When I began shooting competitive archery as a teenager, I knew these two items were things that were considered the Holy Grail of 3D archery. If you could win one of these, you had accomplished an incredible feat. Although I have many different awards, some hold more value than others. Of anything I've ever won, I feel the top picture is one that reminds me that doctors aren't always right. Three different doctors told me that I would never shoot a bow again when I had surgery a few years prior to winning that award. I told my dad I would made those surgeons liars. I love shooting my bow, and I knew I would do anything to be able to shoot again. So winning that award has more meaning than any other.
Anyhow, since it's an IBO World Championship belt buckle, I guess we will give a review of this year's IBO World Championship. Read along and see if you kind find a part of your weekend in my weekend. I hope you all had a good time.
All I can say is that I’m glad the competitive 3D season is over. It ended with a bang at Snowshoe Mountain, and I got to see some of my friends put on some fantastic shooting displays. It was a pleasure to watch. After talking to many of them, I realized that they battle the same demons that we all battle at times.
When I got to the target butt the first day, I did what I always do. I walked to the 10-yard butt and just focused on my shot execution. I think far too many people start at the 20-yard butt, shoot a few arrows then rush to their max-distance bale. They’ll stand at that bale for the rest of their practice time and try their hardest to shoot arrows into the center of the dot. Some people will shoot awesome groups and build their confidence, but others will spray arrows and head to the course with negative thoughts in their heads. After I work on my execution, I shoot a few arrows at the 35-yard butt to make sure that my marks are still on. If the arrows hit behind the pin, I return to the 10-yard and 20-yard bales to make sure I can feel my shot. That’s just some food for thought for all of you as you go into the future.
As I waited for my group to be called on the first day, I saw a lot of people I knew, which made it relaxing. Unlike some years in the past, I didn’t feel a lot of anxiety. After the year I have experienced, I had no expectations. My goal for the weekend was to execute good shots and try to get good numbers. I knew if I did that, I would definitely have a good chance of shooting on the final day. Although I have struggled this year, I know my abilities and never question my confidence. My confidence has remained constant, even though my scores didn’t live up to many other people’s expectations. Having put in the time to learn how to execute good shots with my new form, I was 100% confident that I’m as good a shooter as I was before the changes, and I’m headed toward being a better shooter. My goal for the year has been reached, even though the scores haven’t followed. I know the scores are lagging behind, but when you’re working on becoming better, it almost always takes more time for the results to show on the other end.
When my group was called, we headed down the road toward the first target. I quickly realized that I had some good guys in the group, and we were going to get along and have a good time. Dave Ferguson, from western NY, was in my group. Since I live in eastern NY, I’m quite familiar with Dave and his family’s success while shooting bows. That family has game, plain and simple. Dave had a great year this year and finished near the top at the national events he attended. I knew that if I could stay with him, I would be in good shape. I figured we would both be able to feed off from each other, which would keep both of us focused. Since I had never met Dave, I didn’t know what to expect. Within minutes, I knew he was just another guy. He was just like me, a guy who loves to shoot his bow and spend time with his family while doing it.
I was a little nervous on the first couple of targets, but my muscle memory took over and the shots broke cleanly. Our first real test came on target number four when we turned the corner and spotted a Big 10. Looking at it, the number jumped out at me. I knew it was between 45 and 50, so I dialed it up and settled in when it was my turn. The pin settled right next to a shadow on the target that I used for a marker, and I broke one of the best shots I’ve ever broken at a national or world championship. The arrow struck an inch above the 11. After shooting that shot, I felt like I was in a groove. I knew I was going to have a good day.
If my memory serves me right, the next target was a strutting turkey. As soon as I looked at it, I got a good number. The pin settled perfectly in the place I wanted it to sit, and the shot fired instantly. I was pumped when I saw the arrow hit behind the pin. Although it wasn’t in the 10-ring, it was just barely above it, less than an inch. I had no complaints. The arrow hit exactly where the pin was sitting.
