Mind the gap!

[Nick_Burman]

Hi all,

I've been shooting air rifle for a couple of years now and of lately I've been having some very good (given my skill level) training sessions, with score hovering in the 550-560 mark (I don't usually count my training scores, but sometimes I feed them into a target plotting software and of course I get the figures), however my match results are usually lower - the last one was 535, of lately I seem to hover in the 535-540 mark during matches. I would dearly like to close the gap, but I've been haveing a hard time at it... I believe that the main issues lie in the emotional, mental and match tactics, but I might be wrong...





Cheers NB

[talladega]

I find for myself the biggest factor holding my scores down is the mental part of it. Whether I'm trying to hard to force the gun to be center or just not concentrating enough. When you shoot at a match are you nervous does you heartbeat go up a lot? For some people that is a big problem.

That happened to me this past week on Monday in Calgary,AB for the Canadian Nationals. It was the first day of Air Rifle and my trigger hand was EXTREMELY jittery. Luckily I got it somewhat settled for the match because during my sighters my trigger finger was shaking and hit the trigger before I was ready and got one in the 3 or 4 ring. LOL

I ended up doing good though. Shooting my personal best of 560 both Monday and Tuesday.


It's hard to know what your problem is though without knowing what is giving you low scores. Very few 10's or is it more 7's and 8's than normal? Are you rushing through your targets or taking too long on some shots. What are you thinking of during your matches?

Most likely as I mentioned above it's all mental stuff.

[Nick_Burman]

I find for myself the biggest factor holding my scores down is the mental part of it. Whether I'm trying to hard to force the gun to be center or just not concentrating enough. When you shoot at a match are you nervous does you heartbeat go up a lot? For some people that is a big problem.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my heartbeat tends to go up at the beginning, but as the match progresses I manage to calm down. The particular oddity about this match was that my best strings came right at the beginning, exactly when I has a high arousal level! The sighters and the first two strings of this last match came very nice indeed, things began to slip afterwards.

That happened to me this past week on Monday in Calgary,AB for the Canadian Nationals. It was the first day of Air Rifle and my trigger hand was EXTREMELY jittery. Luckily I got it somewhat settled for the match because during my sighters my trigger finger was shaking and hit the trigger before I was ready and got one in the 3 or 4 ring. LOL

Thank goodness I don't have this level of jitters (acute body shaking) any more, but I do still get anxious. Maybe this time it was because this is the first match I shoot after a enforced month-and-a-half grounding due to an motorbike accident. Shooting good training scores must have worked my expectations up, maybe I must tone them down a bit.

I ended up doing good though. Shooting my personal best of 560 both Monday and Tuesday.

Congratulations! Do you do the same during training sessions?

It's hard to know what your problem is though without knowing what is giving you low scores. Very few 10's or is it more 7's and 8's than normal? Are you rushing through your targets or taking too long on some shots. What are you thinking of during your matches?

In this particular match I shot the same amount of 10s as I've did of 7's and 8's (18), plus 24 9's. I noticed that when I shot at a reasonable clip (allowing for multiple holds in several shots), my shots improved, and when I slowed down my shots got worse. I believe that I need to train shot rythm. This match took exactly 1:40h to finish, sighters included. My coach (rather, the person who acts as my coach, as coaches as such are few and VERY far between over here) believes that I need to train rythm, he has already issued a batch of exercises towards that.

Match rythm and match strategy are two issues which I believe neeed special attention now.

As I've said before, the beginning of the match is difficult and feels like a drag...things tend to feel easier after the second string...

Thoughts? I follow what is written in some of Our Gracious Host's interviews - if you can't quieten down your mind, stick to a thought or tune. ONE thought or tune, though, and preferably a good one. I picked a particular tune which I find uplifting and use it to block all other thoughts. Failing that I have a handfull of mental exercises which are designed to clear the mind of thoughts. Between these I can get by OK, but I still have problems with stray thoughts wandering in.

Most likely as I mentioned above it's all mental stuff.

You bet. The issue is HOW to beat the mental game without dishing out for a sports psychologist.

Cheers Nicholas

[Oz]

This might apply. I learned a lot.
http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=21965

[Nick_Burman]

Oz, great thanks...although my performance anxiety is not as extreme as yours, your post is most interesting and valuable. Will read it with utmost care.

Cheers NB

[Pat McCoy]

Nick,

Nervousness is caused by anxiety. Anxiety is just another word for fear.

What are you afraid of?

Shooting in practice your mindset is relaxed, and you know your life will change little, if any, no matter how your practice went

In matches many folks have anxiety, but have never stopped to learn what it is they fear? How ill your life change depending on how you do in the match. For most of us IT WON"T CHANGE, no matter the outcome. So we should realize that, have no fear, ans enjoy the opportunity to shoot.

At the highest levels this changes, and there could be substantial gains if doing well. Try to balance the excitement coming from the possibility of doing well with the reality of not much change in your life it you don't do well. "Losing" in the biggest match of the year will still put you among the elite, and you will generally get more consoling responses than condemning ones.

