The Think Tank

This will be a combined post for both days.

I started out shaky on the first day, a little nervous I guess.  Dropped my first arrow high-right, then shot a 27 on the 4th end.  The X’s were pretty good: I was popping out holes inside-out in the X, but I was having trouble stringing together more than two good shots in a row.  The 27 came off of three crappy shots in a row, and that pissed me off enough that it knocked some sense into me.  I started really focusing on my form and doing better.

The only thing to note was that it was very dark where I was shooting and I was struggling to see a bit, especially on the bottom bale where I started.  I also got gyped out of an X somewhere along the line.  My count showed 19, but the official score was 18.

The eliminations were not good.  I was very nervous and bouncing all over the target while I was aiming.  The shots felt OK, but only one of them felt perfect.  My last one in particular was crummy.  I was very disappointed.

I finished 5th in the First Flight.

I shot my 2315’s on Saturday, but I bought some new Gold Tip Triple X Pro’s to shoot on Sunday.

I got to Archers Afield a little early on Sunday so I could shoot the Gold Tips a bit and see if they were flying well.  They had a little bit of a knock-high tear, but they seemed to be grouping well, so I went with them

I felt more confident on Sunday.  Things started out pretty good, I felt like I was shooting my shots really well.  My first target was practically inside-out X’s all day, except for a couple.  For some reason my number 2 target kept hitting high, right around the ten line.  The shots felt good, and arrows were hitting the same holes, but they were high.  I switched arrows twice and finally started getting X’s, but without that little issue I think I would have scored about 5 X’s higher.  All in all I thought I shot the qualifier round pretty well.

The three points I dropped was disappointing, but only one of them was really a bad a shot.  The first point was on target three, and I think I just aimed too hard and didn’t pull through.  I was getting a little tired and I did that thing where my release hand pops funny and it went straight high.

The second point I dropped was on target two, and it was just a touch right of where those high arrows had been hitting, missing by a hair.  The shot felt good.  It actually hit the exact hole where both practice arrows had gone.

The third was my first arrow on the last end, and I had a pretty good focus on form because I was feeling a bit nervous, but it came off a little fast and missed by about 1/8 inch at 7 o’clock.  I think it came off fast because I was excited and pulled through a little too hard.

I finished 2nd in the First flight with a 297/18.  My target looked a lot better than that.

I felt better going into the eliminations on Sunday that I had on Saturday.  On Saturday I just knew I was going lose.  I didn’t feel it.  On Sunday, I knew I could do it.  I was nervous that I wouldn’t, and I sort of expected to win the first and lose the second due to nerves, but it was just a different mindset.  My arrows had been landing so well that I knew the only question was hitting my form.  If I hit my form, I’d hit X’s.  It all came down to that, and that left me feeling pretty good.  I wasn’t overly confident because I have had some issues being consistent under pressure, but I had some more confidence in my equipment than I have of late, and that just made me feel better.

Chuck Bakies was my first opponent.  I was very focused on my internal mantra and really wasn’t all that nervous at first.  I was excited, but not really nervous.  Or maybe I should say nervous but not scared?  It’s hard to explain.

I pulled up, held solid, and shot a perfect, dead center X.  That felt really good and proved to me that I could do it.  The next shot was was likewise calm, and likewise dead center.  For whatever reason, that was when the nerves started in.  I pulled up on the third arrow, started to aim and found myself bouncing around. I started to push through it, but then thought “No.  This is isn’t right.  Let it down.”  So I did.  My hands were starting to sweat and my heart was accelerating, but I told myself “Just shoot your form.  It’s easy to shoot your form.  The arrows will go where they go.”  I pulled up, but I was still shakey: my dot was bouncing around the target more than I like.  Not awful, but more than I like.  But, I just kept pulling through my shot, telling myself to hit my form and then boom!  The shot went off, and the arrow hit a ten, just a hair out of the X.  A very solid shot.

