# What makes Brady Ellison so good but so bad?



## EBK (Sep 24, 2012)

Brady in the USA is obviously the best recurve archer, I think he might have a bad day once in a while, but when it comes to recurve, he is pretty dominant here.

In everyone's opinion, what does he do or what makes him a little better than everyone else here? Body type, practice, talent, or just sheer luck?

BUT if he is so dominant here, why is stopping him from being more successful on the international stage? Is it form, practice, talent, equipment, your insight and opinion would be most valued.

Thanks


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## LeArcher (Apr 2, 2013)

he is not korean, that is what stopping him...


..im kidding


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## Dacer (Jun 10, 2013)

LeArcher said:


> he is not korean, that is what stopping him...
> 
> 
> ..im kidding


That made me laugh. 


I read somewhere that Ellison has something like 20/15 vision - I'm sure that doesn't hurt.


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## Falkryus (May 17, 2013)

LeArcher said:


> he is not korean, that is what stopping him...
> 
> 
> ..im kidding


lol


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## HikerDave (Jan 1, 2011)

EBK said:


> Brady in the USA is obviously the best recurve archer, I think he might have a bad day once in a while, but when it comes to recurve, he is pretty dominant here.
> 
> In everyone's opinion, what does he do or what makes him a little better than everyone else here? Body type, practice, talent, or just sheer luck?
> 
> ...


OH Jin Hyek


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## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

Brady was ranked #1 in the world for awhile and now he is #2. That sure looks pretty successful to me.....  On Brady's worse day, I'm sure it's safe to say that he would be still be beating most archers....

​


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## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

http://www.worldarchery.org/
​


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## dylpickleeeeeee (Jun 6, 2013)

have you guys heard that im dong hyun is legally blind? thats pretty amazing to me how he is still one of the best


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

USA Archery puts almost all of it's resources into a small number of archers.
Other countries put a larger amount of resources into a much greater number of archers.

The competitive field is much larger within their home country compared with North America.

The Taipei, Korean, etc. archers are always replaceable if required. Lets face it, people can't go 100% all of the time. Everyone has a training cycle which they balance with their personal life/health/finances. The US archers are going 100% all the time simply because there are so few of them. If one of the elite archers from a country with a much larger shooting population needs to take a step back then it's no big deal, they have others who can take their place either permanently or temporarily.

Lose Brady or Jake and who is ready to fill that role?

-Grant


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## edgerat (Dec 14, 2011)

dylpickleeeeeee said:


> have you guys heard that im dong hyun is legally blind? thats pretty amazing to me how he is still one of the best


He is far-sighted, meaning he cannot read things up close, he can see at distance just fine. 

In my opinion what makes and breaks Brady are the same thing, mental toughness. He seems to rise to the occasion when there is no other option (team round, he needs to shoot a 10 to win the match, he shoots the spider), but, there are times when I don't know that he can give anymore, Olympics this year for example. I don't think it is a physical thing because as LW has pointed out in the past, medals have been won in the Olympics with 26# OTF, so physical size has little to do with it.


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## hoytshooter15 (Aug 13, 2012)

Bob Furman said:


> Brady was ranked #1 in the world for awhile and now he is #2. That sure looks pretty successful to me.....  On Brady's worse day, I'm sure it's safe to say that he would be still be beating most archers....
> 
> ​


Actually he is #3 now. He got bumped down by a guy from Mexico. Forgot his name though... I think the reason Brady is slipping is because he is getting the intimidation of the Koreans get to his head. I think it's all in his mental game. Maybe if he can keep his head on straight next year in the World cup he can rise back up to #1!


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## hoytshooter15 (Aug 13, 2012)

he is *letting the intimidation. Sorry made a typo


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## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

hoytshooter15 said:


> Actually he is #3 now. He got bumped down by a guy from Mexico. Forgot his name though... I think the reason Brady is slipping is because he is getting the intimidation of the Koreans get to his head. I think it's all in his mental game. Maybe if he can keep his head on straight next year in the World cup he can rise back up to #1!


I was just going by what was posted on The World Archery Rankings: http://www.worldarchery.org/#31845-men


​


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## hoytshooter15 (Aug 13, 2012)

Ah got ya


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## hoytshooter15 (Aug 13, 2012)

Wait, I stand corrected, it changed since I last checked. Sorry you were right Brady is #2 now.