The next target might have been my toughest target of the two days, but I battled through it and got a 10. It was still dark, and fog was drifting through some thick evergreens when we arrived at a wolverine that was in a dark hole on a pretty steep decline. The shot required a hard bubble to the left. When I drew the bow the first two times, I couldn’t locate the target. As I began to pull on the second attempt, something felt awkward, so I eased tension off from my trigger and looked around the side of the housing. Instantly, I realized I was holding to the left of a white dot on the neck. Thankfully, I let down and gave it another try. This time, I splashed the fiber to the right of those white dots and pulled. When the shot fired, I was nervous. Stepping back from the stake, I saw it touching the 10-line at 3’oclock. I felt relieved and lucky at the same time.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I continued executing good shots, and the shots felt awesome. Throughout the day, I had a hard time seeing exactly where I was holding, which might have led to my low X count. I got off the course with four eights, which were all just a hair high out of the 10-ring. I didn’t miss anything by more than and inch or two, and I held a great line, especially for a mountain with a lot of side hills to compete against. I only shot four 11s, but I also just missed a bunch of them. I came pretty close to shooting even for the day and was satisfied with the result on the scoreboard. I had a winning performance.
Going into day two, I figured I would try to follow my original game plan. When we got to the first target, I had to lead it off. I got a few different numbers while measuring it up. When I finally settled on a number, I felt a little hesitant and thought I might hit it high. When the shot broke, I instantly knew it was farther than I had anticipated when I listened to the arrow in flight. Stepping away from the stake, I saw that I had a perfect line and the arrow was resting just above the 8-line at 6’o’clock below the 10-ring. I definitely felt a little anxiety on that first shot.
As always, I never looked at the scores after the first day. Heck, there’s absolutely no reason to look at scores because a first-day score doesn’t mean anything at all. What matters is when you’re all done. After the first day, I knew that I was in the hunt. Having shot many of these events, I figured I could be no worse than the fifth best score of day one. Later on, I found out I was right. I was the fifth best score of the day.
After the first shot that day, I struggled a little with yardage before I finally got it dialed in. My shots became effortless and the arrows were hitting directly behind the pin. I couldn’t ask for more. Before I knew it, I had rolled off five 11s in a row, and I knew I was in a zone for more. The pin was holding good and my yardage was spot on. Very rarely do us Joes know we are in the “Zone,” but I’ve been there enough times over the years to know I was there. My mind was relaxed, my body was loose, and my shot was effortless. There were no outside thoughts in my mind that could distract me. Instead, I was trying to win every tournament I shot, and every tournament I shot was the next target. After my fifth 11 in a row, I knew I was going to get another one when I heard the group in front of us shooting at the target. I could tell that the target was set at 30 yards or under when I listened to the arrows in flight before they hit the target.
As soon as the group in front of us cleared out of the way, I walked to the stake with my group. When we looked into the woods, we couldn’t see a target………..we couldn’t see anything at all. As we searched, Austin finally located it and told us that there was an elk in there. I was relieved a little, figuring I could probably stay in a basketball-sized 10-ring at that distance, even if I couldn’t see it. After Austin shot his arrow, I couldn’t see it in the target, and he even had white vanes on it. When I drew the bow and anchored, I tried finding the outline of the target and couldn’t see anything at all. I let down and decided to do what I know you should do when you can’t see a target. I drew again, anchored, put the pin in the middle of an entirely black area and began pulling. When the shot fired, I didn’t know what to expect. As I stepped away from the stake and glassed, I almost blew a top. My arrow had struck way to the right, just inside the 8-ring…………….on a 30-yard elk.
I’ve always been very proud of my mental game. I’ve accomplished things under pressure that very few people have been able to do while in the same situation. I’m proud of that ability and know that is the reason why I’ve come out on top many times. Unfortunately, we all have mental lapses from time to time.
As I walked away from the elk, I could feel the internal rage. Although I had been shooting one-arrow tournaments for the first 29 shots, I instantly thought about the future. When I did that, I pictured that one particular bullshit target-set (which I've never seen anything similar at a national event) as being the difference between making the cut and sitting it out. Having made the cut numerous times, I know that usually it’s a combination of things that cause people to miss the cut, not one single thing. Instead of letting it go, I stormed to the next target. I could feel my blood pressure raising and bitched about it for the entire walk to the next target.
