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Thread: Competition set back

  1. #1
    Member
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    Oct 2015
    Location
    N. Texas

    Competition set back

    A bit of a long winded whine, so bear with me. Little back ground to try and put things in context. Started competing this year and it's been a blast and clearly has contributed to biggest strides in my shooting ability. Since the beginning, I have steadily gotten better with each match. I think one of the turning points was over the last month or so, I have focused heavily on mindset, which has enabled me to start finishing in the the top 10 in all the matches I've been shooting in. In the past there was a good level of intimation but once I figured out that from a skill level, I as as good if not better then most, and to trust in that, my shooting result went leaps and bounds. My confidence level was sky high and I was going into matches expecting to finish in the top 5. I had reached a point that I could trust my skill and my focus was simple.

    Prior to the buzzer going off, I would overthink all the things I needed to do and as soon as I heard the buzzer, my mind would go blank and I would just be praying and spraying. Once I started to really focus on mindset more than shooting ability, I geared my mind to understand that I had the skill to do well and to trust in that. I simplified my pre-shooting routine to very simply, grip the run strong, see my sights on target, and press the trigger. I began to be very aware of my sight picture and would tell myself to just get the sight on target quickly, and with a good trigger press, let it go. I began to be be much calmer and "in the moment" and my scores went down dramatically. When the buzzer when off, I no longer had the issue of my mind going blank and I had gone from "overthinking" everything to just trust in my skill, grip the gun hard, and see my shot.

    Well this past week I shot another steel challenge and got "blasted", finished bottom half. Out of the 5 stages, I had 1 that I finished top half, but the rest were pretty bad. The worst part, I felt that my shooting speed and accuracy were pretty good in 4 out of the 5 stages. I did have one stage (1st) that was easy but I shit the bed and fell apart and had two misses which crushed my score. Still I keep my mind focused and to not dwell on the bad stage like I normally would, and recovered. I shot pretty well in rest of the stages and thought I had rebounded enough to put of a decent showing, well not the case, depressing when I finished 27 our of 34 shooters which was by far my worst match.

    Needless to say my apparently fragile confidence took a pretty big hit. I have another match on Sunday and not feeling it at all at this point, which clearly is not a good recipe for success. I say all of this to ask, how do you guys (and gals) shake the thought that "maybe I really do suck" after all!! lol. I'm usually pretty good about getting back on the horse but feeling a little snowflackish and not very confident at this point, which I f-ing hate.

    I've competed long enough (in other sports) to realize that set backs/slumps are part of it but for some reason just not feeling it (the confidence). Actually I think I know my problem as I am writing this (and reading it), it actually has provided me with the answer that I know is there. (As I read this, I just gave myself a swift kick in the ass) But since I spend the time venting (whining), would still like to hear any feedback. Any thoughts or suggestions?

  2. #2
    I compete against myself not others.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    Member GuanoLoco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    I compete against myself not others.
    I am more interested in things like:
    • Did I feel like I shot to my actual skill level?
    • Is my dry and live fire practice translating into match performance?
    • Would I have been better off shooting this match or practicing?
    • Did I learn something that I need to integrate into future match performance (do X, don’t do Y)?


    I should care more about my standings, but frankly I can’t control anyone else’s level of skills or ability to perform or their mistakes/gun issues/etc. so it is more of an individual journey for me. OK, I care about a couple of buddies, and a same-classed individual or two that I track who are shooting Limited or Open (I shoot Production).

    Other than that, I really don’t care.
    Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Doodie Project?

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    North AZ
    Your situation reminds me of Jordan Peterson's quote: "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, and not to who someone else is today."

    Try to incrementally improve by putting in the work, and improving yourself. Forget about where you are ranking.

  5. #5
    Member olstyn's Avatar
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    Sep 2014
    Location
    Minnesota
    I'd be lying if I said that poor (or exceptional) performance in a given stage/match doesn't have an emotional impact on me in the moment. Obviously a particularly poor performance is disappointing, and an above-average one is exhilarating, and there are definitely fellow competitors who consistently do well whose scores I tend to see as "measuring sticks" for my own performance. That said, I try not to get too hung up about where I finished in the overall field at any given match as long as there is a long-term trend of improvement.

