Mental Focus

As I try to push myself harder and harder towards getting my Master classification, I have been learning more of what it takes to shoot at that level of performance. At the ILL state match in September of 2012 I realized something that should be obvious, but certainly wasn't. The level of mental focus required to shoot 95% or better all the time is certainly at a much higher level than shooting at 93 or 94%.

When I shot at the Nationals earlier this summer, I shot very poorly. I thought everything was right but just couldn't get the shots where I wanted them. At first I thought I was just suffering from "performance anxiety" but after returning back home and seeing my practice scores suffer, I realized something more was going on. At that time I was heading up a very large project at work and it was causing extensive amounts of stress. I used to think I could shut off "work brain" and switch to "normal brain" after 5:00, but I am sure I was only kidding myself. Once things settled down on that big project, my practice scores started to rise back up to my normal average of 96%.

During the month leading up to the ILL state match I was deep in the heat of that big project as it was coming to an end. Long hours, lot's of stress, and working 21 days straight without a day off was taking its toll on me. Exhausted, I had only three days to get rested and back in the game for the ILL State so I got rest when I could.

During the tournament I still felt exhausted but I was able to sense and recognize a problem, lack of focus. When I was able to perk myself up and really focus on shooting, I would shoot my average. When I would approach the line and "just shoot" I would shoot about 2% lower than average. As I started to see the pattern between score and mental readiness, I tried to pay attention to those inner feelings. Why couldn't I focus? What was different between each stage? Why couldn't I commit to the shot?

The more I paid attention to this, the more I realized I could not achieve and maintain the level of focus required to shoot 10s all the time. I could feel myself trying to get my mind to focus on perfection, but just the task of doing it led to more exhaustion and just getting the shot off was the way out. From this experience I have learned a couple of things. First, you need to be well rested, both physically and mentally, if your are not at 100%, don't expect your scores to be 100%. Second, a cluttered mind will lead to scattered shots. You have to commit 100% of your mental capacity to achieve 100% performance.

When I practice or train, I generally do it when I want and that is one weekend mornings. Refreshed with a good nights sleep and a somewhat clear mind. My mental focus is on technique and fundamentals. This is very different from a tournament or match. In those cases the time to shoot is pre-selected so it isn't optimal for the shooter. The mental focus is on doing your best and winning the match, not on technique and fundamentals. This slight change in goals is enough to cloud your thought process and take you off your 100% commitment to the shot.

to be continued...