TargetTalk

I live 3 hrs away from my coach. I am a Junior Shooter who wants to improve but am moving twice as slow as everyone else on my team. What can I do?

what are you shooting?
I'm guessing air rifle.

#1 I you don't have it, get the book "ways of the rifle". Really great stuff in there. But please coordinte with your coach, so you don't get confused.

#2 Get someone to REALLY WATCH you as you practice. I found it hard to know what my body was doing. Someone had to tell me what I was doing that I did not realize.

#3 Related to #2 above, start learning to listen to your body. What I mean is to learn how it feels when you are in different positions, so you know what it feels like to be in the right and the wrong positions. Easier said than done, which is why you need the help of someone to tell you when you are out of position.

#4 When you shoot a good shot, STOP and think
"what did I do that made that great shot?"
Then try to do the same again. After a while you start to put the various pieces together.
Don't dwell on the bad shots, they happen, so forget them.
Concentrate on and REMEMBER the GOOD shots.

gud luk
Gary

i know exactly how you feel. my junior club never had a coach, just parents who leared how to fill out paper work. many people see this as a disadvantage, but i think in many ways it's an advantage. if you need to build a position or if you are having some sort of physical problems with your position, then spend the precious time you have with your coach doing that. i say it's an advantage because it really makes you rely on yourself more. trying to figure things out on your own really helps you decide what personal preferences you like. as long as you can have your coach check you once in a while and make sure you're not doing something fundamentally wrong, you'll be ok.

A good book to read would be Competitive Shooting by A.A. Yur'yev. I think it's available from the NRA National Firearms Museum store. IIRC, (703)267-1000 is the NRA's operator and just ask for the museum store.

Some general thoughts:
In practice, break down the process of how your fire a shot. Examine how you take your position. Why do you take your position a certain way? Is your stability improved by moving your foot to the left/right, forward/backward? How about if alter how you position your body relative to the target (more straight on vs. sideways to the target)? How much pressure are you gripping the gun with? Do you shoot better with a tighter grip or more relaxed grip? Is your endurance affected by a tighter grip or more relaxed grip? How do you align the sights on the target? Do you align the sights first, then put them on the target, or do you put the front sight on the target and align the rear to suit? Are you inhaling/exhaling/pausing right before you pull the trigger? How do you pull the trigger? How do you position your hand(s) on the gun and what effect does it have on your accuracy and endurance?

These are but a few of things you need to think about when practicing. Don't try to evaluate all of them with every shot, but experiment with altering something and firing several shots, then changing again and firing several shots and see if there's a benefit and/or a cost associated with the change.
If you're serious, it is very beneficial to keep a notebook/diary of every change in technique you try and how it has affected your shooting. Don't necessarily focus on the scores you shoot (though you should record them), but rather, focus more on how the technique you experimented with affected your method of shooting for better or for worse as far as:
1. precision of shots (how close you came to hitting what you were aiming for)
2. accuracy of shots (repeated ability to make precise shots), and
3. endurance (the ability to maintain the same peak performance over time).

Just some thoughts.

Jess,
Since you live far from your coach, I assume you don't see him/her very often. What I suggest is:
Several days before the next time you will see your coach, call and tell the coach you want to set up a daily practice routine to follow between times you see each other. This should include practice, physical conditioning and mental conditioning. Don't go in cold. Before even calling, set up goals in each area, both short term and intermediate term. If you don't know how to set goals, tell the coach you need help on this, but go in with the best set you can manage.
When you see the coach, discuss your goals, work out a plan and set some measures of performance to check your progress. Get it in writing, including review dates if possible.
Then go home and work the plan - completely. Having someone watch you is useful if the watcher understands shooting mechanics and the mental aspects of shooting. If not, the result can be problems not help.
Don't expect instant big changes for the better. It takes time to get into the new plan, and time for the plan to work. Patience is necessary. Keep a positive mental attitude. Emphasize what you did RIGHT, and de-emphasize errors. Thinking about mistakes pounds them into your brain, and makes them more likely.
Review your progress with the coach whenever you see him/her, and maybe have some phone conversations in between.
Keep at it. Even when you want to beat your head against the wall in frustration. I know, I have lots of scars on my head after 50 years of competitive shooting. And its still fun...most of the time.
Richard Newman

Why not ask the coach if you can simply set up a tripod-mounted video camera and record a (short) practice session? You can 'talk' yourself through the shot(s), from setup to follow through, and record both what you're doing and why. Move it around to show front, sides and rear of the position. (I have used a videocam while live firing right past the camera -- not a perspective normally seen!) Watch it yourself and then send the tape to the coach for review.

It isn't exactly 'hands-on' but it's certainly better than: "Welllllllll, last week I shot bad. What was wrong?"

Let the coach tell you what he wants to see -- and for how long to tape. (Anything rivalling a remake of Gone with the Wind will probably prove unpopular!)

Ways of the Rifle is excellent.
Yur Yev's book is good...but it would put you to sleep if you were reading it while standing on hot coals!