After registering for the IBO World Championship, I considered bailing out before it became too late, but I decided to stick it out and attend the event since the plans had been made almost a year earlier. My life has experienced a lot of changes this year and finding the time to have quality practice has been almost impossible. Unlike Digger Cogar, I need to practice regularly to perform well. I also need my mind to be clear and focused when I attend events. Over my career, if I've been unable to achieve those things, the results haven't been too terribly good. However, I also know I have the ability to perform well at the highest level, so I threw all my eggs in the basket and hit the road.
Although I drove for a few hours on the way to West Virginia, my neck was sore when we finally arrived. My lack of sleep finally caught up to me. Since the store opened, I've found myself there from open to close almost every day. My back and legs have paid the price, too. In the last two weeks, I shot my bow one time, which was at the IBO NY State Championship. While I didn't shoot well, I found a few things on the bow that needed to be changed. After making the changes when I got home that day, I felt confident. However, the overwhelming chaos at work consumed all of my energy, and I never saw daylight hours to shoot.
Finally, two days before leaving for the event, I got an hour of daylight after work to attempt shooting my bow. At that point, I knew it wasn't going to go well. After shooting two groups of six arrows from 40 yards and seeing that neither group was smaller than a basketball, I knew I was in trouble. My body was shot, and my arms, shoulders and back couldn't do what was necessary to hold well or shoot a good shot. I knew I would have to suck it up and take whatever would come when I got to the event.
When we finally arrived around 3:00 p.m. the day before the shoot, we decided to shoot a few targets before settling in for the night. My eyes were heavy and fuzzy as we made our way through the practice range that was set up along the road. After a few majorly misjudged targets, I finally got it together for the last few of the day.
We stayed to watch Jacob get his award for his IBO National Triple Crown Championship, then we headed back to our place. Jacob has now won the crown two times in the last few years, and it is considered one of the hardest things to win in 3D archery. He battled it out right to the end this year to come away with the title, and he earned it with a great shot on a strutting turkey.
Day 1
When I got up in the morning, my vision was still fuzzy. I also felt like I hadn't slept in days. I got up and got going in hopes that I would come alive and everything would be put in the rear-view mirror. I felt like I might've accomplished it when we got to the practice bags and I shot good groups.
Then, Dad and I decided to shoot the practice range along the golf course. It started with quite a few uphill shots, and I paid the price. I didn't make many good shots, and I also couldn't see yardage well. However, like the day prior, I got it together near the end of the round, smoking the wolverine and turkey before ending with a great shot on the elk. While my eyes and body didn't feel the best, I figured I'd find a way to muddle my way through the day and give myself a shot.
When I headed across the levee to the first target, I walked with Matt Bressler, Tim Gillingham and Greg Heberlig. I knew I'd have good aiming references the entire tournament. When the cards were drawn, I learned I would follow Gilligham for the day.
Being last on the first target, I couldn't get a good read on anyone's bow. Then, when I drew my bow and settled in on the long, uphill large ram, I felt confident. When the shot fired, I knew I had it. I executed a good shot. However in that split second after the shot fired and before the arrow struck the target, I knew I was in trouble. The arrow should've landed before it did. Stepping away from the stake, I saw that what I heard made perfect sense. I had held a perfect line, but my arrow was in the belly of the target. I had misjudged it by about six yards.
Moving to the second target, I let the first one slip into the back of my mind and paid no attention it. After all, I've had plenty of poor starts in my career and recovered from them without many issues. When I got to the stake, I saw a bedded stone sheep and felt confident with my number. I made a good shot and saw my arrow strike the 10-ring.
As we made our way through the course, I began feeling dizzy, and an archer I haven't seen in over 30 years made his way behind my string. Things quickly snowballed out of control, and I saw myself struggling just to hold on, both mentally and physically. Eventually, it got to a point where I lost all confidence and felt like tucking my tail between my legs and walking off the course. I had no business competing with some of the best professionals in the world. I was totally outclassed and didn't do much to make it better.
