Getting your head back in the game

[nwb01]

Shot the Area 3 match over the weekend and had a complete melt down. The implosion was so bad that at one point I had to walk away from my squad and take a minute to gather myself back together. I know that you shouldn't let your emotions effect your shooting but sometimes that can be difficult.

At this point I feel that I have lost some confidence in my ability (B class 68%). I know I just need to forget about what happened and move on. Keep working at my weakness and learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it is just hard to put those things behind and keep working. I don't even feel like picking up my gun right now.

I am sure others have been down this road, any advice ?

TIA,

Nick

[j1b]

Shot the Area 3 match over the weekend and had a complete melt down. The implosion was so bad that at one point I had to walk away from my squad and take a minute to gather myself back together. I know that you shouldn't let your emotions effect your shooting but sometimes that can be difficult.

At this point I feel that I have lost some confidence in my ability (B class 68%). I know I just need to forget about what happened and move on. Keep working at my weakness and learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it is just hard to put those things behind and keep working. I don't even feel like picking up my gun right now.

I am sure others have been down this road, any advice ?

TIA,

Nick

Ahhh, been there many times. Shoot your game, not theirs. One day, the two will merge (because winning does require the understanding of the other's game). The merge will come from your confidence in your own ability. So the fall back is . . . shoot your game.

When we talk about things like faith in ability, I think to myself that at these times we've begun the process of comparison. And comparison both drives improvement and derails performance. You've got to understand where you're at! Have the confidence to perform and learn from others. Have the confidence to know you don't know it all. But have the confidence to execute what you do know without doubt.

Winning is a want of every person you shoot against at a match. It's the choice of one person, but they have to choose to win. Can't be a want. Can't be a wish. Has to be a choice. Choose to win, and victory lane is just a lap on the track.

Jack

[SteveU]

Shot the Area 3 match over the weekend and had a complete melt down. The implosion was so bad that at one point I had to walk away from my squad and take a minute to gather myself back together. I know that you shouldn't let your emotions effect your shooting but sometimes that can be difficult.

At this point I feel that I have lost some confidence in my ability (B class 68%). I know I just need to forget about what happened and move on. Keep working at my weakness and learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it is just hard to put those things behind and keep working. I don't even feel like picking up my gun right now.

I am sure others have been down this road, any advice ?

TIA,

Nick

I go through this often and seem to be stalled at my current level at times. The only advice I have is in Saul Kirsch's book: "Thinking Practical Shooting."

Forget the bad days/runs. They are poison. And when you come off a bad stage, you NEED to be able to forget it or it will kill the rest of the match. Attitude is a downward spiral (or upward spiral). Focus on what you did well. I had a crappy run yesterday and hit 3 penalty targets, but I cleared a texas star quickly, shot another array accurately (all As) and two of my NSs were on the perf (edge of A zone on the target). The other one I made up immediately because I recognized the poor sight picture and shot it again before I saw the hole. So I think, well, I need to work on sight picture and trigger control, but I'm now a good Texas Star shooter. And I'll get faster when I learn to trust my eyes enough to move on when I "know" I've got a hit. It's amazing that when I thought I was a bad star shooter I would miss. But when I visualize the hits, they happen.

That's my advice. I'm by no means a great shooter, but I feel much better after the match when I focus on the ground that I've gained, and immediately forget about the mistakes.

My next crucial step is to recall the memory of the mistakes later so I can practice what I need to work on.

PS: I did what you did at Area 6 - then I read the book: I swear he must have been following me around documenting all I was doing wrong attitude-wise.

[CSEMARTIN]

I am sure others have been down this road, any advice ?

Nick,

I had a complete melt down at the Iowa Sectional. The stage that got me was one in which you began with a rope in each hand and each foot on a foot pedal activator thingy. At the start signal you had to switch your strong hand rope to the other hand, draw and engage two targets which semi-disappeared when you dropped the rope which was attached to a plywood window. Then, you had to step off a foot activator and shoot a drop turner, but you had to step to one side to see it. Then, you had to let your foot off the other activator, lean the other way and engage the other drop turner. At some point, my foot slipped enough to activate the drop turner, but I didn't realize it had happened because you couldn't see the drop turners from where you were standing. I stood there for like 10 seconds staring at it--waiting for it to activate! I even said to the RO that it must have been a range failure. He didn't say anything which further confused me. He took mercy on me and prompted me to keep going by saying that it wasn't a range failure. I knew it was going to end badly. I ended up coming in dead last on that stage. It was painful, and it really messed with my head. Needless to say, there were no "nice run" comments from my squad mates. It was a horrible feeling and really shook me up.

