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Mental game practice

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Pertinent adages-

"Visualize whirled peas."
"They're not hard to hit; but they're easy to miss!"
"Half of physical competition is all mental."
"Field target is a game of details and precision. The more you fine tune every detail, the more fine-tuned becomes your precision."
"Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes proficient, proficiency instills confidence, and confidence brings success."
"I've won matches simply by not sucking as bad as my competition."
"By thinking I was hopelessly behind and giving up, I've lost matches... by one point!"
"Experience is not the best teacher. BAD experience is a much better teacher."
"Don't overthunk it."
"Never give up!"
"Money can buy performance; but only so much."
"At what point does the supplanting of shooting skills with shooting aids, accessories, gadgets and gizmos actually defeat the purpose of recreational or competitive shooting? Hint- To build shooting SKILLS."
"There is no substitute for trigger-time."
"One of the best advantages you can have is being under-estimated."
"Sometimes I get so serious I have to remind myself this is supposed to be FUN."
"Field target is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Which explains why it an old man's game."
"Field target is great fun, but immensely funner when I win."
"I recall the time I was sitting on a shooting line with an also-ran techno-weenie advising I should get a more sophisticated field target scope than my front-focusing vintage Weaver V16. I looked up at him and replied, 'Considering I'm the one sitting here waiting to shoot-off for the National Champion title, doubt I'll go scope shopping anytime soon.' "
And lastly...
"Consider the source.":unsure:

Respectfully,
Og 🦧

😂
 
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scotton said:
As everyone knows, counting during a competition is bad. You are supposed to focus on THIS shot, not the last 10 shots or the next 10 shots. It's hard to stay in the zone if you are counting shots.

However, we have all had that squad mate who will say things like "Wow, you cleared the last 3 lanes" (no one has said that to me for a while) or "If you hit this next one, you will be 1 up on Paul". They usually aren't trying to get in your head, but lack of malice doesn't help you get out of your own way in these situations.

Here's a funny thing about me: I like shooting under pressure. I like shoot offs. I like being neck in neck with my arch-nemesis. I like side bets and smack talk.

Something I have always done in any competitive endeavor is to find a way to apply pressure during practice. When you practice with pressure, you know how to shoot under pressure when it matters.

The way that I apply pressure during FT practice is pretty easy. Just throw down a mildly difficult target, say a 1" kill zone at 25 yards, and hit it 10 times. If you miss, start over. Don't leave until you have 10 in a row. Told you it was easy. The first time you get to shot 7 or 8, you will start to feel the pressure. That's good, it's working. Focus on your breathing and keep making good shots. If it's too easy, move it back to 40 yards. If it's too hard, move it up to 15 yards.

A side benefit of this is that the next time you see a 25 yard target with a 1 inch KZ, it will feel like a chip shot.

If you are just starting out, maybe go for 5 shots instead of 10. Just pick a number that is hard but achievable.

At the next shoot, keep track of the targets you are struggling with and use those targets in your practice sessions. Maybe it's a 12 yarder with a 1/2" KZ, or maybe the good old 53 yarder. Or maybe the elevated targets. I wouldn't recommend going 10 in a row on standing or kneeling shots, fatigue can lead to bad habits.
Click to expand...
Revisiting this after trying this a few times
Wife’s voice
“ dinners ready are you coming in or not “
😵‍💫
 
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AirNGasman said:
Pertinent adages-

"Visualize whirled peas."
"They're not hard to hit; but they're easy to miss!"
"Half of physical competition is all mental."
"Field target is a game of details and precision. The more you fine tune every detail, the more fine-tuned becomes your precision."
"Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes proficient, proficiency instills confidence, and confidence brings success."
"I've won matches simply by not sucking as bad as my competition."
"By thinking I was hopelessly behind and giving up, I've lost matches... by one point!"
"Experience is not the best teacher. BAD experience is a much better teacher."
"Don't overthunk it."
"Never give up!"
"Money can buy performance; but only so much."
"At what point does the supplanting of shooting skills with shooting aids, accessories, gadgets and gizmos actually defeat the purpose of recreational or competitive shooting? Hint- To build shooting SKILLS."
"There is no substitute for trigger-time."
"One of the best advantages you can have is being under-estimated."
"Sometimes I get so serious I have to remind myself this is supposed to be FUN."
"Field target is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Which explains why it an old man's game."
"Field target is great fun, but immensely funner when I win."
"I recall the time I was sitting on a shooting line with an also-ran techno-weenie advising I should get a more sophisticated field target scope than my front-focusing vintage Weaver V16. I looked up at him and replied, 'Considering I'm the one sitting here waiting to shoot-off for the National Champion title, doubt I'll go scope shopping anytime soon.' "
And lastly...
"Consider the source.":unsure:

Respectfully,
Og 🦧

😂
Click to expand...
I love this sage advice!
 
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From Ron’s post above:
"By thinking I was hopelessly behind and giving up, I've lost matches... by one point!"

There has been many matches where I thought I did terrible to find out I actually did quite well. Had I just taken the match more seriously I would have won it Instead of ”screw it, let’s just get this over with“.
 
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scotton said:
I think Ron is talking about "Mrs" in his past, not "misses".
Click to expand...

I'd certainly like to forget Mrs. #2, that put a curse on me persisting to this day (five years later). Thankfully It found It's rightful place in this life- Portland, Oregon! And I have no doubt It will find It's even more rightful place in the after-life.

However there are some very fond memories associated with Mrs. #1; mostly those involving contortions and acrobatics. :eek: Last time we 'reunited' she'd had SIX Misters, in EIGHT marraiges! :oops::ROFLMAO: I sure miss that girl... Rather, certain things about her. 🤸‍♀️

To repeat a quote from a few posts eqarlier- Suffice to say I have quite a "colorful" past. :unsure:

.
 
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GeneT said:
I highly suggest Olympic gold medal rifle shooter Lanny Basham's book "With Winning in Mind". It covers a lot of what's been said here, and more, and to a greater extent. I have some audio thing of his as well, perhaps the same title. Well worth it.

GsT
Click to expand...
That is a great book. He also wrote one for parents about raising champion athletes. I wish I would have read that book when my kid was little. I found out about the parenting book when my daughter was shooting in high school. Just a ton of good life info for raising a kid in general.
 
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I met Lanny back when I was shooting sporting clays, very nice guy. Oddly, I got more out of the audio versions of his books than the paper versions but both are good. Another book that I got a lot out of back when I worried about my mental game was "Zen and the art of poker". It's mostly about poker (duh) but it has a lot of good stuff about decision making under stress and having a good mental outlook.
 
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