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## Mulcade (Aug 31, 2007)

What about the distractions in his life? He has a dozen or so sponsors that want him to do appearances and promote their products. Probably half a dozen coaches that are probably after him constantly. He's traveling all over the world constantly for competitions. He's also married. All of that takes time, effort, and attention. Everything he adds takes those resources away from something else and those are a lot of balls to be juggling 100% of the time. I don't know a single person alive that can juggle that year after year without being able to put parts of it on the back burner once in awhile. I imagine he could be a stronger shooter without some of the distractions.

Disclaimer: I know there is a reason behind the distractions he has. He has to fund his ability to compete, coaches are important, and competing is important. I'm only coming at this from an academic perspective on what I see as holding his skill as an archer back. As far as being married, the opposite sex is a HUGE distraction. Anyone who is married will admit that good, bad, or both marriage is a distraction. I for one am glad he's married, it should be helping to ground him a bit. Not only that, but being married will mean more to him when he's 85 years old telling stories to his great-grand kids than anything he has or will ever do on the archery field.

Given the choice, I would rather be a Brady with all the distractions than a Korean who doesn't have time to think about anything other than archery.


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## DWAA Archer (Oct 14, 2011)

Why is Brady so good because he works his A off. and once he is done shooting his mind gets a work out. He has had some coaching from Lanny Bassham and I'm pretty sure after that he went out and won stuff after that. In 2009 I saw him lose a Bronze medal match in Croatia it was a tight match that went to a number of shoot off arrows. I thought to my self then he has got the skill just needs the mind, he was a young guy having fun. Fast forward a few years later and I saw him shoot again this time in Turkey he was a different person the look in his eye was one of don't mess with me because I will take you down. it's the same look Aida Romain had at the 2012 olympics. 

The mental game is everything. 

But they are only human now matter how much you love archery it is a sport that can burn you out mentally and then you have to take a break or it stops being fun any more. You will see, he will back off and recharge, then come back all guns blazing. Also he was getting married he has to sort out that massive change in his life once the honeymoon period is over he will be itching to get back  

He ain't done yet there's an Olympic medal with his name on it and you know what they say about third time lucky


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## dylpickleeeeeee (Jun 6, 2013)

edgerat said:


> He is far-sighted, meaning he cannot read things up close, he can see at distance just fine.
> 
> In my opinion what makes and breaks Brady are the same thing, mental toughness. He seems to rise to the occasion when there is no other option (team round, he needs to shoot a 10 to win the match, he shoots the spider), but, there are times when I don't know that he can give anymore, Olympics this year for example. I don't think it is a physical thing because as LW has pointed out in the past, medals have been won in the Olympics with 26# OTF, so physical size has little to do with it.


Oh really? i thought he was near sighted. I must have read it wrong


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## Bigjono (Apr 21, 2009)

I fought in several martial arts tournaments in Korea years ago. We were the best team in the UK at the time but got murdered out there. Why, because training was their life not a hobby or a job. Everything they did was to do with their art and that's the difference.


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## X10ring (Feb 20, 2012)

Living at the Olympic training center sure doesn't hurt him...following basshams theories strickly prolly don't hurt him either


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## jmvargas (Oct 21, 2004)

it's like Brady against the world--ie--Koreans--most of the time he competes although there are a few up and coming guys from other countries now..

there are just more of them and only one of him so he's gonna be beat more often----by THEM!


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## >--gt--> (Jul 1, 2002)

Two time World Cup Grand Champion, multiple world record holder, multiple World Cup mixed team champion, Olympic Medalist. One would need to be half-bright to call that bad.


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## itbeso (Jul 6, 2005)

If the young guys besides Brady .can't handle the chores then it is time for some of the old guys to step in. Stay tuned


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## itbeso (Jul 6, 2005)

>--gt--> said:


> Two time World Cup Grand Champion, multiple world record holder, multiple World Cup mixed team champion, Olympic Medalist. One would need to be half-bright to call that bad.


What he said!


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## TheRohBoat (Sep 4, 2012)

To OP: Ellison just shot a 1344 at nationals. That's "so bad"?


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

If you are ever ranked number #1 in the world, You can not be called a bad archer.

IMHO

Chris


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## TwilightSea (Apr 16, 2012)

So Ellison got knocked down a rank or two. Does that make him a bad archer? Hell no. Think about it, he has a lot on his plate so it's not surprising; sadly Americans still have this damn ideology that unless you're #1, you're bad.