The worst thing you can do is let it affect the rest of your match. When it happens to me, and thankfullly doesn't happen often, I go off by myself and reflect on what happened. Don't take it out on the RO especially. And don't get shitty or act like a dickhead to your squad mates. Just go off and give yourself 5-10 minutes to calm down. I think it's one of those times where you get a free pass for not helping paste or set steel. The guys that witnessed the melt downt would much rather you disappear for a few minutes and collect yourself. Do your best to shoot the next and remaining stages like nothing happened. I've thought about this at great length and came to the conclusion that there is no magic fix for this. You just have to develop the mental toughness to shrug it off.

Chris

[Flexmoney]

When I realize that I just completely f*#ked up...and we all know this feeling...I acknowledge it by saying it to myself.

"You just completely f*#ked up"

If I can manage that, I can manage to choose to respond, rather than react. So, I will ask myself...

"How are you going to respond?"

Mentally, some kind of battle cry is in order...as a release and a reset. But, not a mean-spirited or aggressive battle cry. A fun and happy battle cry is in order.

A nice yeeee-haaaaaa works. Even if it's just in my own head. (With a rebel yell...he cried more..more...more!)

"What's next?" What do I need to do now, to succeed?

When all else fails...execute the fundamentals.

[leam]

And if you do vent in the wrong places, be sure to go back and apologize to the person you vented on, and everyone you vented in front of. We all blow it but you can release your own tension and theirs by setting things straight.

Not that I've ever lost my cool in public, mind you.

Leam

[boz1911]

I have had to learn we all have some "bad" days or "bad" stages. You have to leave it behind and focus on the next stage or match. A few deep breaths by myself is usually enough for me now but each person has to learn what works for them.

[RangerTrace]

Remember that this is a game/sport that is supposed to be fun. If you push yourself too hard or put too much pressure on yourself, you might not have fun anymore. I've told myself that I'm going to work as hard as I can at this sport/game until it starts to feel like work and then back off just a little bit. If you don't feel like picking up your gun right now, take a few weeks off and enjoy other things. Once you're feeling fresh and missing it (and you will) get back to shooting.

[XRe]

Stop being concerned with results (yours or anyone else's). Start being concerned with execution. Above all... stop taking it so seriously... this is only a game, right?

Following any run - good or bad - appraise it with honesty, noting what was good and what needed improvement. File the stuff away that needs improvement for later practice sessions and let it go - there's nothing you can do about it at this point. It might help to laugh about it. Hang on to the good stuff, and continually review it until you start to prep for your next stage. Then add to it with the good stuff from the next run. And so forth. In all likelihood, you're only looking at half of the equation (the bad), and then using that to flog yourself until the next stage - and there, you've got this negative self image you've been fomenting since the last stage (or earlier)... you're setting yourself up to compound the failure, which then further contributes to the negative attitude on the 3rd stage.

Its like carrying a bag around with you that you add a nice boulder to each time you come across one. That bag gets really heavy after a (short) while. All I'm saying is - you can look at the boulder, even pick it up and handle it a little. Then just sit that sucker down and walk on... And make sure to stop and smell the flowers before you pick the nicest ones and carry them along with you

The stuff Surge posted from TPS is absolutely spot on. There are other good mental game resources out there, as well. Jack has BTDT a bunch, too Trace is saying good stuff.

[uscbigdawg]

The only reason you can be upset of a result is if you empower that result to dictate your feelings. I used to do this a lot! Like Dave said, focus on the execution.

I shot our monthly 1k rifle match this weekend. First one and went in to it with the following goals:

- Be smooth with preparation for each position

- Be smooth with the preparation for each shot

- Work the problem of the wind and have faith in the elevation data collected to date

- Execute a clean shot, make any necessary adjustments and repeat

As a side "goal" I just didn't want to finish last as our club here has a pool of some great shooters. I got whooped up and down by the wind. However, in spite of poor wind calls my shots were grouped well and while others complained about the pace/speed of the match, setup time, etc. I remained calm and was able to shoot my game.

The same goes for you. Try to detach emotion from the result. That doesn't mean not be critical of your performance, but take a step back, analyze what happened. What went well. What could be improved (not what went wrong as that's negative). Identify the areas of improvement, identify the means to correct it and build from the positives.

You'll see that your emotional status will be much higher and in turn your performance will sky rocket.

Rich

[UW Mitch]

This weekend I drove 800 miles to do a 2 day match for the Northwest Section Championship. (800 miles of driving in a 48 hour span is a lot for this kid from Hawaii). On Saturday of the match I had a lot of mental errors. Ran past a target on a jungle run, left a steel standing - totally avoidable but I was getting ahead of myself. I just have to remind myself that I'm out to have a good time shooting and hanging with my friends. Scores are just a result of being at the match. The sucess metric that I'm trying to go by is fun-factor. If I'm not having fun, I may as well have stayed home.