It really is a mental game, and becomes more so the higher your technical level becomes. One of the Olympic sprinters (a medalist) said the final eight all had the physical ability to win, but at the finish line the difference seen was due to mental considerations.

[talladega]

I find for myself the biggest factor holding my scores down is the mental part of it. Whether I'm trying to hard to force the gun to be center or just not concentrating enough. When you shoot at a match are you nervous does you heartbeat go up a lot? For some people that is a big problem.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my heartbeat tends to go up at the beginning, but as the match progresses I manage to calm down. The particular oddity about this match was that my best strings came right at the beginning, exactly when I has a high arousal level! The sighters and the first two strings of this last match came very nice indeed, things began to slip afterwards.

That happened to me this past week on Monday in Calgary,AB for the Canadian Nationals. It was the first day of Air Rifle and my trigger hand was EXTREMELY jittery. Luckily I got it somewhat settled for the match because during my sighters my trigger finger was shaking and hit the trigger before I was ready and got one in the 3 or 4 ring. LOL

Thank goodness I don't have this level of jitters (acute body shaking) any more, but I do still get anxious. Maybe this time it was because this is the first match I shoot after a enforced month-and-a-half grounding due to an motorbike accident. Shooting good training scores must have worked my expectations up, maybe I must tone them down a bit.

I am really not even sure what cause my right hand to be jittery. It had only happened one previous time at home while practicing in our garage. I don't think it was nervousness though. But my trigger finger was jittery untill I would put it on the finger. Then I was able to control the trigger just fine like always. Just that one time I bumped the trigger on accident. My finger was jittery through probably the first 40 shots or so.

Having too high expectations definitely can be harmful I think. I never ever expect to shoot my personal best scores. As long as I stay above or even with my averages I am happy.

Though I wish I would have had higher expectations last weekend. At registration for Air Rifle, for shooters under 21 years old you can pay an extra $25 to be eligible to qualify for the Canadian Junior Development Team. Something like that. Well I didn't pay that money because I didn't think I could shoot a 560 and even if I did I wouldn't have an air rifle to use afterwards. And of course I shoot two 560s and didn't pay the money. lol

I ended up doing good though. Shooting my personal best of 560 both Monday and Tuesday.

Congratulations! Do you do the same during training sessions?

Well it's sort of hard to know what my average was. In January I decided to shoot air rifle at the nationals so I got targets and a target box and did a little practicing at home averaging around 470. I was using a Tau Air Rifle. I went to the last 3 provincial matches in spring and at the last match another shooter brought his air rifle along for me to try out after the match. It is a Steyr LG100. I shot one shot with it and said YES!. He wasnt shooting this year so he let me borrow it. Instantly my scores went up to averaging 530 at home. Then about 1 month ago I bought a pair of shooting pants and shot 2 matches at home. A 553 and 556. So I didn't really have enough practices with all the same equipment.

It's hard to know what your problem is though without knowing what is giving you low scores. Very few 10's or is it more 7's and 8's than normal? Are you rushing through your targets or taking too long on some shots. What are you thinking of during your matches?

In this particular match I shot the same amount of 10s as I've did of 7's and 8's (18), plus 24 9's. I noticed that when I shot at a reasonable clip (allowing for multiple holds in several shots), my shots improved, and when I slowed down my shots got worse. I believe that I need to train shot rythm. This match took exactly 1:40h to finish, sighters included. My coach (rather, the person who acts as my coach, as coaches as such are few and VERY far between over here) believes that I need to train rythm, he has already issued a batch of exercises towards that.

Match rythm and match strategy are two issues which I believe neeed special attention now.

As I've said before, the beginning of the match is difficult and feels like a drag...things tend to feel easier after the second string...

Thoughts? I follow what is written in some of Our Gracious Host's interviews - if you can't quieten down your mind, stick to a thought or tune. ONE thought or tune, though, and preferably a good one. I picked a particular tune which I find uplifting and use it to block all other thoughts. Failing that I have a handfull of mental exercises which are designed to clear the mind of thoughts. Between these I can get by OK, but I still have problems with stray thoughts wandering in.

Yes, definitely getting a good rhythm is needed. I found last week that my bad shots happened when I couldnt center it good enough and took longer and then just forced it or shot it while it was passing the center. Sometimes you get lucky and have a good shot, but it is a very bad habit.

I know for shooting .22 in prone I struggle very much. Infact I shoot just as good if not better in kneeling than I do in prone, and now with the shooting pants I'm only a few points off my prone targets when I shoot standing.

I havent been shooting air rifle long at this level so I dont know what the normal is, but for me I only do maybe 10 sighter shots. I do like 4 or so on the same target then see where my grouping is averaging. Adjust sights or positioning and go onto the targets. Both monday and tuesday I took about 1:30 for my matches. The first day I was second last to finish, the second day I was last to finish. That is because I was in a relay with younger kids because when I got my SFC classification I was shooting at a lower level.

But anyways I did notice I slowed down a little bit near the end and that is where I had most of my bad shots ( eight 8's first match, five 8's second match ).