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## MickeyBisco (Jul 14, 2012)

Christ on a rubber crutch...this is like an archery tabloid magazine. Does this quiver make my ass look fat?

There are simply too many variables that figure into a person's mental game to accurately guess why they have an off day. In a perfect world it can all be 100% shut out, locked up and ignored. 

Maybe he got into a fight with the old lady about not using a coaster. For the third time.

Maybe he stubbed his toe on a door jamb.

Maybe he ate too much bread and is feeling bloaty.


He's not Ivan Drago from Rocky II. There's off days and on days.


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## pineapple3d (Oct 23, 2002)

>--gt--> said:


> Two time World Cup Grand Champion, multiple world record holder, multiple World Cup mixed team champion, Olympic Medalist. One would need to be half-bright to call that bad.


Well said George! post like this kill me


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

pineapple3d said:


> Well said George! post like this kill me


Don't sweat it Mel. Those who actually know the score, laugh at a lot of the stuff here:wink:


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## pencarrow (Oct 3, 2003)

Jim C said:


> Don't sweat it Mel. Those who actually know the score, laugh at a lot of the stuff here:wink:


And shake their heads in amazement, where do they get this stuff .
cheers
Fritz


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## SteveID (May 6, 2008)

MickeyBisco said:


> Christ on a rubber crutch...this is like an archery tabloid magazine. Does this quiver make my ass look fat?
> 
> There are simply too many variables that figure into a person's mental game to accurately guess why they have an off day. In a perfect world it can all be 100% shut out, locked up and ignored.
> 
> ...


Ivan Drago was from Rocky IV. Just saying...


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## MickeyBisco (Jul 14, 2012)

D'oh!

That's right! 

Clubber Lang, then Ivan! 


But still.


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

Come on Mickey
1 Apollo
2 Apollo
3 Clubber Lang (after Thunderlips)
4 Ivan Drago
5 Tommy Gunn
6 Mason Dixon
7 Alzheimers and Depends

Also just sayin...


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## MickeyBisco (Jul 14, 2012)

Lol, it's been a few years. Never saw any past Tommy "gun"!


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## TER (Jul 5, 2003)

Jeez, how good does a guy have to be to be considered not bad around here? Brady is currently ranked number 2 in the world. What reason is there to ask "Why isn't he more successful?" How is he not successful?

This thread is an example of the power of suggestion. The Original Post asked what is stopping Brady from being more successful, suggesting he is not successful, and several people offered reasons while not noticing the question itself is not based on reality. Things are extra funny up in this forum lately.


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## EBK (Sep 24, 2012)

I want him to win so bad, Koreans weren't in Medellin, this was his for the taking!! WTH happened over there?


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## Canario (Jul 11, 2011)

It is very good archer, but has many people do not keep saying it's the best


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## nifty (Jun 21, 2009)

I'm trying to remember the archer... Perhaps it was Jay Barrs in Seoul in 88 that said...." I am the best archer, but only for today" I could well be wrong on that.
It's so easy for us to critique elite sportsman. As Australians we give our cricket team a hard time when they fail. I'm a big Yankees fan (please don't hold that against me) but when DJs batting average falls below 300 I start to wonder when he is going to sit on the pony for a few games, it's what we do.
As for Brady, I don't get where the "bad" part is in this thread. He is an awesome archer, end of story. He is the stand out men's recurve archer in the USA, because of that we critique him. When he first hit the national team it was probably stronger and more stable, so we could not critique one individual, a weak/strong link if you like.
Here in Oz we don't have a JOAD program of any kind, it's a shame. The archery program at our institute of sport has been dropped, Coach Lee had a bit to say about that. If a junior is to go places it's up to club coaches to help them and that's it. I for one have just taken on a student, not because he will go a long way but because he "wants" to go a long way. Back to Brady...
Imagine for a moment standing on a shooting line and looking over to see Mr Im with a bow in his hand, you are not about to have fun, you are about to work every part of your mind body and soul to its limit to achieve what you are there for... I take my hat off to Brady for taking it to the Korean powerhouse archers and coming up with the results he does, I really do


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## midwayarcherywi (Sep 24, 2006)

EBK said:


> I want him to win so bad, Koreans weren't in Medellin, this was his for the taking!! WTH happened over there?


Good grief. Nobody wins every time they compete. He is one of the elite archers in the world. 