As I pulled my stool out to sit on it, I heard the guy in the group in front of us shoot an arrow. As soon as I heard the arrow, I had a pretty good guess at the number. I was almost certain of it, too. Heck, I was rolling, and couldn’t do anything wrong. With the rage still boiling, I skipped a few steps in my process, which threw me off my game. When I reached full draw on the gator, the pin settled on a small piece of sunlight on the target that was at the top of the 11. I began pulling and the shot fired. I knew that I had just smoked another 11………..I was on my way. However, in the instant between the bow firing and the arrow hitting the target, there was a hollow noise, a noise I had never heard in my 30 years of shooting national and world events. I had missed the alligator. My arrow had just narrowly missed making contact with the foam. I had done something that I’ve watched so many other people do, but I have never experienced it myself – I let an outside interference take control of my mental edge. I can assure you that I learned my lesson and that will never happen again.
As soon as I did it, I went to my stool and realized I was still in decent shape. I would need to pull off one of my better sets of 10 targets, but I knew I could still do it. I quickly researched my brain and began recalling some of my experiences. In the last leg of the national triple crown a few years ago when I won, I shot a 109 on a 10-target loop. Then, I thought back to the IBO World last year when I shot 13 out of 20 11s on the last day or the day in mid '90s when I shot 18 our of 20 xs in Erie at the second leg of the IBO National Triple Crown.
We got to the next target, and I put all of my focus behind the string. I quickly reeled off three 10s……….I was running out of time, but I knew I could probably still get at least five of the remaining seven 11s, heck I had done it before.
I continued grinding, refusing to give in. I’ll never quit, even if I think I’m in last place. That’s what has allowed me to take this form change this year, share it with you, and make progress every week, even if the scores didn’t show it. I refuse to lose. Winners are not chosen; they are made. I make myself a winner. Can you say the same? Would you have folded your cards after shooting a zero at the halfway point? Not this guy.
As far as the zero goes, although I’ve shot some zeros here and there along the way, that one was my first one I’ve ever shot at world or national event……….ever due to my own actions and not an equipment failure. I take ownership of losing my mental edge, but at the same time, if the target set wasn’t a bullshit-set that relied on pure luck to shoot a 10, I could have easily let it go. When you’re trying to determine a winner, NOTHING should come down to a lucky shot. I’m not sure who set the stake or the target, but it never should have been approved, even if it was a 30-yard elk. I could go on for hours about it, but whoever set it or approved it can be rest assured that it prevented me from making the shootoff and not because of the difficulty of it, because of the agitation of so much luck being involved to get the highest score on it. Let the shooters be fooled by a target set that induces a bad estimate, not something that relies on pure luck for everyone involved. You either drew the bad luck card or the good luck one. Unfortunately, I drew the bad luck one. My reactions to it will never happen again. I learned a valuable lesson, and I’m thankful for it. It will help me in the future.
When I signed my cards and headed up the mountain at the end of the day, I knew I had just had a winning performance. I shot well enough to win. Sometimes bad luck bites you, and sometimes you win when you don’t have a winning performance. It’s just a fact of tournament archery. After all of my struggles this year, I finally felt pretty damn good about my hold, execution and results. If I throw out the two unfortunate incidents, this tournament settled nicely into one of my top three of the year. I still have a few things to work on, but I know I will keep improving as time moves forward. I accomplished my goal for the year, and I did exactly what I figured I would do when I decided to make changes: I sacrificed a year to ready myself as I inch closer to the senior class……………Step 1 of the mission has been completed. Step 2 will begin with the indoor season in a few months. I need the time away from the bow right now. I'll begin after next week's team event with Jacob.
