Frustrated

[Wrexham Exile]

Does anyone else get really frustrated with their shooting? at the moment i am and its starting to get to me.

i dont know if im trying to compare myself to how i used to shoot before i had a lengthy break or what but i cant just seem to get it together.

i was shooting reasonable towards of the indoor season and had even got my first bowman senior score.

then on going indoors it was decided i had to adapt my technique somewhat as i was not getting the load on my shoulder properly - which i agree with but im still not being able to do it now - and havnt shot as good since.

now i know you have to give things time to work but it has been since september now and it seems like i have just hit a wall. before i changed i managed a 553 portsmouth on my first indoor shoot of season (which inlcuded a careless 3) and now i can barely get in the high 540's.

as im in uni and i dont really know of any coaches in the area that i would feel comfortable with and feel that the hard work and effort i have been putting in is slowly drifting away from me and theres not much i can do.

i bought myself a Helix recently but i cant bring myself to shoot it as i dont think my performance justifys it and dosnt deserve it.

apologies if this is a bit of rant but it just seems to be one of those weeks..
maybe the outdoors will freshen things up??

(A disgruntled) Al

[clickerati]

Doesn't your uni club/team have a coach?

If it helps, at least you have somewhere to shoot with other archers. I'm on my own in my garage. No coaches, no nothing. It could be worse, Al, but I know what you mean. Try not to expect too much from yourself right now.

[Wrexham Exile]

Originally Posted by clickerati

Doesn't your uni club/team have a coach?

i am the uni "coach" unfortunatly.

i hear what your saying clicki but jee it gets tricky sometimes. its just i know what i used to be able to do and wish i was back up there.

[Bald Eagle]

DMU AC, Don't despair, it's between the ears, it happens to us all at one time or another. Get your Helix set up, tune it, shoot it,psycologically you will shoot better 'cos its a new bow, remember that archery like most sports is full of peaks and troughs, it sounds as though you are deep in a trough and the only person that can get you out is YOU! Think positive!

[Little Miss Purple]

tricky clicki - hee hee

Al - I definetly got the impression last weekend that a lot of people have hit a wall just now, maybe because most people are preparing for the outdoors and their mind is already on the longer distances???

Break out your helix - it may give you a boost!!

[Wrexham Exile]

hope your right people,

just to really finish off my day today i broke 3 points (screw in points are rubbish - keep snapping) and then blsitered my lip on possibly the hottest cheese toastie know to man. also wales lost in the rubgy.

bah

Al, I am the king of being frustrated with my archery. We are all different. But I feel you will get over this. I have had a very frustrating winter. I came away from the summer on a high, shooting a 836 Long Western as my last shoot of the summer. So I expected to walk into the winter season and bang out high 570's no problem. I had no previous experience of the winter season with compound so my illusion was that indoors was going to be easy! How wrong could I be?

Every one I know is getting stale with the indoor season and is praying for the end of March to come.

I have just scraped my goal for the winter, but it's been an expensive and hard road. Keep shooting and work more on your technique than on scores. Without a coach it's tricky as you need to learn how to analyse where you think you may be going wrong. I suspect you are suffering from a deadly does of 'over expectation'. Stop scoring and start shooting with your new Helix. Write winter off and enjoy the new bow. Summer won't be long. Chill out and have a You will have learned more than you think this winter, especially about your self, believe me I know all about self awareness. Self doubt and beating your self up just leads to more of the same. Start to believe in your self, you have years to get it right.

[JohnK]

Been there, done that.

After a few years of struggling, in early 2002 I started peaking. All my equipment was set up right and I was hitting high 560 Portsmouths without much effort. After a slight wobble at the start of the outdoor season, I was back on track. My 70m groups were tightening up a lot and I was starting to shoot PBs in tournaments.

Then I had two upsets. Firstly, I was recommended to a reputable coach, who didn't have time to take me on. I went to another coach that he recommended, who screwed up my shooting style completely. He wasn't entirely to blame, but I think there was a break-down in communication. As I was getting myself back together, I ripped a shoulder muscle in the gym.

Ever since then I've been struggling and watching my results creep down and down and down. What I realise now is that there were fundamental flaws in my style that didn't have a huge effect while I had the sheer strength to cover them up. After the enforced three-month break because of the tear, that strength had gone, and so had any control over my shooting.

Over the last year I started to understand a little more about good shooting technique, thanks to Total Archery, members of Archery-Forum.com, Don Rabska, my experiences when coaching juniors and some helpful advice here and there from other archers. My progress was curtailed by a car accident that injured my lower back, but that gave me time to reflect on my archery. I did really consider giving it all up as it was so heartbreaking, but I chose to stick it out. And I'm glad I did.

Now my scores are still not brilliant, but they're consistent and are showing signs of climbing. More importantly, my understanding is better and I'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of both shooting for pleasure and helping others progress as and when I can.

I suppose my point is that yes, it can be frustrating when our scores aren't what we expect or hope for, but we have a choice: we can get worked up, make continuous changes to form and equipment to try to resolve the issue, etc. Or we can step back, take a deep breath and realise that frustration never gets us anywhere. It's a negative emotion that can't help you learn to shoot better, so discard it and focus anew on something positive, like how good that new Helix feels when shot

Easier said than done - and I speak from experience on that - but I hope you find something in this rambling post that strikes a chord.

[clickerati]

Originally Posted by DMU_AC

hope your right people,

just to really finish off my day today i broke 3 points (screw in points are rubbish - keep snapping) and then blsitered my lip on possibly the hottest cheese toastie know to man. also wales lost in the rubgy.

bah

Awwww, poor you!!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Al}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[Wrexham Exile]

thanks clicki

and cheers jonh and rgs - i guess its just deep breath time.

stoopid indoors