    It sounds like you do have that long-term trend of improvement, so regarding your recent poor performance, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get out there and do it better next time.

  6. #6
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Quote Originally Posted by DacoRoman View Post
    Your situation reminds me of Jordan Peterson's quote: "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, and not to who someone else is today."

    Try to incrementally improve by putting in the work, and improving yourself. Forget about where you are ranking.
    This. This. This.

    I’m in D class. I belong in D class.

    When I make C class, it will be a good day for me. “For me”. Which is what it’s all about.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by GuanoLoco View Post
    I should care more about my standings, but frankly I can’t control anyone else’s level of skills or ability to perform or their mistakes/gun issues/etc. so it is more of an individual journey for me. OK, I care about a couple of buddies, and a same-classed individual or two that I track who are shooting Limited or Open (I shoot Production).

    Other than that, I really don’t care.
    ^^^ This has been huge for me over the years. I don't care about the results until the match is over. My first match win, I had been out late the night before. Only got a little sleep, but I was just happy to be shooting. No concerns about anything but the shooting. Another time I finished 8th overall at the IDPA Nationals. That year I had been having some sort of heart palpitations and was worried that I was going to need surgery. I was planning on who to give my slot to. It turned out I just had a potassium deficiency and was told to drink orange juice every day. I was just happy to be alive and shooting. No cares, just shooting.

    Dismas, you've been doing this for 6-8 months? Lighten up a little and have fun. It sounds like you are doing great. Just a minor setback at one match. Learn from each experience. What did you do right or wrong. Work on both, because someone somewhere is also trying to be the best.

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Northwest
    Being 10th out of 50 doesn't mean much if the guys in front of you aren't any good. When better shooters show up, you'll fall down the list. Looking at Nationals, you see guys that are GM's and M's and they win, or finish top 10 in their section match. Then go to Nationals and finish in the 40's.

    At the top is always the "limit of performance." What is possible. Now at a place like Nationals their is a copule people that perform at that level.

    Compare yourself to what is possible.

    Shot's less than 10 yards should be sub second. Transitions across a bay should be .5. So to really evaluate yourself at an extreme high level these are the benchmarks your striving for.

    On coruse like Smoke and Hope - there are enough scores out there to know where you really stand up.
    Last edited by nwhpfan; 11-10-2018 at 01:34 PM.
    A71593

  9. #9
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Canton GA
    I have had demanding jobs. I actively shot USPSA and Sporting Clays. I realized that "shooting" was my hobby and that it should be fun. I focused on having fun and doing the best I could with the amount of time (and money) I had available.

    Due to career demands, I took a sabbatical from competition and frankly never went back. I got tired of driving long distances and standing around all day to shoot 3 - 6 stages that only took a very short time (if I did them right!). I still shoot and practice but quit competing.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    In the desert, looking for water.
    Sometimes, you’re not going to win.

    Somewhere, out there right now, a guy is practicing. No matter how hard you work, if that guy and you show up at the same match on the same day, he’s going to eat your lunch because he’s just better than you are, and it is not a shameful thing to know that.

    A match is a test of you, your equipment, and your training. Someone wins. Everyone else either “loses” or takes their score as a measure of their progress. You decide which.

    In my local club matches, if an average number of certain guys show up, I’ll be about tenth. If they all show up on the same day, I’ll be lucky to be 15th. If none of them show up, I might be in the top five. Once, I was second. When ringers show up from out of town, we all are shoved down in the stats.

    Matters not what others do. Matters what I do. If I do something stupid, I learn. If awesome guy from out of town shows up, I watch him and learn. If doofus with a Sigma in a sausage sack shows up, we mentor and make sure he doesn’t put holes where they don’t belong.
    Last edited by Duelist; 11-10-2018 at 02:23 PM.

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