Olimpics 2020: is this an achievable goal?

[Russ]

"I would guess that they would be as loathe to publish their methods as you seem to be."


Suddenly there are somewhere other successful methods available. It is strange to hear from you today after many publications of yours. (Posts: 3594) ;)

[Russ]

I wonder what chewie49 (the original poster) is making of all this...

Spencer, he can learn that Life is a beautiful thing and full of surprises. :)

[Brian M]

Russ, do you ever think that the overbearing approach may be what wins you the most critics? Generally, trying to have the last word is a Bad thing. It's better to say your peace then let it rest. Everyone knows you don't give any information away for free, and the back and forth is a dead horse that's been beaten so much than it's now only a red spot on the ground.

Of course, those who egg on Russ, knowing full well that the comments are only going to incite, don't help matters either. And NONE of it is helping the OP at this point.

[David Levene]

My method is working model. Do you have something better in your pocket?

No, but I don't claim to be a coach.

You always seem to take my comments as an attack on your methods. As I have previously said, many times, I have no idea what your methods are so do not know whether they are effective or not. It would therefore be wrong of me to criticize them.

What I will continue to do however is criticize and disagree with any suggestion that yours is the only correct way. Yours, and I say again that I don't know whether it is good or bad, is simply ONE way.

[Russ]

Dear Brian, it is not about the amount of money I will charge for my service; it is about the principle of my system. It will not work if you will not pay and I can’t help you if I can’t see you and talk with you in person. Is it hard to understand?

[David Levene]

It will not work you will not pay and I can’t help you if I can’t see you and talk with you in a person.

Now THAT sounds reasonable.

[Russ]

David, my method cannot be presented as a diagram or in a power point presentation because there a lot of small details involved in this process. I’m expecting some feedback from my students who understand why they must travel thousands of miles for my initial consultation.

[David Levene]

David, my method cannot be presented as a diagram or power point presentation, because there a lot of small details involved in this process.

I can fully understand and respect that.

Even if you could I wouldn't expect you to. As I said, I have no arguement with your training/coaching/consulting methods; I don't know what they are or how effective they are.

[Russ]

PM sent.

[Russ]

Someday, more people will realize that to travel to the National Championship of any country and spend $1,000 each time while performing the same low score over and over again is a pointless activity. There is only one way to change this sequence; it is to change their initial approach to get what they want.
You cannot wish; you have to do something about it.

Some new set of knowledge can be an option. ;)

Would you like me to rephrase it in a "sugar coated "manner?

[chewie49]

I wonder what chewie49 (the original poster) is making of all this...

Thanks Spencer!! Suddenly I felt myself ignored... lol.

well,...I am trying to filter the messages and comments that actually will help me.

But anyways....thanks to all of you...I am learning many things. As I said in my original post, I am a total beginner and I will be asking a lot of questions and I hope you guys could help me with those.

Cheers!

[Russ]

Thank you guys! for the words of encouragement, for the advice

I know this won't be a "walk in the park". I am very conscious that this will require a LOT of hard training.

But hey...the worst it could happen is that I have a lot of fun while I try it,...and knowing myself as I do...there is no "try" for me :)

Cheers!

P.S.: I am considering Coaching recommended by one of the member of this forum but i also would like to have some literature and DVDs. Which ones do you recommend me? Thanks in advance!

From my understanding, you made the correct initial decision by considering coaching. An experienced coach will answer 90% of your questions in the future. For beginner’s level, he or she will take care of 100% of all your troubles. There is no point to "feel lost or ignored;" you will be in good hands. ;)

[Greg Derr]

Chewie, I would make a few different recommendations. A coach is great, but I would go to a competition as a spectator first and take a good look at the process and pace of the shooting. Second I would seek out a shooter of similar age who you might be able to talk with in your own language to get a firm grasp on what is required in both time commitment and financial expense to participate. Seek out a few local clubs which might be holding clinics or introductory event. I've seen many of folks in many endeavors who managed to jump into something head first without the benefit of knowing what they were getting into. Good luck.

[Fabian]

Chewie, saludos. Do a search for Pablo Carrera of Spain, young shooter who made the finals in air pistol at the olimpics and also shot free pistol. There are several clubs in Spain, maybe you are close to where elite spanish shooters train, or you can visit their range, I'm sure you will get a ton of free advice on your native language and that will help you through your journey.

Carlos

[Spencer]

I wonder what chewie49 (the original poster) is making of all this...

Thanks Spencer!! Suddenly I felt myself ignored... lol.

well,...I am trying to filter the messages and comments that actually will help me.

But anyways....thanks to all of you...I am learning many things. As I said in my original post, I am a total beginner and I will be asking a lot of questions and I hope you guys could help me with those.

Cheers!

To chewie49
Important here is that you discard the nature/nurture debate between many of us and pick up on the common thread that seeking and following coaching is more important than trying to learn from books, DVDs, etc.

