This week was filled with a few different feelings. Due to work, personal issues and a doctor's appointment, I wasn't able to do much shooting at the beginning of the week, and that was okay because I had way more elbow pain than normal. Throughout the week, I began thinking a lot about last year and the success I encountered throughout the year...........and past years.
Although I've been trying to pin my lack of being near the top of blue-stake scores this year on my form changes, I really don't think that's my case for the drop in my scores. Although my judging hasn't been up to par as compared to past years, it hasn't been far enough off to catapult me to the area I've recently found myself in. That's the reason I started evaluating a few things and began doing some soul searching. In my searching, I realized that I haven't been shooting the same front bar that I've shot for the past four years. So I decided to change bars this week. I went from a 27' bar with one ounce on the front of it to a 22' bar with four ounces on the front of it. Amazingly, when I put that bar on the bow, I felt like it didn't move, and my groups at 40 and 50 yards told me the same thing. My movement slowed down, and the new (old) setup allowed me to over-aim and still find the middle.
I've also never had a problem with losing my peep sight during my shot. I've found myself losing it a few times this year but not often. I'm unsure if it's because I now anchor on the front of my nose versus the side of my nose or if it's because I'm shooting the smallest peep I've shot outdoors since I was 21 years old. Last year I also shot a 4x lens in a a small CBE housing that has vents in the top of it. I saw the target clearly last year and could almost see arrow holes. This year, I've been shooting my old Classic Scope with a Zeiss lens, but that setup is about 18 years old. Since I'm not one for changing a lot of things at once, I decided to go with just the stabilizer for this week and gradually slide into the other things over the next few weeks. Ultimately, I would like to be ready for the couple of marked yardage shoots that are coming up in the next few months. Since I have the best partner for that, I definitely don't want to let my partner down, and I want to pull my own weight.
I haven't shot in a 3D league in about 18 years, but I decided to sign up for one this year. I did it because I like all of the changes that I've seen in the archery area at my local fish and game club. I see archery turning a corner and everyone involved wants to improve the archers and the archery facility. Since we will be using Rinehart targets, I figured this was a no brainer. They also voted to let people shoot marked or unmarked. I think this is a great idea. I may shoot marked some weeks to test my aiming and just judge the targets before shooting. I may shoot unmarked on other weeks just to keep things in perspective. I'll take it as it goes.
Wednesday night was the first night. I got off to a slow start, which seems to be my main problem this year, but received and finished off nicely. I shot everything unmarked, and there were some really good shots. I shot three 8s out of the gate and ended up with five for the evening, with one coming from a really bad shot. I shot five 11s and ended at 5 down for 15 targets. I felt pretty good about it. I realized that I shoot well when I can see exactly where my pin is on the target. I've never had a problem picking where I want to hit until this year. I'm not sure if it's my aging eyes or the other things I mentioned above. I'll keep plugging to figure it out.
On Friday night, I headed to my dad's to shoot. Although I was there with Doug on Thursday night, I didn't shoot. My arm was too sore so I decided to walk with Doug while he shot. I did some range finding while he was shooting. My numbers weren't as good as normal, but they weren't too terribly far off. Since I've been working on my shot, I have let my yardage guessing practice suffer. I really need to get back on that horse, especially since I haven't been shooting as well this year. Well, I shot 16 targets on Friday and only shot two eights. I definitely felt ready for the weekend. My confidence was really high.
