Over the years, I've had a few lapses in judgment that have caused me to look back on things and wonder why in the world I attempted doing things I shouldn't have been doing. Well, 2020 started off with me doing something that probably wasn't the smartest thing to attempt.
Those of you who are close to me know that I've been battling a shoulder injury to my previously repaired shoulder. By late August, I thought I was on the right track. The orthopedic surgeon told me to take it easy and let it heal on its own. I took it easy and didn't do anything more than sight my bow in to hunt in Colorado. Unfortunately, I had the poundage set at 67 pounds, which is about 10 pounds more than I shoot all year. Although I didn't shoot many arrows to get the bow ready, it aggravated the injury, and the pain quickly worsened. After getting in Colorado, I rode a bike over some extremely rough terrain every day for about two weeks. The constant pounding of my shoulders while going over rocks and through some rough areas, made the pain worse.
When I returned home, I could barely use my right arm/shoulder. I got in touch with my physical therapist to see what he had to say. He gave me his thoughts and recommended an orthopedic surgeon at the Albany Bone and Joint Center. The doctor is widely recognized across the country as being a premier surgeon, so getting an appointment with him isn't easy. Amazingly, I got an appointment for December 9. Well, the week before the appointment, I received a call and the office told me the appointment had to be moved back to January 22.
That brings me to last week. I found out that Jeff Wagoner was going to the New Year's Day shoot at Nimrod, so I decided I would get my indoor bow off the rack to see if I could shoot it. I went to the club one day and shot about 20 arrows. My shoulder was in rough shape the next day, but it wasn't too terribly bad on my scale of 1 to 10.
I gave it a few more days and decided to see if I could shoot 45 arrows. I went to the club and got through it. I didn't shoot any more arrows than I needed to shoot. I kept score so I would have a starting point. In the first 30 arrows, I shot a 300 with 20xs. I finished the round with a 446 26xs. The last 15 arrows did me in, but I was able to finish the round. I decided I would go to the shoot on New Year's Day since Jason VanHillo told me he had a cancellation. I felt good about my performance. I shot a Bowhunter Freestyle setup.
I got to Nimrod about an hour before the shooting time. I was able to see a lot of my archery friends whom I haven't seen since last summer. I've always enjoyed shooting in New England because all of these people are like family members. I would invite all of them to my house. I never really thought about the shoot. I know that I don't have the ability to shoot right now like I'm capable of shooting with a good shoulder.
I brought my buddy Chris with me because he needs more tournament experience, and I knew everyone would welcome him. He started shooting bows last year and is doing well. He barely has use of his legs, and he can't stand or walk on his own, so he has to use a wheelchair. He's a baller when it comes to archery. He has some game for never shooting before last year. It was fun to watch him shoot today. He was beating me at the halfway point, and I wanted him to keep it rolling. Unfortunately, he didn't do the one thing I stress to everyone I try to help. When you are shooting, whether it's in practice or in a tournament, be ALL THERE. I usually put my phone on Airplane Mode and don't look at it until I'm done. Chris left his phone on and got a little rattled halfway through when he started paying attention to a few text messages he received. There's a lesson to be learned from this. When you are shooting, BE ALL THERE. You need all of your focus in one place, especially when you're trying to hit something the size of a quarter.
The Round
I had no expectations for this shoot. However, I'm competitive and I can't stand it when I don't shoot up to the standards I have set for myself. I do know that my shoulder has caused all sorts of issues. I can't hold the bow steady right now, and I just haven't been able to put any time behind the string. This definitely causes issues. For indoor shooting, I'm one of those guys that has to shoot a lot to perform well.
When the round started, I felt relatively calm. I got to shoot next to Brian Visco, and Brian and I haven't shot next to each other in many years. It brought me back to the days when we were both in our early 20s and traveling all over the place. Now, we are both 50 but still flinging arrows. I've always enjoyed Brian's company, and today was no different. It was a good time.
I battled a bobbing sight picture in the beginning of the round. I couldn't quite place what was causing the issue, so I took an ounce off my front stabilizer. After taking the weight off, the sight picture became steadier and I got on a roll. The sight was sitting relatively still and the arrows were hitting behind the pin. I decided to roll with it.
When I finished the 7th end, I could feel some pain in my shoulder. The pace was a little too fast for me to recover. I ignored it the best I could, but at full draw, I could feel the pain start in my upper arm, move to the top of my shoulder and rest in my entire arm and shoulder before the bow would fire. I tried holding as steady as possible, but not being able to shoot my bow lately, I couldn't find a solid hold. It takes a while to get back into shooting form when you haven't touched a bow for months. If I didn't have to battle the physical issues, I would know that this particular holding pattern was not acceptable. Since I have no choice about it right now, I know I just have to go with the flow and let the pin wobble, float and sometimes race all over the yellow. As long as I trust the process, the arrow should land somewhere near the middle of the yellow.