Look at any elite athlete in any sport. If you compete, sometimes you win and sometimes you don't.

There is nothing amiss and Ellison is still one of the very best in his sport.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

What a lot of keyboard experts on AT fail to realize (most likely because they have NEVER experienced single-elimination matchplay at the highest levels) is that so many of the top archers are ALL capable of winning on any given day - they are THAT CLOSELY MATCHED. Also, this format is designed to produce upsets. Plain and simple. It's what they wanted when they designed it. And it's what they got. 

Doesn't allow much of a narrative to be built around any one or two or three archers, and while that's probably to the detriment of our sport in terms of media attention and fan base, it's also one of the things that makes every event exciting, and for guys like me, worth entering. 

If all the events were double-elimination, for instance, there would be no way to beat Brady or Oh or a few other great matchplay competitors. Because they won't lose twice. 

The question I often ask the fair-weather supporters of the US Team members is this... why do you want them to win? Is it because somehow you want to take credit for that win by simply being an American? Or is it because you recognize the immense amount of effort they have put forth, the great individual that person is, and the desire to see them be rewarded for those things. In other words, is it about them, or you?

John


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## Dacer (Jun 10, 2013)

I think it's a very natural thing to root for your home town or country. We share a common culture so we can relate to them, they inspire, they show us what you can do when devote yourself to something. It's likes this in all sports. 

so yes - I hope that the US team members do their best and I hope they win. Firstly because its clear to anyone who has picked up a bow how hard they have worked to be there, and second because yea I like to see people from my country win. 

If I had been involve in archery when I was in highschool and they had live steams of the archery event in 2004 - I'd have been cheering for you John.


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## arrowyn (Jul 4, 2013)

+1 on its any given day anyone (of the top) can win . . .

What's cool about Brady is he was from a compound background and went recurve (not that compound is bad, personally I find it much easier to shoot than recurve) and still gots the skills to pay the billz. 


well since we're on the 80's rocky thing . . . I'll submit my own funny, only related by the time . . .


Your target Butt Is Mine
Gonna Take You Right
Just Show Your Face
In Broad Daylight
I'm Telling You
On How I Feel
Gonna Hurt Your Mind
Don't Shoot To Kill
Come On, Come On,
X's On Me All Right...



I'm giving you on a target of three
To show your stuff
Or let it be
I'm telling you
Just watch your mouth
I know your game
what you're about




Well they say the sky riser's the limit
And to Brady Hoyt's really true
But My friend you have seen nothing
Just wait 'till 




Because I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
Come On

You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
You Know It

You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
Come On, You Know

And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now


And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now

Just To Tell You Once Again,
Who's Bad


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Dacer, you would have had that in common with at least 7 other people then.  ha, ha.


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## Vittorio (Jul 17, 2003)

As Johns said, there are several tens of archers at top international level that may win in any given competition, and the system used to determine the winner is so subjected to many factors not strictly related to specific level of one archerover the other, that to guess the winner of said competion is guessing everytime one over 30 or 40 in recurve, so almost impossible !
In London I went around asking to many of the coaches of the teams there to guess who was going to win the games. Some few refused to give their guess, some mentioned their own team members only, many really tried to guess the winners. For women, majority vote went to KI BO Bae, but for men the votes went spread around, and among Koreans more voted was IM, second Kim and no votes for OH.... 
If it is almos timpossible for all world top level teams coaches to guess the winner (or even the finalists, as no one guessed Furukawa to be in gold final) for the Olympic games, were number of participants is much more limited than the one at Antalya World Cup, how can you hope to have one single consistent winner for all major tournaments?
Historically since the start of mach play eliminations and finals , a recurve archer at his very top level has been able to win during one year a maximum of 4 major international tournaments , including indoor and Field world championships (my son in 2000 and Brady in 2011 the only ones if I well remember). The average is a maximum of 2 for any given archer in any given year. It will be for instance quite unusual if Oh Hing Yek wil be able to win the world Championships this year as he has already won 2 world cups in a row... Winning too much before the major event increases expectations and pressure from outside and therefore decreases possibilities (the old pirates of the Italian recurve team know this very very well :smile: )
In this situation, only way to judge if an archer is better than another is to count his international medals over a reasonable period of time, let say at least 10 consecutive years ( 2 Olympic cycles) ... 10 years, not 10 competitions only ....


