TargetTalk

Anyone recommend a good sports psychologist in the UK for help with 10 metre air pistol. I'm happy with my technique, competition nerves are really spoilng my game, I've read lots of books but when it comes down to it - can't shake the nerves.

Thanks in advance

TommyH,

I went/am still going through this same affliction. The key is positive visualization and trust building. No NEGATIVE thoughts are allowed. As you prepare for each shot sequence, have a message for yourself and literally tell yourself out loud. It is not good enough to "think" it, you must HEAR it. Use this as the "trigger" that starts your sequence, as this will ensure that each shot sequence starts the same way.

Use the power of imagination (mind imaging) to your advantage. Imagine yourself competing in a glass dome, which excludes non-essential items. This includes other competitors, distractions etc. focus on the things that YOU can control, and let the other things take care of themselves.

Finally, TRUST YOURSELF. You know how to do it. Stop thinking about everything else except simply start competing. If you do make a poor shot, put it aside as quickly as posssible qnd get back in your groove.

These are the things that are working for me.

Paul

Pheyden, sounds as though you're ready to hang out a shingle and make some money as a "sports psychologist". In my neighborhood there is a woman who is a "food historian". She has not made it clear how she makes a living doing this.

Thanks Pheydon

I do all those things in practice and assure mysef that I'm going to be alright in comp' - it just doesn't work.

Antal's 'Competitive Pistol Shooting' has quite a good section on mental prep.

I also recommend L.Bassham's 'With Winning in Mind'

Pheyden wrote: ... No NEGATIVE thoughts are allowed....

Perhaps change this to "only POSITIVE thoughts allowed".

j-team wrote:

Pheyden wrote: ... No NEGATIVE thoughts are allowed....

Perhaps change this to "only POSITIVE thoughts allowed".

Agree

j-team wrote:

Pheyden wrote: ... No NEGATIVE thoughts are allowed....

Perhaps change this to "only POSITIVE thoughts allowed".

I would agree.

"DON'T think about elephants."

Negatives really don't help. :p

Your unconscious only hears positive things.

If you say to yourself, "I'm not going to bugger this up." Your unconscious will hear, "I'm going to bugger this up.", and proceed to assist you.

Don't believe me? Just tell your kid, "Don't let the door slam!"

Rover wrote:Your unconscious only hears positive things.

If you say to yourself, "I'm not going to bugger this up." Your unconscious will hear, "I'm going to bugger this up.", and proceed to assist you.

Don't believe me? Just tell your kid, "Don't let the door slam!"

This. Meditation is useful too. When I practice, it's not "I'm going to get groups the size of a quarter today" it's "I am going to improve my grip today." While I haven't competed yet, I strongly suspect that I'm going to be focused on the shot technique and not the score. Score is merely feedback from technique. Listen to it, but don't let it control your technique.

Pressure isn't unique to shooting sports. It's a serious issue in the legal profession (ask anyone who's taken the bar exam what it's like) that can lead to a lot of substance abuse. We're taught to focus objectively on the mechanics of the law, not the emotional aspect, precisely because of that. Because sometimes, you lose. And as a lawyer, you better get over that quick or your client is going to suffer for it. Now that's not directly comparable to competition pressure, but you're probably putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed. Don't. Just focus on making the one shot in front of you, perfectly. If you get it, great. If not, analyze what went wrong and work to improve it on the next shot. Then the next one. And the next. And if you get 20th place, you will learn something during those shots that placed you in that place. Work on improving it. If it's match pressure, simulate match conditions in your practice. Get your significant other to watch you, or videotape yourself, or do something that will place pressure on you. Annoying music is fun. I recommend anything by Kanye West for that authentic, 2016 World Cup in Baku, AZE feel.


Hope some of this helps you. Keep at it!

BTW - For me one of the positive keys is that I ONLY ever deal with the things over which I have "direct control", and the rest is put away for someone else to deal with.

Assuming you have a disciplined shot routine, remember that the mind can multi-task two things relatively well, but three or more is almost impossible. For me it has worked out that my routine, once started runs on autopilot (no active thought given to it). This leaves me two variables over which I maintain active control. 1)front sight focus/alignment and sight movement velocity (or rather lack of it) and 2) shot release. These tasks are allocated 1-80%, 2-20%. In fact, shot release is almost an automated response to resolving task #1.

In case someone has not mwntioned it to you before, keep a shooting diary. Writing down the things that do work, including positive reinforcements, greatly helps your cognition. I recently dropped 10-20 points per match, and my shooting diary helped me identify a small change in my technique that was reaponsible for it.

Pheyden wrote:In case someone has not mwntioned it to you before, keep a shooting diary. Writing down the things that do work, including positive reinforcements, greatly helps your cognition. I recently dropped 10-20 points per match, and my shooting diary helped me identify a small change in my technique that was reaponsible for it.

Funny you mention that. I was firing just this week and had hit a low point (in the white with a few shots... embarrassing . I'm used to seven through ten, not four!). My wife pointed out that I was still wearing sandals instead of my proper shoes. It made all the difference...

I'm working harder on my balance because of this and it's helping a lot .

Being a "veteran" shooter, not that I have extensive years of shooting experience but simply old, I suffer from various maladies that affect my balance. This includes knees that hyper-extend, and a brace on my left ankle. For serious competitions I cannot wear the brace, so I started using some Adidas weight lifting shoes. They are a great fit, have good arch support and absolutely flat soles. This has given me a much more stable stance in both 10M pistol and rifle.

On another note, I had been struggling with a drop in scores recently. I remembered that this happened last year as well. i went back to my shooting diary and found the entry that dealt with it. Apllid the same fix as last year and the problem seems to be resolving itself. Shooting diaries do help.