Another thing you could do is after your first couple strings where you shoot real good, take a 5 minute break. Rest a bit, relax then start back up. I have been having that problem in .22 prone. I start off good and finish terrible. But I've finally realized what I need to do. Once I started shooting 5 shots, then resting for 15 - 20 seconds before shooting another 5, I did much better. I think a similar thing would help you. Maybe 30 shots then rest 5 minutes and then 20 shots then rest and then the final 10 shots.

Try it out when practicing.

For controlling my thoughts during a match. I do very similar to what you said. Either my mind is 100% blank or im thinking of a song in my head. As long as your mind isn't wandering all over.

Is being distracted by other shooters a problem for you at all? If it is sometimes, use blinder on your glasses for sure.

[RobStubbs]

It all boils down to training. Remember the whole point of training is to train to perform well in matches, not to perform well in training. It is mental issue but is almost always born about because people don't train the mental aspects. Most people think training means being on the range, but it also needs to encompass training for the mental 'excitement' of competitions.

I would suggest you train such that you focus 100% on good technique. Load your subconscious with the knowledge that you can and do shoot well. Do some mental training so that you visualise yourself doing just that - one shot at a time, shooting perfect bulls. Keep doing that so that in a match situation can can just replay it and use that to both prepare yourself and to calm yourself down when required.

Remember to just shoot a single shot - i.e. you're shooting 60 1-shot matches. Concentrate fully on that one shot and forget everything else. Just repeat that throughout the match and you'll bring the training and match scores together.

There are however no shortcuts. Mental training takes lots of time, just as technical training does. You should however begin feeling more 'relaxed' in your competitions and therefore they should become even more enjoyeable.

Rob.

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[FabioBrazil]

Hello!

I am from Brazil. I was the bronze medalist in air rifle at the 2003 PAG Sto Domingo with a modest 586.

The subjet of this topic is very common amongst the shooters.

The tip I dare to say is to keep every training session with high level of seriousness about your technique e set attainable (but no too easy) goals for each session.

The tendecy to monotony or lack of attention in training session that drives the shoters to execute and "improve" poor technics is a terrible poison that will make its effects just during the matches.

Shooters who train alone is more succeptible to this and jus the presence of a coach keep the attention in more high levels.

Bringing "good pressutre" in training sessions will prepare the shooter to deal with the pressure he will face when the scores count.

[robf]

i tend to think match stress occurs because of the definition of stress... the difference between expectation and the reality being negative.

Stress will find the weak point of your shooting. You can choose perhaps to try and defeat stress, or you can perhaps look to improve your shooting so it has better foundations less shaken by stress.

The goal is not to get a good score in training, but to get one in competition. So don't put your training scores in as a measure of your expectations in competition. That single step of honesty may help.

But you can look further into it, and perhaps get a coach to assess your shooting and see where the weaknesses could be coming from. I have a major suspicion most people's problems come from a position that's ok, but is still relying on muscle control to get the top performance. As you get stressed and your heart rate increases, and your muscles tense differently, your fine control becomes much harder to obtain, and your scores can suffer.

Usual indication is saying that you just couldn't keep the sights still in the comp. Well, you shouldn't be 'keeping' them still anyway. Your position in it's inner and outer terms should be doing that... and if you're having to fine tune it with some effort, that suggests that perhaps it's not optimal.

You may be getting an inconsistent position... or it's unstable, or not supported, or it knackers you... etc

You can perhaps work with a coach, or a fellow competitor to simulate some match pressure... you need to get some honest objectivity injected.

i reckon as much as all the head theory might work, there's probably a lot more you can do with the shooting processes itself.

look, no-one is perfect, but turn it around. The stress is trying to tell you something... what is it shouting at you is not right on the shot?

competition experience will help, but i've found that as far as the techniques go, if they don't work when you try and de-stress, you end up more stressed... :D Take a mental deep breath and just say ok, i'm stressed, now lets make this shot process as good as it can be. Position, aim, shot release, follow through. Concentrate on the process and you may very well find the stress walks off. Don't concentrate on the score... it's the process that's important.

[2650 Plus]

The 'I dont do no stinking thinking" mantra may work for some but it is not the only approach to mental control that works.for the rest of us. If you must think [ and we all do] why not try a mental process that supports what you are doing. First is arrousal. Too much may actually increase the level of unrelated thoughts that interfeer with the shot process. Not enough arrousal for me causes careless preparation in shot delivery and execution. Find and create the level needed for you to shoot your best and check and adjust the level through out the competitionNext for me is to think about each step through the shot process. Think about establishing the zero hold for each shot while you are actually doing the adjustments.Think breathe and relax and do it.at the natural exhallation pause think finger move while you are starting to do that, then think and visualize perfectly alligned sights until after the shot breaks. The dedicated thought process work for me because , with my mind activlyinvolved in what the shot sequence requires there is no room for the destructive randon thought to enter the process. Should I detect a random thought it is easily recognised and I can abort. Good Shooting Bill Horton