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## >--gt--> (Jul 1, 2002)

Vittorio said:


> In London I went around asking to many of the coaches of the teams there to guess who was going to win the games. Some few refused to give their guess, some mentioned their own team members only, many really tried to guess the winners. For women, majority vote went to KI BO Bae, but for men the votes went spread around, and among Koreans more voted was IM, second Kim and no votes for OH....
> If it is almos timpossible for all world top level teams coaches to guess the winner (or even the finalists, as no one guessed Furukawa to be in gold final) for the Olympic games


Vito,

Most team coaches don't have the big picture of who is competitive outside their country. Sometimes you need a wider perspective.

If you get a copy of the issue of the French federation magazine (Tir a l'arc) that came out just before London, you will see an interview of a number of World Archery people including myself, in which I predicted both Furukawa and Oh as Gold Medal finalists.

Having worked with Furukawa since he was in high school, I perhaps had a little extra insight on ability and timing.

What is perhaps more interesting is a statistic that not too many people think about.

Other than Simon Fairweather, no male archer has ever won the Olympic Games who did not do it on their first try. Simon is the only male shooter to win an Olympics after failing to win the first time they went to the Games (and Simon was so different between 92 and 2000 he may as well have been a different person both physically and mentally). This odd little fact is probably true for women as well.

John, Darrell, Tomi, Darrell (again), Jay, Sebastien, Justin, Simon, Marco, Viktor, and Jinhyek all won on their first attempt.


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## Vittorio (Jul 17, 2003)

>--gt--> said:


> ...
> John, Darrell, Tomi, Darrell (again), Jay, Sebastien, Justin, Simon, Marco, Viktor, and Jinhyek all won on their first attempt.


Very intersting observation, that may bring to the conclusion that all those that have already participated to the Olympic Games without winng have almost no chance to win them in future; some country afer reading this post may decide to change full team after each Olympic Game to increase probabilities :darkbeer:
Seriously, this also gets to the "pressure" element. If you are not a favourite, and you have nothing to loose, you will ever have an easier road in the match play system ... seen so many times already!

I agree that several international coaches have a very limited vision about who is competitive outside their country. This then also applies to 99.99 percent of amateurs in our sport , of course.


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## SpiritArcher (Aug 18, 2011)

Personally, I'm a fan of Brady and I'm not American. I have one of his Topps trading cards that one day I would love to have him sign for me. Its in a trading card frame, sitting on a bookshelf in my office at work, along with the first national level gold medal I ever won. 

I think what is presently going on with Brady is all mental. He went into the 2012 Olympic Games ranked #1 in the world and was expected to win the gold medal. That is an extreme amount of pressure for a young man. It could also be that he went into the games a little "cocky" and I say that because of some of his diva-like behaviour that was witnessed during introductions prior to match play rounds. I know that when I get a little too big for my britches, I tend to make mistakes. As it is, I think that not winning gold at London messed with his head a little and now he's struggling a bit. However, he did just win gold at the 3rd leg of the World Cup. So, maybe things will turn around


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Rory McIlroy - Another fine young man who seems to have been doomed by the #1 world ranking...

It happens. A lot. It's far more common for an athlete to lose the #1 ranking than to keep it. 

Doesn't mean than any one of the top 10-20 archers aren't capable of earning it though...


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## itbeso (Jul 6, 2005)

SpiritArcher said:


> Personally, I'm a fan of Brady and I'm not American. I have one of his Topps trading cards that one day I would love to have him sign for me. Its in a trading card frame, sitting on a bookshelf in my office at work, along with the first national level gold medal I ever won.
> 
> I think what is presently going on with Brady is all mental. He went into the 2012 Olympic Games ranked #1 in the world and was expected to win the gold medal. That is an extreme amount of pressure for a young man. It could also be that he went into the games a little "cocky" and I say that because of some of his diva-like behaviour that was witnessed during introductions prior to match play rounds. I know that when I get a little too big for my britches, I tend to make mistakes. As it is, I think that not winning gold at London messed with his head a little and now he's struggling a bit. However, he did just win gold at the 3rd leg of the World Cup. So, maybe things will turn around


