Well, I don’t really know where to start this. I’d guess that half of the people reading this don’t know that the mythical hero Superman, the superhero that most children adored, came to be known in Metropolis, Illinois. As a child, he lifted the back end of the car above his head… and the rest is history. We were all able to witness some heroic actions on Saturday evening, as a new Superman was born… Jacob Slusarz.
Although I’ll get to Jacob, I’ll share my weekend with you since that it what I do on this thing every week. Let me preface this by saying that Jacob and I had drastically different weekends, but there is no gain without pain, and sometimes the pain can be difficult to endure.
Practice Day
The ride to Illinois was grueling. After getting up at 4 o’clock to start my workday, I was about shot when we hit the road around 2:00 p.m. Knowing we would encounter the time change, we drove until about 1:00 a.m.
It was a short night of sleep, as we were back on the road by 6:30. When we arrived at the venue, the heat was blazing. The car thermometer had a balmy 95 degrees showing.
A few days prior to heading to the shoot, I was undecided which bow to bring. After throwing a sight on the bow I got the previous week and shooting a few arrows out of it, I said, “What the heck do I have to lose?”
Before putting the bow in the case, I shot a few arrows to make sure the tape was good. Unfortunately, after not paying attention when I took the bow out of the press, I shot a few arrows and didn’t realize one cable was not inside the track on the roller. Three shots later, the serving was shot on the cable and started sliding where it had separated. This forced me to pack the bow I’ve been struggling with and shoot with an unsteady aim once again.
During the ride, Jacob and I talked about the situation and collectively decided I had nothing to lose by shooting the new bow. However, we needed to unwrap the serving off the cable. I had already put a Teflon cable slide on it so the unwrapped cable wouldn’t face the stress of the roller guard. When we pulled into the venue, Jacob had the bow ready to roll. We walked to the target butt and started our weekend. The bow felt unsteady, and I changed tapes on it while waiting to shoot arrows. I had to get the 20 sighted in and start there. I had no idea what to expect. In the bright sunlight, I couldn’t see the pin well and didn’t know where it was sitting in the dot. The blue fiber washed out against the white backdrop.
After about 45 minutes, I felt confident that the bow was as good as it was going to get, and we headed to the practice range. We methodically made our way through the range. Although I was a little inconsistent, I chalked it up to the new bow and the long ride. Jacob actually noticed that I was holding steadier than I have this entire 3D season. When we packed up our gear and headed to the hotel for the evening, we both felt good about the next day.
Day 1
When I walked out the door of the hotel and spotted a pile of dog shit in front of the door, I didn’t know if that was a sign, but something in my gut told me it wasn’t a good thing.
Instead of going to the practice butt, we headed directly to the practice range to get in as many targets as possible. As we went from target to target, I gained confidence with my new setup. Things seemed to be clicking, and it felt good to finally be able to hold the bow well after all the struggles I’ve faced this year. I was finally able to explain why the arrows hit where they did.
Walking to my target assignment, Jacob and I took our time. I had no expectations. As other shooters started showing up, I was glad to see some good guys in my group. I would be spending the day with Bill McCall, Jackie Caudle and Blake Burger. Looking at the first target, I wasn’t happy to see that I would be starting on a 47-yard blesbok.
When I drew my bow, I felt some of those beginning-of-the-tournament nerves, and I quickly realized the new bow was going to be slightly different than I had experienced on the practice range. I got a 10 on the target, but it wasn’t pretty
A few targets later, I lost back tension and the string started going forward, firing the release. Luckily, I escaped with a liner 10. I was lucky I didn’t miss the target with that one. Although the rest of the day allowed me to feel different things with the new bow, I began feeling a little more confident halfway through the round and finished the last 10 targets at + 4. Unfortunately, the first 10 targets left me feeling like I had taken a severe bare-knuckle beating. I’ll be the first to admit that I was somewhat embarrassed at my performance, but many great shooters struggle at times. Billy has been in almost all the shootoffs this year, and he and I finished the day with the same score – 186. The round left me with a positive imprint. With less than 50 arrows through the bow before I began the tournament, it took be about 10 targets to figure out that this setup would not be forgiving to any relaxation of the bow arm. If I’m not rock-solid on the front end, I will go low left or straight left. I made note of that and called the day a success – but not on the scorecard. Hopefully, the success of that round will show up when I need it the most in the future. I can only go up with the bow. It takes all of us a while to figure out what bows like and dislike, then we must take action to make things happen. My 186 was easy to look past when I learned that Jacob was the leader in Open Pro. He smashed the course, shooting 11 12s for a 218.
Day 2
With a start time of 7:30, we were on the practice range shortly after daylight, and it was hard to see. We both shot OK, but we both hit a lot of targets high due to the lighting. As we neared the end of our practice, the lighting got better, and Jacob started being Jacob. He pounded 12 after 12, and I felt good about what was to come.
