say anything at all about your performance. You need to get away from using match placement as a barometer of the quality of your performance - you can't help anything that the other competitors do in the match (good or bad), and using a comparison between them and you to gauge how well you shot is a sure fire recipe for failure.

The short answer is that you need to work on your mental game. Gallwey's book is a good read. A lot of folks here like Lanny Bassham's stuff. I highly recommend a book by Tom Kubistant called "Performing Your Best" - it's out of print, but you can usually find used copies on Amazon for < $10. In essence, you're treating your performance in a big match differently than you are treating your local match performances - and there's probably a lot of different moving pieces to it (self image stuff, self talk, self imposed - and misplaced - pressure to perform, fear of failure, fear of success, etc). Getting a handle on a solid mental program will help you understand those things and how they're acting on your performance, and how you can overcome them.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I shot a major match last weekend. Finished 7th out 9 in the l-10 division. I know that I am a better shooter than that but my question is how come I can practice well and shoot my monthly match well and tank in a major match.

Did you shoot as well as you normally do? or worse? If worse, what mistakes did you make?

Is this your first major match? How did you do at any other major matches you've shot?

What is your classification A? B? C? How many of the six people who beat you are rated

higher than you are?

What gun/pf are you using?

Break down the problem into smaller components and it will be apparent what the

problem is...

Good luck.

Jack

[Lewiston]

Don't overlook Brian's book. One of the best addressing mental preparedness.

[Corey]

Look at your personal shooting. How many misses did you have? Any penalties? How do those number stack up to normal monthly matches? More/less/same?

[blaster113]

performance in local matches can be misleading. perfomance in the bigger matches is a more accurate gauge of your ability. As others mentioned, how did you do compared to any others in your class? Dont fret if for example you're a C class shooter and B and A class shooters placed ahead of you. The mental game is huge in these big matches. Break down any mistakes; misses, no shoots, procedurals, blown reloads, etc and work on those areas. Also consider that usually more serious shooters shoot the big matches so you are going up against an individual who put in some preparation time with dryfire and livefire practice. With any match just focus on shooting the best match you can and not worry about your placement; it will all fall into place.

my first big match was at a Nationals and I was nervous as shit; lots of nerves related mental errors. it gets alot easier after the first one.