Spirit, It's interesting that you bring up the pressure issue as I have felt all along that Brady had the weight of the world on his shoulders entering the London event. The tournament pressure alone is huge, but Brady had competed so well leading into the olympics that most people just assumed he was a shoo in. As john pointed out earlier, there are so many talented archers out there and given the nature of our sport, It doesn't take much to be off just a little and have a bad day or a bad match. The best baseball players in the world only succeed about 3 at bats in ten yet we expect our top archers to be perfect every time.I've known Brady since his compound days and every time I have been around him he has always been a class act. Everyone would do well to appreciate what he has done, not what he has failed to do.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

Agree with itbeso (although the baseball analogy is a bit tortured) - Brady is a phenomenally skilled accomplished successful athlete. The Olympics is a tournament every four years - it's not the 'end all' of measuring sticks. The cards didn't fall right for Rick McKinney to win Olympic gold (his three world championships having to provide consolation - along with simultaneously holding the world record at 70, 50, and 30 meters), but he's still generally considered to be one of the two best archers this country's ever produced.


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## Rick McKinney (Mar 4, 2008)

Brady is without a doubt the best the US has at the moment. I don't say this in a negative way, you only get a few years to be the best and then someone else will come along to either push you off the mantel or you decide enough is enough. Either way, Brady is king of US archery. He is also one of the best of the world. He has proven this time and time again. When Vic Wunderle and Butch Johnson told me a few years back that Brady was the real deal and will be the best one day, that says a lot. You don't get respect from an elite unless you deserve and both of these elites agreed, that Brady will be the best in the US if not the world. Why hasn't Brady won the World Target or an Olympic gold. It isn't easy to win either one. There are 100,000's training full time working at being the number one archer in the world. The challenge is timing. You can be the best at the wrong time and never really prove you are the best. Winning when it counts is all most people see. I figure that Brady has not hit his prime yet. He has taken a lot of losses during many of the major events just to prepare for the "moment". It could be this year at the World Target Championships. It might not happen until the 2016 Games. Losing is education. Jay Barrs lost several events just before the Olympic Gold. He couldn't beat me at the AZ State Championships just before the Games. He couldn't beat Ed Eliason at the Las Vegas event. However, I looked at those losses as strengthening him and preparing him for what was to come. So although Brady may not meet your expectations, he only has himself to satisfy. To me he is on track to become another great American Legend. He has that strong desire, determination, patience and will power to keep going. Congratulations Brady on taking over the mantel and God Bless!


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## baller (Oct 4, 2006)

Rick McKinney said:


> Brady is without a doubt the best the US has at the moment. I don't say this in a negative way, you only get a few years to be the best and then someone else will come along to either push you off the mantel or you decide enough is enough. Either way, Brady is king of US archery. He is also one of the best of the world. He has proven this time and time again. When Vic Wunderle and Butch Johnson told me a few years back that Brady was the real deal and will be the best one day, that says a lot. You don't get respect from an elite unless you deserve and both of these elites agreed, that Brady will be the best in the US if not the world. Why hasn't Brady won the World Target or an Olympic gold. It isn't easy to win either one. There are 100,000's training full time working at being the number one archer in the world. The challenge is timing. You can be the best at the wrong time and never really prove you are the best. Winning when it counts is all most people see. I figure that Brady has not hit his prime yet. He has taken a lot of losses during many of the major events just to prepare for the "moment". It could be this year at the World Target Championships. It might not happen until the 2016 Games. Losing is education. Jay Barrs lost several events just before the Olympic Gold. He couldn't beat me at the AZ State Championships just before the Games. He couldn't beat Ed Eliason at the Las Vegas event. However, I looked at those losses as strengthening him and preparing him for what was to come. So although Brady may not meet your expectations, he only has himself to satisfy. To me he is on track to become another great American Legend. He has that strong desire, determination, patience and will power to keep going. Congratulations Brady on taking over the mantel and God Bless!


Very well said sir.....


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

Maybe this thread could just be retitled "What makes Brady Ellison so good..."
I aspire some day to be as _bad _as he is.


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## red_elan10 (Apr 23, 2008)

Amen, Rick!


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

Great perspective, as usual Rick.



> So although Brady may not meet your expectations, he only has himself to satisfy.


There is the key. Not just for Brady, but for all of us.

Critics abound. It's how some people try to put themselves on the same level as those who DO things. It's a sad aspect of human nature, displayed more prominently among some than others. 

I just smile, and recall the words of Teddy Roosevelt. 

*"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."*

Words to live by.


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## midwayarcherywi (Sep 24, 2006)

Great quote and excellent words to live by. The 'Rough Rider' was a doer and a hell of a role model.


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