Match results and metrics

[JPatters]

I am looking for opinions on how to tell if I am getting any better (or worse) when looking at match results. I don’t think looking at my overall placement make sense because any given match can have more or less shooters with a different skill mix.  I was looking at tracking the percentage of possible points that I get at a given match. For example, let’s say at my first match I got 25% of the possible points and at my second I got 40% of the possible points. Seems like improvement. Are there better ways to track my own performance?  Thank you. 

[CClassForLife]

Get the PractiScore Competitor app on Android or iOS.

 

It's $10 and is probably the best $10 you can spend in this sport. It formats the match results so you can better pinpoint where you need improvement. If your club uses a bluetooth timer, then you can even get the individual shot times and directly compare them to your competition.

[StefVanHauwe]

47 minutes ago, JPatters said:

I am looking for opinions on how to tell if I am getting any better (or worse) when looking at match results. I don’t think looking at my overall placement make sense because any given match can have more or less shooters with a different skill mix.  I was looking at tracking the percentage of possible points that I get at a given match. For example, let’s say at my first match I got 25% of the possible points and at my second I got 40% of the possible points. Seems like improvement. Are there better ways to track my own performance?  Thank you. 

Check out these videos:

 

 

 

 

[RJH]

The easy answer is, this is one of the things the classification system is for, and one of the things that it tells you.

 

If you're shooting against the same guys every match, you will start to notice that the percentages a lot of times will run pretty close from match to match on who wins and where the other people are further down the list. Once you do that it's pretty easy to see if you're consistently moving up that list or not. So don't look necessarily at match results as far as placement, look at match results as far as your percentage compared to the local hot dog at each match and see if you get closer to his percentage or not

 

 

[zzt]

Go to the shoot on Practiscore.  Scroll sown and press HTML.  You can then look at each stager in your Division and see how you did vis a vie the other shooters.  You can also check Class and Category.  It is a very helpful way of seeing where you need to improve.  Hit Factor is number of points scored per second.  So you can see if it is your speed that needs improving, or your hits.

[BritinUSA]

I suggest getting a semi-decent video camera with a wide-angle lens and a solid tripod. Set up the camera behind the shooting line so it has a good view of the entire shooting area - and the targets - without having to pan it around.

 

Record yourself and others in your squad, the video will show you where you are losing time (which you can confirm with the metrics).

 

Its been my experience that one of the biggest impediments to new shooters is how they move around the stage, the video will show you that.

[JPatters]

I am not trying to compare myself against other shooters. I am just starting and not ready for that. I was think of tracking my percentage of possible points. Does this not make sense?

[RJH]

9 minutes ago, JPatters said:

I am not trying to compare myself against other shooters. I am just starting and not ready for that. I was think of tracking my percentage of possible points. Does this not make sense?

 

Yes, but possible points is only part of the equation. Speed is another part of the equation. And since match finish percentages can show you how you're progressing in both speed and points, there's a few things to look at. 

 

If you don't compare yourself to other people's percentages at the end of a match, it's very hard to gauge what you're doing overall. Since every match has its own flavor, comparing hit factors and such, or even points at each match is only going to tell you a very small part of the story

[Johnny_Chimpo]

2 hours ago, JPatters said:

I am not trying to compare myself against other shooters. I am just starting and not ready for that. I was think of tracking my percentage of possible points. Does this not make sense?

 

You have to compare yourself to other shooters.  There is no score benchmark in USPSA like there is in other shooting sports (max scores/perfect scores/etc).

 

You need to compare yourself to local shooters in YOUR DIVISION.  Forget the overall.  It's meaningless for two reasons:

1. Equipment divisions exist because they affect performance. 
2. There is no overall match score in USPSA.  It's a Practiscore artifact that confuses people.

 

The most basic metric is your match points (in your equipment division) and what percentage that is of your division's winner.

 

Within each stage, compare your hit factor as a percentage of the stage winner's hit factor.

 

Also within each stage, compare your raw time and stage score (hits on target) against the stage winner so you can start seeing where you need to focus (either speed, accuracy, or at first both)

Edited December 12, 2022 by Johnny_Chimpo

[RJH]

10 minutes ago, Johnny_Chimpo said:

 

You have to compare yourself to other shooters.  There is no score benchmark in USPSA like there is in other shooting sports (max scores/perfect scores/etc).

 

You need to compare yourself to local shooters in YOUR DIVISION.  Forget the overall.  It's meaningless for two reasons:

1. Equipment divisions exist because they affect performance. 
2. There is no overall match score in USPSA.  It's a Practiscore artifact that confuses people.

 

The most basic metric is your match points (in your equipment division) and what percentage that is of your division's winner.

 

Within each stage, compare your hit factor as a percentage of the stage winner's hit factor.

 

Also within each stage, compare your raw time and stage score (hits on target) against the stage winner so you can start seeing where you need to focus (either speed, accuracy, or at first both)

 

I agree with most of this, but overalls are definitely useful for judging personal growth. For instance if the local hot dog is an open shooter and you shoot production, and early in your career you're shooting 30% of his score but over time you move up to 40, 50, 60% etc you can definitely apply that to judging your match improvements. Especially if there is low turnout in your division. But I do agree that in-division comparison is best when possible

 

Also I used to always print out an overall result way back when ezwin was a thing. Lot of people didn't know that you could do that with ezwin, not just practiscore 

 

100% agree that you have to judge what your match performance off of other competitors 

[broadside72]

https://www.alphamikenoshoot.com/

 

That will give you points per second and match points percentage (plus A/C ratio) over time in each division. Pretty useful to see progress.

 

There is also a cool classification calculator to give you the percentage you need to move up in class

[JPatters]

Thank you all very much. I watched the videos. I was just hoping there was an easy or easier way to track my own progress. Seems like hit factor is the number to watch but mostly in my own class which is carry optics.  

[RJH]

1 hour ago, JPatters said:

Thank you all very much. I watched the videos. I was just hoping there was an easy or easier way to track my own progress. Seems like hit factor is the number to watch but mostly in my own class which is carry optics.  

 

I still think you're missing what you need to be looking at. Hit Factor alone doesn't tell you if you're improving or not unless you're shooting the same stage over and over, then hit Factor can tell you if you're doing better. But since that never happens in a match hit Factor by itself doesn't really tell you anything, it is simply points divided by time. And since every stage can have different point values, and different elapsed time, Hit Factor only tells you something relative to how other people shot as far as match results is concerned.

 

If you're shooting sanctioned USPSA matches, you're probably shooting at least one classifier stage a match and that will probably give you the overall best metric you're looking for at this point in your USPSA career.

 

Good luck

[Johnny_Chimpo]

2 hours ago, JPatters said:

Seems like hit factor is the number to watch but mostly in my own class which is carry optics.  

 

Yes and no

 

No in isolation

 

Yes as a % of what others in your division (not class) did for a particular stage

 

Your class is not carry optics.  Your division is carry optics.

 

You are unclassified at this time.

[BadShot]

Here is a spreadsheet that I use to track things.  We have a local GM who shoots with us all the time and is amazingly consistent in his scores.  I compare my scores to his.  You can also use it to compare to people in your own division.  Just copy the first line to the next line to add a new match.

Carry Optics X.xls

Edited December 13, 2022 by BadShot