Last stage, last array of that match, I finally relaxed and was able to shoot at a smooth cadence. Better late than never. Just gotta get my head there sooner

~Mitch

Edited August 4, 2009 by UW Mitch

[Hank Ellis]

Keep it coming guys. I just came off a special classifier match and had one of the worst matches in memory. My confidence at this point is near zero. And it's not just in handgun. My Trap singles scores are off also. Shot rifle last Friday and couldn't hit black without putting a lot of effort into it. I've lost something and I need to find it again.

[uscbigdawg]

Hank - Put all the guns down for about 2-4 weeks (or whatever feels right). You'll know when you're ready to come back. Work on fitness, the house, whatever. Point being, step away, recharge the batteries/hit the reset button and then you'll probably be better than having practiced like a beast over that same time frame.

Of course...there is the school of thought that says burry yourself in shooting to push through that barrier and there's some logic to this...just hasn't worked for me.

Rich

[Hank Ellis]

Hank - Put all the guns down for about 2-4 weeks (or whatever feels right). You'll know when you're ready to come back. Work on fitness, the house, whatever. Point being, step away, recharge the batteries/hit the reset button and then you'll probably be better than having practiced like a beast over that same time frame.

I did put the guns down for about 4 months when I rebuilt the house after Gustave. I'm really just now starting to get back to my 'normal' shooting routine. Part of it may be that shooting is a volitile skill. If you don't use it, you lose it.

Of course...there is the school of thought that says bury yourself in shooting to push through that barrier and there's some logic to this...just hasn't worked for me.

I'm thinking this is what I need. Really bury myself to get the muscle memory back. Instead of shooting only one match a month, shoot two. Practice more.

Yeah, I know I spread myself thin with clays shooting and practical shooting but I did it before and should be able to do it again. Maybe back to the basics with rimfire and airguns can't hurt. I will push through this. Just got to find the right combination.

Funny, the only thing that is gone well is handicap Trap. Average is actually going up. Doesn't make any sense.

[lugnut]

Nick,

First of all recognize this happens to EVERYONE!!! To me that is the intrigue to the sport. How to maintain a good level of shooting consistenty is one of the biggest challenges.

It hurts, feels bad, and sometimes you think "I've been doing this for so long now... but that just felt like I hadn't even touched a gun in 3 years!". Then the next match everything goes well. Getting good at dealing with this is just a matter of living thru it a few (or many more) times and realizing it's not the norm.

I've tanked stages/matches because of mental mistkes, screwing up and missing steel a few times, etc. Personally I try to isolate the problem and spend some time focusing on that at practice. Make your weakness your strength!!

[CocoBolo]

Nick - That stage 5 looked like a killer to me, I don't think I would not go for the long shot option. When my friend Tom has a downer match I just tell him to give me a price on his gun and his dillion loader, go home and start unbolting the loader I'll go to the ATM. He can spend his Saturday's at the mall shopping with the wife.

I recently Tanked the TX State Open with my open gun. Went home put it away got out my Limited gun forgot how much fun it is to shoot Limited. A couple weeks ago Tom and I were chrono'ing ammo, I could not even hit the paper behind the chrono with my open gun, the C-more adjustment screws were loose and it was hitting 6 inches high and 4 inches to the right. Why couldn't I figure that out in the heat of the match? Thats what the big matches do rattle your brain.

Youv'e been thrown by the Bull, time to get back up in the saddle or go to the mall shopping for shoes and handbags.

[VegasOPM]

When I go kablooey on a stage I just try and refocus. I make it a point on the next stage to shoot all "A's"- regardless of time. I also try to remember what went wrong- not to focus on it, rather to figure out how to make a funny story out of it later. My worst matches are the root of some of my funniest stories.

There is an ebb and flow to this game (and all others that I can think of). You cannot continually peak. The best can control their peaks and valleys to do their best when it really matters. The rest of us just have to ride it out and try and learn. If you quit at the bottom, you are hurting nobody but yourself.

[Resjudicata]

To the original poster, "been there done that and didn't even get a damn t-shirt."

Maybe spend some time practicing and not shooting local matches. Or, maybe do something else for a while. None of us do this for a living so who cares if we do it this week or not. (Well, us normal people don't do this for a living).

Basically you've got to get it out of your mind how ever you want to do it.

Chris

[38supPat]

Beware the good match also...