After shooting a wolverine across a small gully and hitting it in the back for a 5, I just laughed. After all, Tim missed the target and he was still only four down. With only a handful of targets, including the next one, which was a 50-yard javelina, I just wanted to get off the course and forget about the day. I did well to get the javelina, barely miss a mt. lion to the right, then get a fallow deer and a Dahl sheep. Finally, I arrived at the last target of the day, which was a goat. Being the last shooter in the group, I had great references to aim and settled my pin on Tim's arrow. It was in the middle of the middle.
When my shot broke, I knew it was my best one of the day. Then, I heard Bressler say, "You're not going to like that. It smoked Tim's arrow and ricocheted to a bad spot. Once at the target, I saw that Tim's arrow was destroyed and mine was a solid 7 inches from his. I just smiled, took my arrow from Tim after he pulled it and walked off the course. I kicked my own ass and allowed it to happen. I didn't care if I returned the next day. I shot my lowest first round score in the history of my IBO shooting since 1993.
Day 2
Going into Day 2, I just wanted to get done as quickly as possible so I could get on the road toward home. Although I started with an 11, it suddenly went downhill and walloped me. I begged for mercy with my conscious mind, but it showed me none. Finally, after shooting four fives in the first handful of targets, I took control of my mind and told myself I was going to run the show.
The last 12 targets of the day reminded me of my old self. I held well. I felt relaxed. I remained patient, and I executed good shots. Nearing the end of the day, I shot some of my best shots to finish the tournament. I executed a perfect shot on a fairly close elk as well as shooting a perfect 11 on a bomb of a black panther. Then, I finished the tournament off with a perfect shot on a fallow deer and walked away with a 10.
After pulling all of the arrows, we matched the cards and walked down the road toward the tent. Tim had shot one hell of a round, especially considering he had a zero. As we walked down the road, we discussed many things about life, work, archery and the outdoors. It was a relief for me to know the mercy killing was over.
Final Thoughts
Although I knew I had all the odds stacked against me due to the responsibilities my employment has brought with it, I figured I would hold my own and give myself a chance. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong.
My body had been physically destroyed and never recovered. My mind was nothing more than jello, and nothing registered clearly. I didn't learn from my mistakes, and I wasn't able to distance myself from the demons tugging at my collard. Instead, I let them jump on my back and wreak havoc with my mind. I gave in to them and lost a battle you can't afford to lose.
Although every wheel but one was flat on the bus, I continued driving it to the finish line. I've never quit in my life and that day would not be my first. Finally, near the end of the second day, I finally learned what I needed to learn from the embarrassing performance: the bow I was shooting cannot be muscled. Instead, I learned if I just aim the bow, trust my shot and let it happen, the bow is deadly. If I had figured that out early in the first day, I might've given it a run. However, my eyes need to get addressed in the off-season.
I never imagined I'd have an enjoyable weekend shooting with Tim. Although we have had a few differences over the years, I still respect his talent and his opinions, even if they differ from my own. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree and walk away. It doesn't mean we have to dislike each other.
We talked about a lot of things, including bows, yardage, hunting, fishing ... and life. We talked about his YouTube channel he's trying to get going as well as the release he's having made. I can't wait to try the release. It sounds like it might be right up my alley. We also discussed work and all the things that go along with trying to find good employment.
Finally, when we handed our cards in and began to separate to go our own ways, Tim asked me if I'd be willing to relocate for work, and I told him it would all depend on the offer. As I've always tried to help others, I appreciated the fact that after we talked about my misfortunes, he was thinking of how he might be able to help me someday if things worked out for him in his business ventures.
Looking at my performance, I don't give it much thought. If I hadn't run into the issues I had to deal with at work, I would've been more concerned about everything that happened. I realized you can't beat yourself up when the stars don't align.
I've been considering calling it a career at the national level and doing other things with my time. The new job doesn't lend well to practicing, and I know I can't compete if I can't practice properly. Although I think things haven't played out well the last few years, when I began researching it to find out if I still "have" it, I found some interesting facts.
In the last three years, excluding this year, I've been on the leader board at one point in every shoot I've attended except a few times. I've been a contender, and I've appeared consistently near the top during the events. I think I've lost sight of that because I expect more of myself.
After looking at all of the data, I decided to go to my annual eye exam in October, shoot a little in the winter, then make a decision. It'll give me more time to digest all of the changes in my life this year and try to sift through them and make the best choice for myself. Until then, I hope everyone has a great fall and all your arrows fly true.
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