Greetings,
I have several shooers that are shooting up to 20 points below their avg. in competition. We have great practices, but when it comes to the match, the team can not produce the same results. I have a JROTC precision team Avg. 2260 but bring 2230 to matches. Any help?
Thank you very much,
David Foster
dwfcwo2@msn.com
Competition let down
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1813benny
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LETDOWN OR MATCH PRESSURE
It is very rare for a shooter to post the same score in a match as they do in practice....let alone asking for four individuals to perform at that level.
Remember that shooting in a match is a very stressful situation that in many instances takes years to learn how to handle versus relatively stress free situations during training.
Match preparation and relaxation techniques are where I would focus my efforts here....they can post the scores, they just need to learn to cope with the situation. I have the same problem with my junior team....but developing their mental preparations (and relaxation techniques) have shown very positive results.
Remember that shooting in a match is a very stressful situation that in many instances takes years to learn how to handle versus relatively stress free situations during training.
Match preparation and relaxation techniques are where I would focus my efforts here....they can post the scores, they just need to learn to cope with the situation. I have the same problem with my junior team....but developing their mental preparations (and relaxation techniques) have shown very positive results.
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isuguncoach
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The focus of the team appears to be pratice sessions. Shoot all of the matchs that you can, any match even "friendlies" that you arrange with other clubs. The focus will change to the matchs and not practice. It took almost two years to get this mental set in our club, and no matter what we tried in training sessions, the mental focus was on what happened at those sessions. Started shooting everywhere there was a match, and the mental focus has now changed to match performance.
Match nerves
All the posts on this subject give good advice.
Shooters just starting out with their first match will suffer a form of 'Stage Fright'. The more competitions you enter the more you learn how to control it.
Practice sessions at your club are OK, but unless the sessions are designed for specific parts of the the shooting technique they will not achieve much. This will be down to your local coach.
Run a comp amongst the cub members with a small prize for the winner.
Also run it under the rules so shooters get used to the discipline of a competition.
Shooters need to learn self management techniques which includes dealing with nervous tension, mental focus and pacing the shoot so it works for you rather than against you.
Shooters also need to learn how to enjoy a match rather than ending up shooting a match that is not enjoyable.
Shoot less practice and go to more comps at home and away.
Peepsight
Shooters just starting out with their first match will suffer a form of 'Stage Fright'. The more competitions you enter the more you learn how to control it.
Practice sessions at your club are OK, but unless the sessions are designed for specific parts of the the shooting technique they will not achieve much. This will be down to your local coach.
Run a comp amongst the cub members with a small prize for the winner.
Also run it under the rules so shooters get used to the discipline of a competition.
Shooters need to learn self management techniques which includes dealing with nervous tension, mental focus and pacing the shoot so it works for you rather than against you.
Shooters also need to learn how to enjoy a match rather than ending up shooting a match that is not enjoyable.
Shoot less practice and go to more comps at home and away.
Peepsight
While I track scores during training sessions to get a rough idea of what the shooters are "theoretically capable" of, rarely does a shooter fire a personal best across all the stages in a comp. (What I've seen with my shooters) Before a major competition, I'll go back over the last month and calculate the average the performance in each position or stage. That's all I can ask them to fire .... is the average. I use this in selecting teams as well. This past year I've been pretty amazed that when this is what I ask, many times they will indeed fire above the average .... hooray!!!, better than expected and everyone can heap praise on those shooters.
I also never let them fire the match a day or two, or three before the match. An example .... tonight we have one of our teams firing their team postal targets for the American Legion national match. We had no practice last Thursday, sighted in .22s for silhouette Saturday, and Sunday I had them fire three times around a single AR5/10 in prone looking for NPA errors, and a single standing looking for NPA errors that I did not score.
I know what they are capable of, and they do too. My goal is to get them to relax. My guess is that they shoot .... right at their average....... all I can ask.
I also never let them fire the match a day or two, or three before the match. An example .... tonight we have one of our teams firing their team postal targets for the American Legion national match. We had no practice last Thursday, sighted in .22s for silhouette Saturday, and Sunday I had them fire three times around a single AR5/10 in prone looking for NPA errors, and a single standing looking for NPA errors that I did not score.
I know what they are capable of, and they do too. My goal is to get them to relax. My guess is that they shoot .... right at their average....... all I can ask.
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mikeschroeder
- Posts: 488
- Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:56 am
- Location: Kansas
Hi
The more competitions that the kids go to, the better they'll shoot. We have two boys and two girls who are now shooting about 10 points higher in matches than in practice. They concentrate more. One of my two girl pistol shooters shoots better in matches (and in knock-out) than she does in practice also.
Try and make some of your practices be a match. Use the times in the CMP rule book etc. Don't help them after they shoot the first record shot (just like a real match).
Hope this works out and we don't shoot against you guys...
Mike
Wichita KS
The more competitions that the kids go to, the better they'll shoot. We have two boys and two girls who are now shooting about 10 points higher in matches than in practice. They concentrate more. One of my two girl pistol shooters shoots better in matches (and in knock-out) than she does in practice also.
Try and make some of your practices be a match. Use the times in the CMP rule book etc. Don't help them after they shoot the first record shot (just like a real match).
Hope this works out and we don't shoot against you guys...
Mike
Wichita KS