[nwb01]

THANKS GUYS !!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave Re,

I really like the boulder concept. That is EXACTLY what happened to me. Had a couple of small rocks that just grew after a couple of stages and finally they were too big to deal with anymore.

I am not talking about what happened anymore. It is over and done, nothing will change that. I can only look forward, I have alot of shooting to do yet this year.

I jumped back on the bull today and did some dryfire before work and it felt good. I am shooting a local match this weekend with three things in mind.....

stay relaxed, execute and be positive

I will let you all know how it turns out.

[Neomet]

As a upper C shooter who is as such prone to making huge old C class mistakes I had a hard time melding an extremely competitive nature with this sport which has proven challenging to improve in. I finally got that how good or bad I shot the match on any day was just how well I shot the match on that day. What I want to make out of it is strictly an internal dialogue which means that for better or worse I can choose to interpret it in any I choose or if truly enlightened have no interpretation of it at all. (Ain't there yet by a long shot).

Someone else said it here as well already but after a bad stage I now literally say "Well, I screwed the pooch on that one!" Its funny how actually saying that takes the power away from any negative emotions.

I've got quite a few bro's to thank for getting to this point. Eddie, Tony, Herbert, Jigger, you guys have all been there at various times to help me get this into my somewhat stubborn head. Many thanks.

[benos]

This thread's theme is always the result of caring too much about results, and not enough about what you are actually going to do.

Pay attention to what you think about before, and while at the match. That's where all the answers are.

Every time you notice you're thinking about results - where you might finish, who you might beat or might beat you - replace those thoughts with thoughts relating to what you know you can do. Like, just relax and be smooth, shoot the sights... or, a mental command/mantra that worked good for me - If I only shoot as fast as I know I'm getting my hits, I will shoot to my ability. That's the best you can do.

be

[Bill Nesbitt]

Nick,

Been there, done that. Lots of times over the years I have been shooting in competition.

I have found out that I can have absolutely NO expectations of how I will finish if I want to do well. I must only shoot for the pure joy of shooting and don't look at the results until after the match.

I shoot mostly IDPA. At the local matches I am one of the shooters who can win the match. This is a curse. If I go into the match thinking I'm going to be the winner I don't win. If I shoot one stage at a time, one shot at a time I do well.

I don't understand how people can look at scores, see they need to win the next stage and then put on a burst of something to win. I have to shoot my match and let the chips fall where they may.

I got my new tag line from something Flex said in this thread. That's what I do when things aren't going right.

Bill

[shooterready]

Nick,

Like you, I had the worst match of my life at Area 5. I tagged 5 NS and 5 mikes. My head was not on straight from the beginning. I was supposed to shoot with Jack, but got screwed due to factors that don't need to be discussed. Anyway, the first stage, set the stage, for my melt down. For me, it was hard to come back and focus on my strengths and actually execute them. Just when I thought I had put it behind me, another crash and burn. At that point, I had given up on the match, but something weird happened. I started shooting better! I was just out to have fun and enjoy the rest of the stages. I actually burned one of the stages and took 4th overall to most of the GMs. That one stage made my match. It was one of my last stages on the day. It proved to me that I can put things behind me and push through. Everyone has to get there in their own way. Once you find what works, it gets fun again.

And.... My new card came in the mail. My win in C production got me bumped to where I should have been from day one, B.

Good luck, and have fun Nick!

[CHA-LEE]

There is no changing the past so why linger on it more than you should? If you completely bomb a stage, getting all pissed and aggravated about it is a waste of time and effort. You can’t change the past, its done. All you can do is learn from it. So put it behind you and take an objective view on why the stage run failed and move on. I know for me, every time I screw up a stage I review why it failed in my head so I can make a mental note to practice those conditions more in the future. The other thing you can do is not set an expectation of your performance so high that its virtually unobtainable. When I look at a stage I find the key bottle neck that will cost me the most time if I do not execute well in that area. Then when I run the stage, regardless of the overall stage performance my “Rating of performance” is ONLY on that bottle neck. If I executed the bottle neck section well but screwed up else ware on the stage then oh well.

I think that too many people put too much pressure on themselves. They build up this mountain of pressure to do well and then completely buckle under the stress of it all. Set your expectations accordingly and your match performance pressure will be a lot less. For me, my number one goals are to shoot, execute on the bottle neck and have fun. Not to win, not to beat Joe Blow or win X class. Regardless of my stage run performance I can usually obtain those goals. How much match “Pressure” do you think I carry from one stage to the next? ZERO!!! I know I can obtain my goals for the stage so what is there to worry about? That in its self gives me a HUGE advantage over most other shooters that carry a truck load of match pressure from one stage to the next.