When many of my friends across the region and country headed to the first leg of the IBO National Triple Crown last Thursday, it made me think of the many miles I once traveled on that same path. Heck, I even traveled down it a time or two in the last few years.
Unlike many people, I very rarely go to a tournament just to go to it. I won't attend unless I think I can win, and winning is hard no matter what tournament you're shooting in, but the odds go against you when you're on the big stage. You better have your game on point for those weekends and be ready for the event when it arrives. Although I considered going to the national triple crown this year, I decided against it once I got outside and started hitting a few 3-Ds around the region. I simply didn't feel like I had anything to gain by going to the event, and I had to be realistic about my chances of succeeding. The odds are not in my favor at this particular point in time, and I felt like I didn't have anything to gain by going to the event. I've had enough experience on the big stage over the years, that I always use that past experience to help me.
Early today, I sifted through some of the results and saw that many of my friends shot really well at the tournament. I'm happy for them. Everyone has some ups and downs along the way, but you have to savor the good times. Unfortunately, some people don't see near as many good times as they do bad times. Those people seem to make it look easy, too. I've often thought if people looked at me in the past and thought the same thing. Did they think that I made it look easy when I was finding myself at the top of the pack every week, even at the national events? I'll probably never know that for sure, but I'm sure they probably did because when good shooters shoot well, they make shooting look extremely easy.
So let's get to the winning part. When you look at the number of people who shoot in 3D tournaments or dot tournaments, there are very few winners. Even if you do win once in a while, you will lose way more often than you win. Today when I was shooting with my father and a few of my friends, my buddy Wade referred to a day in 1997 when we shot with Chuck Neese, the former owner of CSS bows, at the first leg of the national triple crown in Bedford, Indiana. Since I always do my research before going to events, I instantly knew who he was when his name was called at the tent. When he was assigned to the same group as me, I knew that I would know in a hurry how I stacked up against the best of the best, after all, he had won the national triple crown the year before.
I was a little nervous at first but quickly found my place and began executing good shots. Since I hadn't been on the big stage too often at that point, I didn't have any expectations. I just went and shot my arrows. Well, at the end of the weekend, after shooting the last target, Chuck put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Son, you shot incredibly well this weekend. You're a great shooter, and you impressed me, but let me tell you something and remember this as you go along, `You never learn a damn thing on your best days. It's those days that you have to grind your way through a course that you will learn the most.' After the brief conversation, we walked in our own directions, and a few hours later, I was stoked. The scores were post and I tied for 4th place out of approximately 900 shooters. At that point, I knew that I could compete with the best 3D shooters in the country. It was my second national event in a row that I finished in the top 5.
Well, the moral of that story is that as time went on, I learned how to win. Many people never get over that hump. Instead, they get in their own heads and start getting in their own way, preventing themselves from winning. People start living in the future before they get to the finish line. They begin thinking about winning. That's why you might see random people in the winner's circle. These random winners haven't found the secret behind winning, and it's probably because they think about winning rather than finishing the job. The job is to shoot your last arrow like you shot your first arrow. Shoot it like it's no more important than any other one you've shot. Winners tend to mash the gas pedal to the floor while the other guys are tentative to put the hammer down. Instead, they worry about getting a speeding ticket before they even start speeding. Then, they get stuck behind the other vehicles in the construction area of the highway, and that is when they decide to speed up. The wheels instantly fall off the bus and all hell breaks loose while in the construction zone. They let all of the things going on around them overtake their minds and consume them. Things flew into overdrive and started happening to fast for them. They didn't sit back and let things happen around them. Instead, they tried to make things happen. As all of you go forward, try to enjoy the moment and just shoot your damn bow. Don't try so hard to win, let the win come to you. Don't be in a rush! If you feel like things are speeding up around you, pick a stick up on the ground and twirl it around in your hands. Roll that stick between your fingers and think of something totally unrelated to archery. You don't have to do this for very long, just long enough to get you conscious mind thinking about something else. This has worked wonders for me along the way. I call it my own personal recovery program. You might look like a goober if you're picking shit up off the ground and twirling it around between your fingers, but I'd rather look like an idiot than to be ticked off because I beat myself when I had a chance to win. Find a system that works for you and allows you to win, whether it's you're personal best score, a local shoot, a shoot with your friends, a state championship, a regional championship, or a world event. Winning is the same no matter where you do it. The amazing part about winning is that a few minutes, may even a day or two after it happens, you don't feel any different than you did before it happened. Once you realize that, the process will become easier to trust and follow. Don't try too hard to win. We are all winners if we capture what allows us to stand on the podium when it's our time.