When I got to the area where target assignments were being given out, I learned that I would be shooting with Bill McCall again, and we would have Darrin Christenberry and Tim Boykin in our group. Although I had a piss-poor day the day before, I felt somewhat comforted to see who was in my group. Although I would never wish evil upon anyone, it made me realize that all of us are good shooters, but we all ended up on the same stake the second day. When you’re competing against the best of the best, there is just no room for error.
Instead of going through the round arrow for arrow, I’ll just give a quick rundown of how it went. After shooting the 20-target round the first day, I learned what I needed to pay attention to with the new tool in my hands, and I did just that. I shot at a lot of 12s and barely missed many of them. I ended up getting two of them and shooting two 8s along the way. One 8 was due to going too long in my hold, which resulted in a weak shot that hit dead left of the 12-ring. The other 8 was on a shot that I couldn’t find a place to put the pin, and the shot fired before I was settled in. At the end of the day, I felt satisfied with my first 40 targets with the brand-new bow. After the first 10 targets of the tournament, I quickly evaluated the issues I was encountering and fixed the problem, only having one shot get away from me in the last 30 targets. Over the last 30 targets I shot four 12s and two 8s for a total of 304. However, the first 10 did me in. I’m glad I took the chance on the bow and decided to give it a whirl in a tournament. The bow aims well, and I’m sure I will shoot it well in the future. You will never know how a bow truly shoots if you’re only shooting it in your backyard. A little bit of tournament pressure will tell you what you need to do to make it right. Although I think I can do well with it where it is currently set, I’m going to increase the draw weight a little bit and see if it makes any difference. I should know quickly what it’s going to do. Overall, I’m disappointed with the results from the weekend but excited about what is ahead.
Although I would never recommend shooting a bow that has less than 50 arrows through it and no sight tape, I’m glad I did it. I learned a lot, and there’s not better way to learn anything in archery than jumping into the fire while trying to keep your feet off the hot coals. I jumped up and down while crossing the fire bed and ended up finishing in the exact middle of the class. I’m not happy about it, but it lights a fire in me to improve my ASA game
I’m four national events into my 3D schedule, and I have three remaining. While this year has not treated me nearly as well as last year, I’m still plugging along and giving everything I have. I’ve struggled mightily with my hold this year, but I feel my shot is better. I’m hoping the change of bows will help me get back to where I stayed throughout last summer. After four events last year, I had an ASA in which I finished in the middle, and three IBOs in which I finished third two times and 9th in the other one. This year, besides this shoot, I have a 6th and 7th at the first two IBOs and a 13th at the ASA in Kentucky. While it’s not great, I have struggled this year, but I feel the work I’ve been putting in will guide me to a better finish.
I’d like to take a few minutes to congratulate some fellow New Yorkers. Michael LeFever laid it down this weekend. He had a stellar weekend and ended up in 12th place. That’s laying the hammer on people when you come from an area where ASA practice is limited and you’re competing against people who do it all the time. Congratulations, Michael. We are proud of you.
I also got to see Katie and Glen Bordwell in the lunch line while we were waiting for lunch after our final round. It was good to see Glen and talk with him for a bit. I can remember competing against his dad many times when Glen was just a kid. Katie made it into the shootoff and put on an awesome display as she climbed up the ladder and finished in third place. It was cool to see a New Yorker put on a show like that in the shootoff.
Louis Price also put on quite a show but came up just short of the shootoff. Sometimes you just need a tad more luck to get you into the dance. He fell just short of the big show, but it wasn’t for lack of laying it down. I didn’t see Louis all weekend, but I’m always rooting for him to succeed.
Superman Showed up at the Shootoff
I’ve watched many shootoffs in my life, and I’ve even been in a few here and there, but I’ve never seen anything quite like what I witnessed on Saturday evening.
Jacob led the qualifying round from start to finish, shooting the highest score of the day on Day 1 and backing that up with a solid round on Day 2 to go into the shootoff in the number one position.
After we shot our final round, we watched Dad shoot for a bit. Then we decided to walk to the practice range to get a few arrows in before the big dance later in the afternoon. Instead of shooting, I just traveled along behind Jacob and offered some spotting skills – and distraction. I jabbered on the phone while he was trying to shoot. There were barely any shooters on the range, so we randomly went to different targets.
When it was time to pack up and head off the range, I knew he was in a good place. He hit every single 12 and 14 he shot at, and he shot about 20 arrows. It was almost as impressive as the time I watched him shoot 27 out of 30 11s on the marked yardage shoot out to 70 yards.
When Go-Time showed up, he was ready to perform. We briefly discussed his plan for the aoudad. He decided he wanted to shoot near the bottom of the 11 to make sure he had a solid number for the rest of the ones he had judged in the judging period. He figured if he hit in that area, he would be good to go on the rest of them.
