The Think Tank

We started this line at 7pm and did not finish until after 11pm, so at this point it is is after midnight.  As such I am going to keep this brief.

I shot 288 on both rounds today, for a total of 576.  (600 is possible). My general rule is that I shouldn’t drop below a 290, so I was a bit off of that but not so far as to be really disappointed.  (FITA tournaments score this target differently than most.  For FITA, only the very small dime-sized X-Ring counts as a ten.  Everything else in the yellow is a nine.  The X-Ring is not really visible in the image at left, because it is underneath a pile of hit indicators.  For comparison, using normal Vegas scoring, I would have shot 596/36X  out of a possible 600/60X.)

I felt that I shot pretty well most of the night. I stayed pretty calm and focused on my form and usually when I missed I could identify why. I got shakier as the night wore on and my shoulder got sore, but that is par for the course right now.  I really need to into the shop to shoot 3-4 times a week (instead of once a week like I have been), and I also need to get into the gym as well and build up my shoulder strength.

I don’t know my placement so far because a lot of people did not shoot tonight: you have to shoot two of the three days (Fri-Sun), and only a few adults shot the Friday line. I’m guessing that score should put me in the top 5-6, but I find it doubtful I would be higher than that.

All in all I feel OK with today. I messed some up, but I shot pretty well overall. Tomorrow is the next day, as the man says.

The rest of the post will be my self critique and shooting notes. Read on if you like, but it will prolly be boring. 😉

I find that I have to actually think about pushing my bow hand forward when I get tired and sore, otherwise I think I creep in my shoulder or elbow. Of course that is in addition to my general practice of pulling my release hand back to land on my shoulder.

I tried something new today: I kept track of the number of shots that I felt were well performed and where I ended in the proper post shot form. I kept track of both the total number and the streak. I think those will help me stay focused on what is really important. My count was: 49/66 felt perfect or very good. Of those that did not feel perfect, most were only slight off: sometimes in my grip, but usually they felt stiff on my release hand or weak in my bow shoulder. Only a couple “oops” shots. The best streak of consecutive perfect shots was 18 (the first 18).  As I got more tired and struggled through my shots a little more, the errors came for frequently, every 4-5 shots.

I think this worka well. I know it kept me focusing in form more than I have been at league for instance.

I really never felt nervous tonight, which is a good thing.  I also noted something else:  There were a lot of little kids on this line, and they were putting a lot of arrows into the wood which made a very loud, echoing BANG!  I only heard that one time, on my second to last end of the night.  I asked mom if that was going on the whole time I was shooting, and she said it was indeed.  Which means that I just wasn’t hearing it, instead staying focused on my own shooting and shot execution.  That is good.

Additional information: —————————————

Start date: Nov 18, 2011 7:34 PM Target: FITA Inner Ten Total score: 576

Tens: 36   Nines:  24   Eights:  0

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