how do you get your head back in the game?

[Paul-the new guy]

I shot a big Idpa sanctioned match this weekend. I have been practicing and working pretty hard so felt pretty good. There were around 130 shooters. The first stage I shot I felt like I rocked it. Looking at the results I did. I am a marksman and I finished like 30 out of 130 second stage even better, like 22 out of the 130. Feeling really good, I.e.cocky, I took a big risk on the next stage. You had to engage a popper that activated a clam shell target but the popper looked so slow that I engaged another target before coming back to the clam shell. I was down 10 ftn on the far target and down 6 on the clam shell which made me like 92nd on that stage. I tanked the next 2 stages because I could not get past my failure on the one stage. How do you get your head back in the game after a stupid move like that?

[Will_M]

I used to have the same problem, and still do to some extent.

If I mess something up, I'll typically walk away and sit by myself for a few minutes after I sign my score sheet. Just long enough to tell myself "It's done. You can't fix that mistake. Just continue shooting to the best of your ability." Don't spend too long getting back in because you still have to help paste and reset steel.

Also. Do NOT try to "make up" for the previous bad run by going harder on the next stage.

I can't recommend Lanny Bassham's "With Winning in Mind" enough. I got it on CD and listen to it in the car and what he says propelled me to the next level nearly overnight.

[bikerburgess]

A couple of things that work for me

1. Laugh, remember this is fun and crashing on a stage is still better than being at work.

2. Short memory, the next stage is the next stage the last stage is over.

[Paul-the new guy]

A couple of things that work for me

1. Laugh, remember this is fun and crashing on a stage is still better than being at work.

2. Short memory, the next stage is the next stage the last stage is over.

My wife said someting like that.... She said "you had fun right?" It does beat workng....however I do play to win! I told her, I could have fun in the garage loading bullets.... If someone is keeping score I am trying to win

[lugnut]

Experience and more hard work are the only things to help with this. Experience helps you learn what mental mistakes can cause and how to react. Good practice is what helps you learn what you can or can not do in a match. It's a constant struggle sometimes for sure. Normal. Get Saul Kirsch's books... Managing the Mental game is great stuff.

[rupture]

2. Short memory, the next stage is the next stage the last stage is over.

This

[pjb45]

I know a lot of guys who cannot forget their last stage, then proceed to beat themselves up over that performance to the extent it carries over to the next stages.

I recently shot a big match. Did well on stage 4, tanked stage 5, and made a come back in stage 6.

For me, I wallow in self-pity for no more than 2 minutes. That is it. After that, I forget worrying. Sure I blew by a target and it could have been two targets, except I recovered on the second one.

That was due to being poorly prepared for the stage. The next stage I made sure I was properly prepared.

It never seems to fail that people who change their strategy while on deck, have a major error. I was indecisive on one target; before the reload or after. So I chose just not to shoot it.

For stage 6; I made sure I was prepared. This is when you burn in your strategy, your targets visualization, and focus.

Check Seeklander's book for how to prepare. It is worth it.

Edited November 15, 2011 by pjb45

[benos]

Robbie and I had a term for this topic - Shoot like a Russian. Meaning, always shoot every stage with the same mental guideline - with no ego or emotional attachment. Just shooting to your ability at every second.

be

[steviesterno]

I play to win for sure, but I also realize it's a game, it's fun, and it's shooting stuff with my buddies. If I tank a stage, I make fun of me more than anyone else. Like when I pulled 2 mags at once for a reload, couldn't decide which to use, so slammed one in. Instead of dropping the other I just shot the rest of the targets one handed for some reason.

It was fun, Funny, and wayyyyyy better than a good day at work.

[Aglifter]

+1 for what BE said. I'm overly casual about shooting, but when I was more serious about sports, being in an emotional "null" state was pretty handy - listening to certain music while watching a blinking red light usually helped me get into that state.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Aglifter

[Dan Hefta]

I had to remind myself (this year in fact) that the reason I started competitive shooting was a friend brought me to a match and since then I have made some really good and close friends as a result of being in competive pistol shooting. So to make a long story short, have fun, shoot to the best of your abilitly on that day... I shot 1 under par once golfing...once! Never repeated that day and probably never will. There are good days and bad days, just enjoy yourself and don't take yourself too seriously and you will be surprized at the end result....