As he drew his bow and settled in, the shot broke cleanly, and he was off to a good start. He hit behind the pin, but everyone else in the shootoff stroked their targets. He quickly found his lead gone, but that motivated him to go all in. He quickly told me he was gunning at the 12 on the hyena. When the shot broke, we both thought he had hit it really low and had a WTF moment between ourselves. We laughed when he looked at it and said, “Nope, smoked it.” The shadow the arrow had cast after landing gave us a false impression of the location of the arrow. It was a stress-relieving, funny moment we got to share together.
After smoking the 12, he told me he was going after the 14 on the turkey. He settled in, and I watched the stabilizer remain motionless until the shot broke. When we both looked at it, we couldn’t believe the arrow had hit high. Then, we were fooled again and laughed another time… living on the edge. His binoculars told us we shouldn’t call arrows by trying to tell where they hit with our bare eyes. He got the 14 and found himself sitting pretty with two shots left.
Then, we looked at the long grazing doe. The legs were hidden behind a hill, which made the target tough to judge. Jacob decided he wasn’t going to take his foot off the gas pedal. He was feeling good about his shot and was going to play the safe side of the 12. As he got into his shot, a few nerves settled in and the shot fired just as the pin drifted to the right of the 12. Suddenly, the feel in the crowd changed. The arrow landed in the 8, and the crowd expected the two titans of professional 3D archery to capitalize on this mistake. The lead was suddenly gone, but the determination he was going to come out on top was still burning within. We shared a few profanities after the mishap, and it was the first time we didn’t have a good laugh after the shot. However, we chatted for a minute and realized it was time to let that arrow go and get to business on the next one. Jacob told me he was going after the 14 because he had nothing to lose. I watched the hold and felt confident when the bow fired. I couldn’t see the target. Then, he whispered, “Oh, Sh*t. I think it’s low.” Well, once again the power of scoring from the line was wrong when he looked through his binoculars to see the arrow had kicked, and it was in the 14. He would be the leader going into the 6th and final arrow, so he would be the last shooter.
I watched intently as the other shooters made their shots. When Levi hit the 14 out of the gate, I knew that arrow meant that Jacob would have to have at least a 10 to win because he was leading on bonus rings. Then, when the 14-master of shootdowns, McCarthy, came to the stake, most people in the crowd figured he would punch his ticket to the top step of the podium.
When his arrow hit, I saw it on the big screen and realized it was a pinch low. Instantly, I told Jacob all he needed was a 10. I’m not sure what I said or what we talked about, but we shared a few thoughts and kept it light. We never talked about anything to add any pressure and tried to make it like the time we were on the practice range a few hours earlier. As he was getting ready to shoot, I spotted a woodchuck running amongst the walls of the fort behind the target. I wondered if Jacob saw it, and I was going to make a joke about it, but I didn’t want to break his concentration. I’m not overly religious, but I said a quick prayer for the arrow to fly straight and land where it was meant to land. Seconds later, we both heard one voice in the crowd say, “He got it,” and we grabbed each other and hung on tightly. I’ve experienced may incredible moments in my archery career, and this moment was one of the best I’ve ever experienced, and it didn’t even have to do with me. I know how much Jacob puts into his craft and how much he deserves to win. He never says much, but he works hard and lets his work show on the course. When he fails, as we all fail, he makes no excuses even when valid excuses could be made. Instead, he takes accountability and does things to improve. His mental game has improved tenfold from one year ago next week, and this is the true difference.
We walked down the road in the pouring rain last year after the third leg of the triple crown. I was feeling good because I had made my way into the shootoff, and Jacob was not feeling well. It’s hard to comfort a good friend when things go wrong, but I did the best I could. If I could have traded my spot with him at that time, I would have done it. However, he used that day and found something inside himself to become better. He found a new way to approach failure, and that moment made him a winner this weekend in my mind. He did things after that event that many others would never consider, and I applaud him for his efforts. Since that day, I’ve seen a new person who has an awesome outlook. Failures are no longer failures. Instead, they are just things that happen. There is no reason to chase perfection because no person can be perfect. Since reaching the bottom of the barrel last July, Jacob has gone on to make it into the top peer group at the IBO World, the shootoff in Vegas, the shootoff at Indoor Nationals, the shootoff at the 2nd Leg of the IBO National Triple Crown, and the shootdown this weekend, where he capped it off with a win. There are very few professionals who can match those accolades, and it’s even more amazing that he shoots with all of us just like he’s one of us. Congratulations, Jacob. This was an amazing moment, and I’m sure your dedication will continue to lead you down whatever path you may choose to follow. All of us New Englanders and New Yorkers are proud of you. I've been at this game a long time, and I love rooting for all of my friends. There is no greater feeling than when a friend gets it done, whether it's a personal best, a top 10, or a podium finish. All the small victories mean the same too. I hope I'm able to encourage all of you and give you my support all the time.
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