Okay, enough lecturing and on to this week's events. I tried to get rid of my right tear issue. I consulted with a lot of people and tried many things to correct it. I move the arrow to the top of the Berger hole and tried it there, hoping to fix the problem. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to alleviate the issue. At this point, I've tried many things, but I finally did find a way to correct it. I can shoot bullet holes on every shot if I twist my wrist when I come to full draw and line the string up with the track on the cam. I can do the same thing if I apply a lot of them pressure agains the side of the riser. When I do either of these things, I get perfect bullet holes. I'm not a fan of having to change my form to get the bow to shoot straight arrows. I'll keep at it and continue trying different things. Through some of my consulting with others, I've come to learn that I'm not the only one having this issue with this bow. Although that made me feel better, it bothers me that many guys aren't having the issue. It seems to be a random thing.
I basically took the week off from 3D shooting until today. I had too many things to do, and I thought I needed a break from 3D. On Wednesday I decided to shoot a FITA round at my house, which is shot at 50 meters (55 yards) on a FITA face that has a 10 ring about the size of the yellow on a Vegas target. Instead of shooting the full 12 ends, I decided to shoot one half of a round. A round consists of 6 arrows. When I finished half of the round, I had dropped 13 points. I felt really good about it. I didn't have any big misses, either. If I had shot a full round, I would have dropped int he neighborhood of 26-30 points. Of course, the conditions were ideal, and I was in my own backyard, but that target is challenging no matter where you shoot it. If you want to see how your shooting give that target a try. It will humble you in a hurry.
Today I shot a 3D course and got out of the gate slowly. I seem to be having that problem regularly this year. I need to address that and fix it in the near future. I keep having one course that kills a good day. I was late getting to the shoot, and I only took three warm-up shots. I changed my lens before going to the shoot this morning, and I struggled with that for the first 10 targets. After getting off that course with an 88, I saved face the rest of the day. It was a little damp, as we battled through some showers and darkness. The course was composed of all Rineharts and for a local shoot, it was the best shoot I've shot in as long as I can remember. The course basically had all new looks and lanes, and it was set just like an IBO tournament. When the dust settled, I ended up with a 286, having shot a 98 and a 100 on the last two loops. My goal is to eliminate the bad courses that are eating me up. I think it's more my shot than anything, although today was tough to get going because I hadn't judged yardage all week or shot any 3D targets.
I've been beginning to question my arrow choice. I may try some different arrows in the near future and see what happens. I'm not sure why I'm questioning my choice, but when you shoot one of the smallest arrows out there, there isn't much chance of catching any lines. I think a change might be good. I'll be making some arrows this week and giving them a whirl by next week. Stay tuned on that. Sometimes a little change will make a huge difference.
I'm going to take a week off from doing a shooter profile because it's late and I don't have the time to give to that this week. Congratulations to all of my friends who went to the IBO national and did well. I wish I could have joined you. I did miss being there, but I need to up my game a little bit to feel comfortable heading on the road to tackle that challenge. We'll see what the upcoming month brings. I have tentative plans to attend the last leg in Pa., even if I'm not shooting well at that time. I just like to be around the guys and see people from across the country whom I don't normally get to see.
Here's my card from today. I guess this score seems to be a good score for me so far this year. It's about my average. I've shot one even round this year, and that round was a 301. My low score this year is a 269. I believe my low score last year was a 286, which is where my betters scores have been landing this year. The scores I've been shooting this year are similar to the lower scores I shot last year. It's amazing how much things can change from one year to the next.
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