[MustangGreg66]

A couple of things that work for me

1. Laugh, remember this is fun and crashing on a stage is still better than being at work.

2. Short memory, the next stage is the next stage the last stage is over.

My wife said someting like that.... She said "you had fun right?" It does beat workng....however I do play to win! I told her, I could have fun in the garage loading bullets.... If someone is keeping score I am trying to win

I like what bikerburgess, that's pretty much what I do, just laugh and try not to look too close at the scoresheet when I sign it except to look for C/D/Miss/penalties (USPSA). I generally don't look at my time or try to track how I'm doing compared to other people, even people in my squad/class/division. People always ask me what time I shot it in and I glance at it but never remember. Why do I do this? Because it's already shot, it's over and it's in the hands of the stats guys and gals now. Nothing I can do about it. I try to go into every stage clean and fresh, not thinking that I need to do anything other than shoot this stage as well as I can.

I recently shot the USPSA Area 2 championship and had a great match. 12 stages and I only had 1 miss on a swinger and a few C/Ds. I was probably going too slow, but consistant, good performance allowed me to beat several shooters in the OA who I preceive as better/faster shooters. Most people I talked to had 5-7 misses/no-shoots/procedurals either spread out or between a few stages and everytime I asked them how they were doing they focused on that and I could see that it really aggrivated them.

After I shoot a stage I got back to my range bag, load my mags and try to just focus on the monotony of the task, when I'm done, it's time to tape and watch other shooters go through. I try not to give my run a second thought. It's shot, it's over, time to move on to the next shooter/stage

I got Lanny Bassham's "With Winning in Mind" and I'll also give it a thumbs up. He comes from a smallbore background but the same principles apply to our sport. My thinking was pretty close to how his is, even before listening to the book, but I did notice a lot of the things I was doing in prep for stages and have fixed a few of them. One of my nemisis's on the range had been swingers. I was activate them and then just shoot two at it as fast as I could, one well placed shot and just jerk the second. Even the first shot would often be poor. I would get a lot of 2 Ds, or C/D or A/Mike on swingers. His book suggested that I was rushing through it because I preceived it as difficult instead of just coming into it fresh and shooting two aimed shots. I've since dramatically improved my hits on swingers. This Area 2 match had sometime like 7-8 swingers and I had really good hits on all but the one that I had a miss on and for that target I rushed and went back to my previous way of shooting on them. Anyway, he does have a lot on how to prep your mind for matches and it's definitly a good read/listen. I got the CD and listened to it while I worked or drove around.

Robbie and I had a term for this topic - Shoot like a Russian. Meaning, always shoot every stage with the same mental guideline - with no ego or emotional attachment. Just shooting to your ability at every second.

be

Like a Russian, I like that. I might have to use that.

[No.343]

When I shot bullseye we said that it was a one shot match. I can only control the shot I am a currently firing. So, just focus on that shot and forget about the rest.

[Steve Anderson]

"Feeling really good, I.e.cocky, I took a big risk on the next stage."

This is the root of the problem.

There are some for whom this is a good idea, in an all or nothing last stage attempt to win the match, but for most will usually cause the exact problem you describe.

At the match, there should be no judging and no emotion.

Our OP was doing well in the match because he was properly prepared and shooting "his game"

Got cocky and blew it, then started to question everything.

I won't aknowledge a bad stage during the match, not even to myself. After the match, it's strength and weakness time. I usually have a drill designed to correct a weakness (or bolster a budding strength) before I get home.

That's when I can actually do something about it.

[CHA-LEE]

Steve hit the nail on the head. Don't let ANY stage performance (Good or Bad) seep into your thought process for the next stage. When you are at a match you should only focus on what is happening RIGHT NOW as that is really the only thing that is important. You can't change the past or the future, only the present. So focus on making what is happening right now the best it can be.