Fast forward to Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep on Friday night, and my blood sugar was bouncing around a bit on our way to the Vermont State Championship. Dealing with my sore elbow, I didn't take many practice shots before heading out on the course. I got out of the gate really well. When the gate dropped my horse charged to the front, and I felt like I could keep the lead all the way around the track. My confidence from the night before at Dad's house was on my back. I executed a great shot on number one and watched my arrow land squarely in the 11-ring on a spike buck . After a few 10s and another 11, I felt really good about the start to my day. Hearing a crack of thunder and looking into the sky, there was no doubt we were going to get soaked............quickly..........then, the heavens let loose, and my day turned from great to not so great. At points the rain came down so hard that it made it hard to see the targets. We plugged along and tried to make the best of it, but I paid the price. During the deluge, I shot two fives and two eights, yup 14 points in a matter of a few minutes. I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but I dropped 17 points for the day, and 14 of them came in some of the heaviest rain I've ever shot in. I guess when you're confronted with those types of things, you can't control it, so you might just as well make the best of it and see what happens. Overall, my day in Vermont was pretty good, even it it didn't show up on the scorecard. As the title states on this entry, sometimes you can't control what happens around you. I was satisfied with my day, even though I was highly disappointed with the outcome. I'm sure there weren't many people who got caught in the two massive downpours, so that won't show up on many scores seen in the final results. Here's my card for the day. The course was definitely not too difficult by average standards.
That brings us to Sunday morning. Once again, I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night, and I was back on the road at 5:30. When I arrived at Deerslayers in central NY, I knew I would have my hands full. They are always known for setting one of the best courses in NY that a 3D shooter could ask for, and the course lived up to the hype. The best part of this day was that I got to shoot with some phenomenal shooters. There were five shooters in my group, three of them having just finished the top 5 of their classes at the first leg of the IBO National Triple Crown, and a total of 9 IBO World Championships have been won between the five guys in the group. The guys consisted of John Layaou, Jacob Slusarz, Scott Tozier and Sean Roberts. What a group! I figured this would test me and give me a good chance to feel as if I was shooting in a peer group like the old days.
I got off to a rocky start and once again had problems seeing the spots that I was trying to hit. I have now identified that my biggest problems this year originate when I can't see a defined place to aim at. If the target is light in color or has a marker on it somewhere, I can usually pound it and make good shots. Through the first 10 targets, I made a lot of great shots and let down one time. My shots were going off really well, but my yardage was a little off. When we rolled off the first 10, I was really happy about my shots, but extremely sour about the result. I was getting my ass throttled, but it didn't feel that bad because I knew my shooting was good.
As the day continued, I felt really good about everything. Unfortunately, my blood sugar was staying low and wouldn't come up no matter what I tried. It finally caught up to me shortly after shooting a good shot on a spike buck. If anyone out there isn't familiar with Type 1 diabetes, it is a silent disease that many people don't understand. When you look at a diabetic, the person looks as normal as the next person, but the diabetic lives a battle every minute of every day. When I got to the black panther after the spike buck, the low blood sugar hit me like a rock. I came to full draw and could see two targets instead of one. Then I tried to execute a shot and found it merely impossible to do so. My body felt like jello, and my vision was completely shot, on top of not being able to hold the bow at all. I knew I should have taken a half-hour timeout, but I tried to push through it. I paid the price over the next couple of targets but did the best I could. Unfortunately, it cost me a few 8s, but that's the way it goes. I never want an illness to be an excuse for anything, and I will never use it as one. Even though my blood sugar was in the mid to low 50s, I feel like I still should have been able to make a good shot. I guess that's what being bullheaded does to me. Afterward, my father told me that he told the people with him what was going on. He has seen it enough times to easily identify the problem, so has my buddy Don Doherty. I guess that's why it's really important to have understanding friends and family, and I'm thankful for these people, especially for my group today for being so helpful and supportive.
When the day came to and end, I was really satisfied, but at the same time, I couldn't believe how soundly I got beaten. Looking back on it, I can only remember a few shots I really struggled with, and they were the shots around the time when I was having issues with my blood sugar. Besides those shots, the ones I missed were a few bad numbers and some targets that I could't find a solid aiming point. Since I shot with great shooters and people who I trust to tell me when things don't look well, I asked for their opinions. All of them told me my shot looked good throughout the day. Unless they were trying to pad my ego, all of them thought my score was much higher than where it ended up. I trust these guys and feel that they have confidence in my journey. Today was a confidence builder for me, even though the score didn't follow. I gained a lot today, and I know it will benefit me in the future. Today made me feel like I'm close to being able to compete again.
