Why did I choose that title? is practice overrated? Why is it that some shooters need to practice a lot to be competitive, yet others don't need to shoot very much at all? Since I've been battling this elbow injury, I've learned that for me to be competitive, I need to be able to practice.
This week wasn't much different than the last month when talking about shooting arrows. My elbow just won't allow me to practice very much. I was able to shoot my bow two times this week, and I waited until the end of the week to do that. I went to a 3D shoot yesterday to keep my edge on numbers. I've only shot 30 3D targets this year due to the weather, and those targets were shot last week when I attended the first shoot in the NY State IBO Eastern Series. Since I will be attending the Massachusetts State Championship next weekend, I decided I better shoot a few targets because the weather forecast for the week doesn't look beneficial to getting outside very much.
I attended the shoot with my dad, Gary and Mark. It was good for all of us, because we are all working on different things. I enjoy watching others who are trying to improve their game. If I can offer any assistance, I try to be positive and offer what I can. Mark and Gary have come a long way with Mark Meyers' help. I'm looking forward to see how they progress as the weather gets nicer, which will allow them more time to be outside.
I'm not sure how to grade my day. Although the day started off okay, the weather turned when we are about halfway through the course and turned miserably cold. Out of the gate, I shot a low 8 on a 35-yard black bear. It wasn't a good shot, and I really never felt the transfer into my back when I came to full draw. Amazingly, I got on a roll after that shot, but I never felt like I was shooting that well. I felt like I executed better shots last week, but the results were better this week. Of course, last week's course was a little tougher, but I still needed to make the shots. I put 4 or 5 twists in my string after the shoot last week to shorten the draw a little bit. The bow definitely held better this week, but I also had a lot more left and right issues than I did before I shortened the draw. I need to give it more time to determine if the change was for the better or for the worse. I made a handful of uphill shots, and the bow aimed much better than it did last week. I felt good about that.
Near the end of the shoot, I shot a five on a gator. I hit it high and deserved the 5. I simply misjudged the target. I shot it for 38 yards, and it was 33-34 yards. Unfortunately, I let that shot bother me and followed it up with a few more 8s. It was from a combination of being cold, losing my concentration and thinking about things that had no business being in my head. I pulled my head out of my ass on the last two targets and executed my best two shots of the day. I realized that this game is really simply when we allow it to be simple. The last two targets proved that to me. I think I was trying too hard all day to get the exact perfect feel. Instead of just trusting my shot, I tried to hard to make everything too perfect. I felt like I had made a few strides forward after the day was done, and I'm looking forward to next week. Here's my card for the day. As you can see, I had a good run. Hopefully, some of that continues in the coming weeks. I'll take any bit of good I can find, because the journey has been pretty tough over the last few months.
Since my elbow didn't feel too terribly bad, I decided to shoot a little bit today, too. The weather wasn't all that conducive to shooting, but I went to my dad's and gave it a whirl anyway. By the time I got there, the freezing rain had subsided, but it was still a little drizzly outside.
I basically worked on my numbers. Although, I shot some of the 3D targets, I didn't really concentrate on my aiming points. Instead, I focused on my process and tried to improve my aiming. I just can't seem to conquer the aim. Since I changed my draw length, I haven't had the bow aim in a manner that really satisfies me. I'm beginning to think a lot of that problem could be related to my elbow issues, but I try not to use that as an excuse. I'm unsure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
After wandering around and looking at the 3D targets, I decided to shoot a couple of targets on the field archery range. I stayed at the 50 yard marker on one of them for a few minutes. I shot 20 arrows and never shot one out of the 4-ring, but the arrows weren't stacked on top of each other. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but we -- as archers -- tend to to that far too often. Instead of being happy about keeping all of the arrows in the 5-ring, I wanted them to be in a quarter-sized group. The bow just didn't hold well enough to have a group that size. I'm going to get this, though. I'll keep working at it to improve my aiming. I think it's because I only shoot once a week now. I'd love to shoot more, but it's just not possible.
As I wandered back to the house, I stopped at my dad's outside target archery butt, and shot some arrows from 60, 50 and 40 yards at his 122-cm face. I did shoot a few 9s, but I felt good about the overall picture. It was cold, miserable and spitting rain. I guess I couldn't ask for much more.
When I walked off the hill and called it a day, I realized that I'm just not able to put the proper practice time in to incorporate all of the changes I've made and have them become a part of my game. I'm doing the best I can, and I'm praying that my elbow will eventually get well enough so I can shoot without pain. I'm considering going to another doctor in the coming weeks to try something new, but I'm still undecided about that move. Health insurance is an entirely different topic, something I will never understand.
I'll see all of you on the tournament trail in the coming weeks as long as I'm able to shoot arrows, even if I can only do it once a week. I'll use past experience to do the best I can do, and I'll realize that sometimes it's necessary to take two steps back before you can take a step forward. I won't lie to any of you; this is a grind. I think it's important to realize how quickly things can change. You could be the best shot in the world, but that can disappear faster than you can even imagine if the wrong thing happens. That's why I'm thankful that I can still shoot a bow. This year might not live up to my expectations, and my success probably won't be near what I'm used to, but I'll enjoy every trip to the range and hope for the best.
Practice for me is not overrated. I need it to maintain the level I've set for myself. Keep pushing forward and enjoy every arrow you shoot. Visualize the best ones and imagine what a perfect shot would have felt like if you shoot a bad one. Instead of giving the bad one any extra motivation to drag you to a dark place, just feel the good one you could have made and walk away with that. It will do you far more good than focusing on the negative.
Until next week -----------------> shoot them in the middle and enjoy the ride.
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