[Paul Santiago]

When I shot bullseye we said that it was a one shot match. I can only control the shot I am a currently firing. So, just focus on that shot and forget about the rest.

Bingo!

Once the round is downrange, you can't do anything about it. Concentrate on your next shot. Same with stages. Once they're done, they're done. Time to concentrate on the next stage. Be in the next stage.

[jmorris]

If I don't like something about how a stage went down I take the last round I cleared, put my thoughts (any negitive ones) into it, so to speak, and chunk it into the berm then walk away to the next stage.

I have seen some really good shooters tank matches because they don't let go of "that" stage.

[t0066jh]

I try to keep it simple.

I tell myself that until I'm good enough to compete with TGO, I haven't earned the right to be upset with myself. In addition, get my ego out of the way. Who cares what other people think. It's time to get back to work and focus on the A zone of the next target. Breathe....focus....shoot.

[Paul-the new guy]

"Feeling really good, I.e.cocky, I took a big risk on the next stage."

This is the root of the problem.

There are some for whom this is a good idea, in an all or nothing last stage attempt to win the match, but for most will usually cause the exact problem you describe.

At the match, there should be no judging and no emotion.

Our OP was doing well in the match because he was properly prepared and shooting "his game"

Got cocky and blew it, then started to question everything.

I won't aknowledge a bad stage during the match, not even to myself. After the match, it's strength and weakness time. I usually have a drill designed to correct a weakness (or bolster a budding strength) before I get home.

That's when I can actually do something about it.

That is exactly what happened. I tried to be my inner rock star when in reality I am at best club level.... As long as I shoot "my game" I am pretty good but when I get over confident....boom, it blows up on me. When that happens I have trouble getting back to shooting my game....

[Kali]

Its all part of the process of mental toughening. Most all of the best winners, were good loosers first. What happened to you is that your self image wrote a check that you couldn't cover.

[benos]

Its all part of the process of mental toughening. Most all of the best winners, were good loosers first. What happened to you is that your self image wrote a check that you couldn't cover.

[HOOLIHAN]

Steve hit the nail on the head. Don't let ANY stage performance (Good or Bad) seep into your thought process for the next stage. When you are at a match you should only focus on what is happening RIGHT NOW as that is really the only thing that is important. You can't change the past or the future, only the present. So focus on making what is happening right now the best it can be.

Wish I had bumped into you earlier at Area 2 ,I could have used this little nugget of wisdom then.

This is something I am currently challenged with as well. I start off really well on the first stage, because I am focused and in the moment.

After shooting the first stage well, I start to think "wow I'm awesome, this is easy" and I forget to focus in the momentt, and doing what I need to do

when I need to do it.

I guess the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

[Kali]

Have the courage and confidence to shoot the stage to the best of your ability....and have compassion and forgiveness to deal with things when you don't.

[IronEqualizer]

Just know that if you are classed correctly then your competitors will have issues the same as you. They may not have them on the same stage but over a match you will fail where they succeed and you will succeed where they fail. The higher up you go the less this happens, and the higher up you go the fewer mistakes you make. If you don't let a bad stage go then you basically give away the match without firing a shot. You give the match away mentally not on shooting skill.

[Inkman]

This is an interesting thread.

When something happens that i am upset about, the first word out of my mouth, even while still shooting, is usually S&*T. Sometime loud, sometimes quietly.

Then after the stage is over, i look at what happened, tell myself that the stage is done and nothing can change what has already been shot/scored. THEN i make a mental note that i need to practice more on what caused the messup. Certainly won't drastically change things mid-match, but come practice time i definitely will remember what happened and try to improve on it. Just a few cents...

One thing i can say for sure is that dwelling on a bad run (for me at least) will just lead to a bad attitude and not doing what i should for the next stage. Best thing i ever did was learn to have fun and not take every stage/match as a "win or my life sucks" attitude.

Al