With all the changes in my life recently, quality practice time has become severely limited. However, I feel the break was needed and has helped me in the mental arena. I've also had decent numbers in the limited number of regional shoots I've attended. With that being said, I felt confident when I threw my gear in the back of the truck and headed for southern Ohio to compete in the third leg of the IBO National Triple Crown.
Although I didn't find myself in the top two groups, where I've been peered the last four years, I figured I could make up some ground and find myself in the top eight by the end of the weekend. My confidence was riding a high, especially considering the way I've been shooting my 3D bow at long range.
Practice Day
Since almost everyone in our traveling group had assigned times to shoot, we all chose to do different things on practice day. However, Doug decided to shoot 20 targets to get a head start. While Dad shot the field round, the rest of us shot the 3D practice range. I made quick work of practice, shooting 10 targets and calling it a day. After shooting 10 targets, I felt confident. Every arrow but one found its way into the 10 or 11 ring. After practice, we sat in the giant barn and welcomed the cool air from the giant fans on the ceiling. We talked, joked and had a good time. Here's Doug heading to his range.
Day One
I was looking forward to getting started and knew we would have a good group. I always enjoy shooting with Kevin Koch, and he sets the bar high. He's one of the top shooters in the Senior Pro class and has accumulated his share of victories in his archery career. He's calm, supportive and always in control, even when things don't go as planned. He never gets too high or too low, and it's easy to shoot with him.
Getting to my target assignment, I saw a bomb of a grazing doe at the end of the lane. It didn't take much for me to figure out the distance. I knew it was in the neighborhood of 50 yards, so I set my sight and prepared to send my first arrow of the tournament.
When I came to full draw, I felt calm and totally in control. My pin settled nicely in the area where it needed to be, and I began executing my shot. Within seconds, my arrow was in the target. It hit just right of the 10-ring at 3 o'clock.
Although I wasn't happy with the score, I was satisfied with the shot. I made a solid shot. If I were to guess, the morning shadows played into the arrow hitting to the right of the intended place. I took that confidence to the next target and was ready for hogzilla. I executed another great shot after a long hold and got on the board with an 11.
As we picked our way through the course, I noticed the targets were significantly closer than the last two tournaments, and I knew the scores would be higher. About seven targets into my day, I began struggling with my release, so I changed to another release in hopes of getting things to feel better while executing.
The change definitely worked, as my shots began breaking cleaner and quicker. However, I shot quite a few 8s before getting things back on track. Then, I made a few shots that were good but resulted in 8s. Although I thought I had the right numbers, there's not way in truly knowing if you're shooting unmarked yardage.
At day's end, I knew I had an uphill battle, but I never quit playing the game. I sat at 10 down and never shot a 5. I had issues staying out of the 8 column and all of the 8s put be well behind the 8-ball. I gave it my best but came up a little short.
Day 2
Day 2 gave me good group again. I was able to shoot with Digger Cogar, Jim Livak and Scott Price. I knew we wouldn't have any issues and welcomed the shooters in my group. I've shot with all of them multiple times.
I came out of the gate swinging and found myself plus 2 until we came upon an alligator. When I was glancing at the target, I couldn't believe how close it was to us. I also became distracted with a lot of things going on around us, so I loss my focus for a few minutes. This loss of focus cost me dearly. I shot a 5 on the gator, simply from not paying attention. This was a mistake I shouldn't have made and will have to do better in the future to prevent it from happening again.
After making the mistake, my mental state was fragile until the end. While I didn't shoot poorly, I shot too many 8s to be in the hunt. I ended the day at -9. However, I felt like I shot a pretty good round, even though the score said it was mediocre. I guess it just goes to show you that a few mistakes can significantly change the result.
Final Thoughts
This year has been a struggle. I've encountered a lot of changes, and it seems those changes may have snowballed into a melting snowman. Snowmen seem to be making a regular appearance on my score card this year, and when I was always in the hunt there weren't many of them at all. To return to my former glory, I need to find a way to replace the snowmen with 10s. I know I still have the ability. My long-dsitance shooting every day at home shows me I can still shoot a bow well. My eyes have become a slight issue, and I'm not sure if it might be a larger issue than I'd like to admit. I'll look into that in the off-season.
I enjoyed my groups on both days. There wasn't any tension in either one, and that always makes it easier to shoot. We had fun with Jim Livak on Sunday, and we think he might need some glasses too. Jim (or Juker) always makes the day fun, and Sunday was no different than normal.
My last event of the year will be the IBO World in early August, at which point I will lay down my target bows and pick up my hunting bow to head to Colorado in hopes of chasing down a nice elk in Unit 66. In my time in the woods this fall, which will be minimal due to new responsibilities, I will think about my future in tournament archery and attempt to make the most fitting decision. Until then, I'll see some of you at the IBO World Championship in West Virginia. Good luck to everyone.
On one last note, I have to give a hearty congrats to my buddy Jacob Slusarz for winning the IBO National Triple Crown for the second time in the last three years in the Open Pro division. This feat is simply amazing with all the changes he has had in his life recently. Congratulations, Jacob. You deserve it. Good luck at the last few tournaments of the season. There's something to be said for being able to stand next to the greatest of all time and shoot a perfect arrow to win one of the most coveted titles in all of 3D archery.