I’m excited for a lot of my friends who were able to get to the final day. It was even more fun to watch a few of them shoot in the shootoff. I watched John Vozzy donut the 11 on the first shot of the shootoff and continue strong through the next two before I stepped away to watch Jacob and Ben shoot in their group. Jacob and Ben went arrow for arrow through the course, and as it should, it came down to the last target. Ben led it off and needed to shoot a 10 to secure the win. Shooting a 10 on a coyote that is over 45 yards for the title is something I’m sure everyone can appreciate. He hit the top of the 10, and Jacob followed it up with an 11. I know many of you shoot large diameter arrows to gain points. For average Joes you’re probably hurting yourself more than improving your odds of getting better scores. Although Jacob shot a phenomenal round at 106 in the shootoff, he would have ended with a 109 if he had been shooting a .22 diameter shaft. I’ll bet you see him change arrows for next season. As I walked with these guys, Jacob reminded me of myself. He kept talking about his dad and wondered how his dad was doing. He just wanted his dad to shoot well. He cared more about his dad than he did himself. I always think the same for my dad. Great job John. That was really impressive shooting. You had a phenomenal year. Keep it up and move right on into hunting season.
It would take me forever to give props to everyone who did well, so I’ll just extend my congratulations to all of you, whether you made the cut, shot a personal best, made new friends, or just missed winning.
I’ll also tell a few of you that my pain is your pain. Aron, Jon, Dad, Deb, and a few others I’m sure I’m forgetting, I know the feeling of turning the doorknob but not being allowed to go inside. You have to stand on the porch while everyone is inside partying it up. I’ve been there. It sucks. Nothing is worse in target archery. Try to build from it and use it as experience. Let it drive you to smash the door open and join the party next year.
Kathryn I can really feel your pain. I’m sure you can look at people and say they just don’t get it. I get it, and I know exactly what it feels like. If we had had a little bit of luck on our side, we both would have been able to last for another day. Hopefully, you can build on this year and come back with a vengeance. Continue working and show people you can persevere. You can put a momentary bad incident behind you and use it as a driving force. Great job this year.
Ol’ Vozz, my heart hurts for you. No matter what anyone says, you put on a great display of shooting. It would be totally different if a bad shot cost you. I guess the silver lining is that you had one bad number that made the difference. Your shooting looked great, and you held everyone back for 49 targets. Sometimes NASCAR drivers start banging back and forth at the finish line and one guy dominates but when his car gets hit, the two cars go over the finish line at the same time, the dominating car got a bad break and crosses a hundredth of a second behind the winning car. You dominated and we all got to see it. Great job. Get back at it and find your way again. You won one and came in second at one. Outstanding job. Just like you told me………..watch Little Brave.
I’m not going to do a shooter profile this week. There are far too many people who deserve it. I’m just glad I’m surrounded by a lot of people who have the same passion for archery that I have. As things wind down, I hope all of you cherish your good moments and learn from your bad moments. Even if you had the worst world championship ever, I’m sure you can find something good about it to build on. We all experience a bad one here and there. Unfortunately, it sometimes comes at the most inopportune moments. Don’t let it get you down if you’re one of those people. I’ve sat in that row of seats, too, but I found a way to learn from it and come out on top, just like I’m doing right now as I build upon one of my worst scoring years ever, but best shooting years.
Last night was a great night. I was surrounded my an incredible group of guys, all of whom I call friends, all of whom I respect very much in archery. We talked about a zillion different things. All of these guys feel like they are my family. We bid on targets, bullshitted and talked about many different things. As I looked around the room, I couldn't believe the level of people who surrounded me. Everyone in that room had accomplished a great feat in archery at some point in time. It's not too often that you're surrounded my greatness like that, and it felt awesome to know that I'm one of them, we are all part of each other's success. We all want to win, but we all route for each other. I think that's what makes all of us better. Thanks for a great night.
I’ll be teaming up with Jacob at Shawn Couture’s shoot next weekend in Massachusetts, and that will be it for me for the season. I’ll be headed to Colorado to chase elk two weeks after that.
Until next week..................live, breathe, eat and sleep archery, because that is definitely what I'll be doing. Here's my card. I got through without any bad numbers that led to a five. If we take the mental lapse out, I would have been shooting with Jason on Sunday.
