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How to deal with a really bad match result?


narwhal

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I'm on the other end of the spectrum from the "Remember it's for fun" group. I deal with bad results by working harder. It's a two-fold approach: 1) It better prepares me for the next match, and 2) the process of working hard is cathartic for me. 

 

You have to find what works for you. 

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Depends on why the match went poorly...

 

Just had one of those the other day, had a bolt action Glock because I forgot to remark my mags and guessed at which one was messing up... that gun has been so reliable I became complacent.  Lesson learned, police your gear, every time (I do that for what I bet my life on, I should have done it for a match as well)

 

If I completely throw away my chances to place top 3 locally with a really bad stage, or whatever my goal is depending on the level of regional/national matches. I will assess what I messed up, write it down and come back to it later... I will then take the rest of the match and try and burn it down, and push my person speed/accuracy threshold higher under time. Since it no longer holds as much weight. Its now a training exercise to see if I can step up my game for the next one... it also keeps it fun and competitive; because look at that raw time ?

 

Unless your living depends on your placement, there is no reason not to just take it as a learning experience and continue to have fun. Propelling metal from one place to another, regardless of competitiveness, is only worth while if you are having fun.  You will always consistently perform better when you are enjoying what you are doing, confident in your range of ability, and willing to accept and learn from your mistakes.

 

The only thing I think I've actually been pissed about is blatant bad scoring errors stealing a first place from me.

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I do a combination of the things you talked about. I shrug it off to a bad day, try to figure out why things went wrong, and implement in my practise what i need to work on. Everyone has those bad matches and just coming back and working on your weaknesses is the main thing.

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I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the subject, but while I'm still a thoroughly mediocre shooter, I have made some pretty decent strides in keeping an even keel after trainwrecks in matches.

 

For a while, I tried the "just forget about it and move on" approach, but it doesn't work for me. At least, not in it's entirety. I have managed to just forget and move on from any sense of emotional investment in match results. Paradoxically enough, I've managed that by thinking about them more. I started a habit of doing a deep-dive into the results of matches, comparing stage video with what I could find posted by higher-ranked shooters on social media, compiling spreadsheets of long-term trending and best/worst stages in a given match, and generally trying to figure out which particular skill deficiencies hurt me the most. The goal was originally to just help develop a training regimen, and it's something that I do even for matches where I feel pretty good about the outcome.

 

But I noticed something funny when I started digging into the results for matches that I'd been really angry about: even though I'd been trying not to dwell on it too much, the focus on the details was the thing that made the frustration go away. Delving into the technical details naturally led to a more clinical view that allowed me to divorce myself from any emotional response to the outcome. Some of that is probably the fact that a deep dive on the results usually reminds me that I did at least some things fairly well, but I think the larger part of it is just the fact that I have a naturally analytical mindset about most things, and simply understanding why something happened lessens the negative impact of it immensely.

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Many local clubs do not put on quality matches.  By that I mean lots of hoser type stages, not very technical, no tight or long shots, etc.  If that happens to represent your normal local matches they are not doing you any favors.  I am fortunate in that all of the local clubs Level-1 matches are very much inline with most Level-2 and some Level-3 matches.  Makes for for tough and sometime frustrating stages but it also has made me a better shooter.  When I go to an Area match or big Level-2 match I can typically finish in the top of my class.  

 

Take what you learned from your match and work to improve it.  It does you very little to practice the things you like.  Work on the areas you dislike or fear.  

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Focus on what worked and areas to improve. Those areas you did bad on, practice dry firing them. Never let it get the better of you and focus on the positive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Good topic to raise for me today ( along with the thread on cold first stages). Despite my efforts to avoid it, I ended up on the lucky squad that started on the classifier on Saturday. It involved 105 foot shots and one hands, both weaknesses. Even though I managed a couple alphas on the far target, I still zeroed. I did nail the second stage and I didn’t let it ruin my match but I’m in a bit of a Monday funk as I’m trying to claw my way out of D class and am headed in the wrong direction. There’s plenty to learn from and plenty to celebrate. It helped the ride home that I cleared the last array of the day (6 poppers) in fine form with no misses and moving to the next as soon as the shot was off. Also my first double alpha on a swinger!

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On 7/30/2018 at 5:57 PM, Mcfoto said:

Good topic to raise for me today ( along with the thread on cold first stages). Despite my efforts to avoid it, I ended up on the lucky squad that started on the classifier on Saturday. It involved 105 foot shots and one hands, both weaknesses. Even though I managed a couple alphas on the far target, I still zeroed. I did nail the second stage and I didn’t let it ruin my match but I’m in a bit of a Monday funk as I’m trying to claw my way out of D class and am headed in the wrong direction. There’s plenty to learn from and plenty to celebrate. It helped the ride home that I cleared the last array of the day (6 poppers) in fine form with no misses and moving to the next as soon as the shot was off. Also my first double alpha on a swinger!

Your first mistake was putting it in your mind that somehow the classifier stage was more important or somehow different than any other stage. 

 

Heres the best clue and advice I can possibly give you:

 

They're not. Focus on nothing but the process and stop investing in the outcome

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I look at classifiers as just another points stage for the match.  Treat them the same as any other stage.  Push too hard trying to raise your classifier % you will likely tank it.  That is no help to your % and you will lose match points. 

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I am always pretty hard on myself no matter what...but when that wears off, i videotape all my stages so i will go back over it and look at the things i did wrong and try to learn and correct them.  We are all weekend warriors and this isn't our job...we just need to strive for perfection.

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I've set my average outcome and try to do better each match but some times I do worse.  These days I'm in it for fun so a bad match doesn't get me down.  I can see how it does for shooters trying to get better.  I was once one of the top shooters in our club and now I'm at the bottom.  I know a lot of guys that would just give up at this point but why am I shooting?  I get a lot of joy being with my friends and when they tease me for my bad shooting  I laugh it off and remember the better days.

 

You are not competing for a new truck or a lot of money so what does it matter especially if the club doesn't give any rewards for shooting.  Try to advance each time you shoot.  Take a lesson from the top shooters if there are any in your area and that will help you.  And, keep your attitude positive.  You will improve or you will stay in D class forever but have fun.

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If you shoot for fun, let it roll off. Most of us shoot to improve.  In that case go to the range with a purpose. What are you not doing well, or what do you need to work on. As you shoot the match, walk through the stage with your goals in mind and mentally review the stage after you shoot it.

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