I think I need to start experimenting with arrows. My arrow selection today cost me a lot of points, and they just aren't forgiving for anything near the line. Out of the 30 arrows today, I had great line on 25 of them, line that wasn't off more than an inch or two. The same thing happened yesterday. Hopefully, I find the time to experiment with different things this week. Here's my group for the day. These guys lit it up. I have to thank them for giving me hope today that I can get back to being able to compete with them before the end of the year. It's always nice to shoot with Sean because he puts it in black and white. He thinks a lot of it is related to my vision..................and they all dig my 30-year-old equipment and think that might be some of it, but what do they know. :-) Here's my card for the day, and here's my group.
This entry wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention my father's performance today. He has a tendency to lose focus and not follow through, unless he is shooting an outdoor 900 round. Today, he remained focused and shot a great score for a 72-year-old guy. In my eyes, this is some phenomenal shooting. Congratulations Dad on a great day. We changed his draw length by about an inch and a half last week and made an arrow change. It appears that he got it together today. I'm hoping the success will continue in the coming weeks. Here's his card for the day.
Archer Profile of the Week goes to (T)Ed Kay
If you talked to Ted, you would never know about his accomplishments in archery. Ted always talks other people up and never gives himself any credit. I've learned one thing in my time in archery, and my time in this game corresponds with Ted's time. We have both been attending the same events for the better part of the last 25 years. If you stay in the game that long, you have either won some cool things, or you love archery..................or both. Ted has the both part of this equation wrapped up.
If we look at people's careers in the Joes instead of Pros portion, we sometimes overlook some things that need to be mentioned. Although I may be wrong on this, I'm pretty sure that Ted once found himself in the same place I found myself in many years ago. Going into the last leg of the National Triple Crown, I had a commanding lead, a lead that seemed insurmountable. Well, on that Thursday before the last leg, I sat in a courtroom and heard the judge's voice telling me that I had lost basically everything had worked for in my life. The never-ending court battle continued as my divorce neared its end. After listening to the judge, I hopped in the truck with my dad and headed west for the third leg. I always found peace in archery, so I hoped for the best. When the dust settled, I went from having a commanding lead to finding myself well down in the back. I had bombed the third leg. Most people didn't know the situation I had just encountered two days earlier. Deep down, I knew that might be my last chance to finish the job, after all, you don't get many of those chances in a lifetime on the Joes or Pros level. The chances are fleeting, and you must take advantage. I'm not sure what happened to Ted on that last leg because it's something that many people never talk about, but I can say that I know how it tastes, and as awful as it sounds, it feels like pulling yourself up to the dinner table and taking a big bite of a shit sandwich. It sucks. That's why I respect Ted so much. He never makes excuses. He shoots archery because he loves archery. He puts the miles on because he enjoys the challenge. Like me, Ted wants to get the job done when that big buck or big elk walks past him. He has mastered the game.
This weekend Ted brought out some of that old magic and shot some incredible scores in Vermont and New York, winning the NY shoot. I'm not sure if he won the Vermont shoot, but I'd say he probably came damn close if he didn't.
I like Ted so much, too, because he reminds me of me and my dad. He travels with his wife, Sara, and they enjoy the time together. They also bring their daughter, Kathryn, and everything is done as a family. They share that same family bond that my father and I share. Ted and Sara are always interested in others' well-being, and they cheer others on while not talking about themselves and their accomplishments. It's always a pleasure to be around them, and I enjoy watching them succeed while they're on the archery range or in the woods.
Keep plowing forward, Ted, and stay the course. It's a marathon not a sprint. You had a phenomenal weekend and it was great to see, even if I had to spend the day with our angry buddy who is as angry as me. ;-)
Until next week -------------------------> shoot them in the middle and never give up.
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