That made 30 and 2 X’s for me, 29 and 1 X for Chuck.  I felt fairly confident at that point, but I did not want to get cocky.  I still had three arrows to go, and that was a long way.  The new, larger arrows make a big hole in the target and I could see it clearly through my scope, and since it was right dead-center in the middle, I locked onto that hole and pulled through as cleanly as I could.  The shot went off well, and the arrow slid silently into the same hole in the center of the target.  That one felt really good!  The next arrow was a tough one.  I was starting to feel pretty confident now, and that can be as deadly as being too nervous.  I started to aim too hard, losing my focus on my form in place of trying to hit the X.  I let it down, closed my eyes, and shot a perfect shot which landed on the crosshairs of the X.  Now I felt good.  Even if I shot a 9, I was still going to win on X’s, so all I had to do was stay in the yellow.  That took some pressure off, and I drained another inside-out X.

Next up was Jim Valencort.  I’ve known Jim pretty much since I started shooting, and that is always fun, shooting with people you know.  Jim shot really well in the qualifying round, ending with a 299 and 15 X’s.  The archer in the higher seed gets to pick their shooting position, left or right, and Jim opted to take the left, leaving me on the same target.  I was feeling a bit nervous again, but nothing out of control.  I thought that was a good thing.  I knew I was going be strong with the extra adrenaline, and I just needed to keep my focus, keeping pulling through and hit my form, and I figured I could win it.

The first arrow was a little tough.  I let it down after bouncing around a bit and I felt myself tightening up on the aim.  I took a breath, told myself again that I just needed to hit my form, and ended up shooting a perfect shot that drilled the X.  Jim was shooting faster than me and I heard his second arrow hit virgin paper, and the crowd’s reaction told me it was probably a nine, but I made sure not to look at it.  “You just need to shoot your form,” I kept telling myself.  My second arrow was much like the first: I struggled a bit, let it down, and then shot a solid X on a near perfect execution.  The third arrow started out well, but I struggled though it just a bit.  When it went off, I didn’t like the shot.  It didn’t feel bad, but it felt a little tight, my release hand came out a little instead of straight back like it should, but the arrow caught an X 9 o’clock.  It wasn’t a bad shot, but it wasn’t perfect either, and I felt I had gotten away with something.

30 and 3 X’s for me, 29 and 0 for Jim.  On the way down to pull our arrows, Jim and I were joking around a bit.  “My knees were shaking so bad I could barely stand,” Jim told me.  I laughed, but didn’t say anything.  Bob Green always told me never to let anyone know you are other than calm and in control, so I just smiled and kept quiet.

I knew the match was mine to win.  I had a one point lead, and three arrows to go.  All I had to do was shoot my form, and it was all done.  Saying it was easy… doing it in front of a room full of people is another.  “You have to shoot ’em first,” I told myself.  “You don’t have anything yet.  Just shoot your form.”

First shot was an X.  Second shot was another X.  Both felt really good when they came off, and both hit just about dead center.  I hadn’t looked at Jim’s target, but I’d heard virgin paper again instead of the soft spot in the center, so I felt confident that I had it no matter what.  Still, I wanted an X.  I wanted to drain the last shot, in front of everyone, like it wasn’t ‘nothin’.  Like a pro.

I pulled up, bounced around a little, tightened up, held it too long.  I almost pushed through, but finally I said “Nope!” and let it down.  I shook my head, took a breath, told myself to shoot my form, just hit my form.  I pulled up, held pretty well and shot a good shot.  I didn’t get my X, instead hitting the same hole from my first round just a hair out of the X at 12 o’clock, but it was a totally solid 10.  Debbie said that both rounds looked like 6 X’s through her binocs, but up close there was a sliver of yellow, so it was a 30 and 2 X.  I honestly don’t know what Jim shot, but didn’t matter, because he couldn’t catch up.  I had won.

I was very proud of myself during the eliminations.  I didn’t shoot a single bad shot, and I think I laid down 11 perfects out of 12.  That’s pretty good under pressure, and definitely the best I’ve done since starting again.  This is something that I think I can look back on in the future when I find myself shooting with some nerves, remember what I did here, and duplicate it.

Today was a very good day!

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Start date: Dec 10, 2011 10:58 AM Target: FITA Total score: 296 19x

Start date: Dec 11, 2011 2:04 PM Target: FITA Total score: 297 18x

— Sent from my iPhone