As the round came to a close, I wasn't too happy about the results. Of course, we always expect more out of ourselves. Although I'm facing a serious injury that affects my shooting, I will not use it as an excuse. If I had held better and executed better shots, I shouldn't have missed. If I can shoot 40 of the 45 arrows in the middle of the bullseye, there's no reason the other five shouldn't have landed there, too. Always push to be better and never be satisfied. When you become satisfied is when your will stop climbing. If you stop climbing, you will never reach the summit. Who wants to climb Mt. Washington and turn around just as you crest the hill and can see the weather tower above? Well, I sure as hell don't want to do that. I want to run up to the tower and know I didn't quit. I want to reach the summit. Your knees might ache, your backpack might be too heavy, and you might be short of air, but you have to keep pushing. Archery is the same exact thing as climbing mountains. When you get to the top, there's nothing like it. So, when it was all said and done, I think I shot a 445 with 30xs. I'll take it. The X count was okay for my first round tournament of the year, but the five 9s could have been cleaned up a little.
I believe three of the nines hit behind the pin, barely missing out the left and right. This was happening because I shot a bowhunter freestyle setup, and I don't think I could tell exactly where the pin was in the yellow. I just don't have enough time behind the bow right now, and it usually takes me a bit to get going when I start shooting indoors every winter.
Eliminations
When I looked at the brackets, I saw that I had gotten Joe Santos. Joe is one of the toughest competitors in New England and to draw him in the first match was going to test my shooting. After the first end, he got a jump on me. Once again, I missed an arrow a hair low, but I think it hit behind the pin. I had a rough time all day determining exactly where the pin was sitting. I shoot a very large pin on the Vegas target and it's solid black. I'm thinking a fiber optic might have been better today.
I cleaned things up the next two ends, and we ended up tied, but I advanced because I shot more Xs than Joe. I've known Joe a long time, and neither one of us was at our best. We both muddled through the round and the match, but it's always hard to beat an accomplished shooter. If you can beat good shooters head to head, you can take confidence away from that, even if they didn't shoot their best. It means you can shoot as good as them at any given time. That's what head to head matches can do for you. Instead of going into the matches and looking at a guy and thinking you can never beat him, you have to draw from other things. I knew we were only shooting nine arrow elimination matches, so I thought back to all of the times I've easily rolled off nine Xs in a row. Ive done it more times than I can possibly count. So, even thought I hadn't shot well most of the day, I knew that the next nine arrows could be when it all would come together and I'd roll off consecutive Xs for many ends.
When I got to my next match, it was against Jay Krampitz, the highest qualifier. I felt good about my chances. My first shot found its way home without any problems at all. I executed a good shot, and the arrow punched the center of the yellow. As I got into the second shot, I battled a quick bobble and couldn't save it before it fired. It just missed a hair low. That was all it took for me to get the short end of the stick. I cleaned out the rest of the match and felt good about my shooting. Under the circumstances, I couldn't have shot much better today. In my mind I could've done much better, but in my physical world, I probably performed to a level that should have been expected going into the day.
What Did I Learn?
I learned today that it's hard to compete against people with freestyle setups when you're shooting a bowhunter freestyle setup. I definitely shoot a scope and long bar better. It makes it easier to see exactly where the pin is sitting when you're executing, and I think it makes it easier to get the bow to hold steadier.
So you might wonder why I'm shooting the setup I shot today. That's what I shot all last year, and the bow hasn't been touched since last March. I just took it off the rack and shot it. When I finished indoor season last year, I figured I would leave my bow set up and not touch it. I wanted to go to the indoor nationals this year because I know the scores I've been shooting on the 300 round with that setup are capable of taking hope a silver bowl. All of my focus was going to go toward that, but the shoulder issue got in the way of that.
I also learned that you shouldn't expect too much of yourself if you have issues that affect how you shoot, whether the issues are mental or physical. I've always put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, and the pressure sometimes causes problems. Just go shoot your bow and let the arrows fall where they may. It makes shooting a lot more fun.
My appointment with the surgeon is on 1/22. I don't know what to expect. I'm ready for the worst and hoping for the best. Maybe I'll somehow avoid another surgery. I'm not going to count on it. At least I can shoot my bow right now, even it it's not at the level I would like to be at.
Daily Awards
Although it was busy and hard to watch everything going on around me, I did notice a few things that caught my eye. Joe Ricard did a great job in the eliminations today. That's the thing that makes head-to-head matches so much fun: anyone has a chance to win. Joe went into his matches as the lower seed and knocked off a couple of titans. Nicely done, Joe!
Eric Taylor looked like a totally different shooter from the last time I saw him. He was in total control of his emotions and his shot through his round and in eliminations. His shot was effortless, and he found the center regularly. He's putting his time in, and the time is paying off. He setting an example for all of you other guys out there: put the time in and you'll see the results. Great job, Eric. It was good to see your hard work paying off.
Jay Krampitz brought his A-game today, and he looked good doing it. In these matches, I never mind it when a podium finisher beats me. Jay sent me packing, and I was glad to see him advance through the rounds. Great shooting today, Jay.
George Connors never ceases to amaze me. George is trying to get a few shoots in before he has shoulder surgery, too. He has a few issues in his shoulder right now that are going to put him on the sidelines for the year. We are both trying to shoot right now because we know we will be done until at least next year. He eliminated Sean Roberts, and that is no easy chore. He also gave Jeff Wagoner everything he could handle before finally being eliminated. Great job, George. You're a beast, and you never use anything for an excuse. I admire that. While I'm a cry baby and make sure everyone knows what I'm dealing with, you just pretend nothing is wrong. I'm here to tell everyone that I know what you've been going through, and it's impressive to watch, especially knowing you're only at about 75%.
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