Far to many potentially good shooters are (totally!) ruined by 'book learning' - try a search on this website for "no stinking thinking".

[deadeyedick]

Let's go back a few steps to the original question.

" I'm a 32 year old male who has a Crossman 8" CO2 air pistol. What do you think my chances are of trying out for the 2020 Olympics ? "

My advice was that this level of Competition is as far removed from Club level as a piece of toast is from Caviar, and it would be advisable to have natural talent and aptitude assessed by a National coach before embarking on such an ambitious journey, which could ( may not ) be overly ambitious, and a waste of valuable resources.
Richard came back with " a crock of crap "
Russ came back with his "personal interests.
Others, that believe that everything is possible if you want it bad enough" responded with answers they should have known better than to reply with.

The reality Chewie, is that having dreams are wonderful...as long as they are not fantasies.
Make an appointment, if possible to introduce yourself to the upper levels of management in your Country...express your desires, and hope that they will find the time to observe your abilities at this level, as time, money and Coaching resources are finite elements.
Failing this...attempt to be a Club Champion, and move up the ladder as you can, sourcing the best coaches that are willing to help you along the way.
This advice is based on what lies ahead of you, and reality is real when we elevate ourselves above the fog into the REAL worl of International pistol shooting.

Good Luck whatever path you choose.

[Richard H]

So Dick what are the natural attributes that contribute to a world class pistol shooter that one can only have by being born with them, please share.

[Isabel1130]

Richard, I think the attributes that make for a great pistol shooter are as difficult to identify as the multitude of factors and abilities that constitute intelligence and its application to various high functioning professions. A person may have the intelligence to become a brain surgeon, but either faint at the sight of blood or not have the manual deterity to wield a scalpel in very small places.
Pistol is one of those disciplines that it is hard to predict who will reach the top levels and be able to maintain it. It is much easier to identify in the breech, the reasons that a club shooter will not reach the top levels. Good coaches can spot deficiencies very quickly, and tell you what they are so you can identify and sometimes overcome.
I know two great pistol shooters who are now in their early 70's I scored one of them today. He still shoots master class scores. The other one, was a better shooter ten years ago, but now is not. His hold is a tremendous problem for him, and he knows it. He trains every day but still has trouble shooting low expert scores. If will power, training and wanting it, were the answer, the second guy would still be the better shooter, but he is not. If you don't love shooting, at whatever level, you stand no chance of making it to a world class level. If you are doing for the medals, you will lose your motivation quickly.

[David M]

" I would like to train Olympic Pistol and get prepared for Olympics 2020. I have never shot with an Olympic Pistol, so first, I will need to buy one.

Do you think this is an achievable goal? "

If you asked about the 2016 Olympics, I would have said "no", knowing how long it takes to work your way thru the ranks, politics and obstacles' of National and International shooting.

2020 is possible. Start now with good equipment, coaching input (from lots of coach's, using what works for you), gain competition experience and just shoot scores that make it impossible to be overlooked for a team.

If you aim for National's wins in 2-4 yrs, Regional's in 4-6yrs and World cup's in 6-8yrs, you will be on track for the 2020 Olympics.

To achieve this you need a personal hunger (huge) to win.....been there, done that, it's a long hard road, you may not make it, but it will be fun trying.

[Muffo]

Il way in on this with an example but not an opinion. My father decided when he got his car license he wanted to start shooting. He went and tried small bore and did quiet well, then he went and tried trap shooting and shout a bit over 20 out of 25, then he went and tried pistol shooting. they were shooting standard and gave him a go at shooting the precision side of it and he couldnt get half of his shots on the target. He took up pistol shooting because he wanted a challenge. He trained hard at it and acheived masters grade in every event except centrefire. he shot into the 580s in comp in air and 560s in free as his very top scores. he stopped training except for a month before nationals each year as he placed his family and farm at a higher level than his sport. he still managed to hold masters grade for around 15 years doing this. I took up shooting when I was 20. I had spent all my life hearing about the right way to do things but I had never really shot because I was a shit of a kid and wasnt trusted with guns. first time i shot a match when my license came through I shot 503 Air. 6 weeks later I shot 520 at my first comp which was state titles. for the following year I probably did 25mins dry firing every night and shot air 2 days a week. at the end of the year I had achieved a grade mens in comp and was shooting high 570s in training, I decided to start shooting free piostol because I wanted to shoot more than 1 event at youth nationals. I borrowed my fathers free pistol at an open shoot a few weeks before youth nationals while he was making a grip for the one I had just bought and I shot 546 with the borrowed free pistol. (I got a pretty big shock when a few weeks later I could only shoot 514 at youth nationals). since then 3 years has past and due to other commitments I have only been training a little bit here and a little bit there and my scores are no better than they were at the end of my first year. From this observation I would have said my natural tallent was far greater than my fathers but he went on to be a far better shooter. hopefully now I have my life sorted and Im about to start training 4 hours a day 6 days a week and Il see If i can get anywhere