# How add tournament pressure in practice?



## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

My 14yr old shot is 2nd indoor tournament this weekend. He did well, coming in 3rd in a 17 and under age division. However, he was a nervous wreck and was making mistakes that I never see in practice. He would get to his anchor and the click on his release, and as soon as he was on target, he would rip through the release. He said he kept telling himself to relax and trust his float but he couldn't do it. He never does this in practice. It told him he needs to put a ton of time in with his release to where he only knows how to make it go off one way (he has been taught to relax the index with slight pressure into the wall). I also told him theres really no substitute for just shooting as many tournaments as possible. I'm proud of how he did and I've told him that it'll get better over time. None the less, I want to figure out a way to keep him on track under pressure. 
The next tournament is roughly 3 weeks away and I was trying to come up with some way to occasionally introduce some pressure to him in a way that may help him when he shoots an actual tournament. Any ideas on how he should practice or on drills to help consistency with his shot execution?


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Nothing better than the real thing, but noise can rattle nerves. Years back, for his first appearance at the Olympics, Vic Wunderle "suffered" it was said his father had a blaring radio nearby and threw tin cans. Top Level coach that Terry is he probably had other things. So anything for concentration seems in order, not his release....


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## huteson2us2 (Jun 22, 2005)

Lots of big tournaments. The bigger, the more relaxed he will become after. And build confidence in his shot. I also made a lot of noise and distractions when my kids practiced. A large tournament like Vegas is like shooting with the noise level of a football stadium. Not as bad now as it was when we all shot in the same room.


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## Rat (Jun 19, 2004)

Have his crush come over and stand next to him making googly eyes while he shoots! To up the pressure have Mom come out and tell his crush embarrassing stories about when he was a baby...:wink:

Noise is one factor, but there are others. Have him do a few jumping jacks before each end to get his heart rate and respiration rate up. But you are right, more tournaments is the real key.


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## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

LOLOL!! Rat, that would be hilarious! At 14, it's not hard to embarrass them. 
I will definitely try adding extra noise in. Most times when he shoots, he's got music playing (though not real loud) but that's about it. He's signed up for Lancaster with one or two local tournaments between now and then so I'm sure that will help. I wished there were some leagues around but nothing close to me. Any other suggestions?


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## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

You can't exactly duplicate big tournaments. Keep score each and every game. Make those scores worth something to him; computer time, chores, $, etc.

Do you shoot? Shoot with him. 

Setup a tournament routine: From the preplanning, day-before routine, and day-of routines. Keep to the routine as best you can.


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## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

Thank Bob. Yes, I do shoot with him every chance I get. Maybe 1-2 days a week. He normally doesn't keep score. He shoots 5-6 days a week and maybe keeps score only on 1 day. The rest of the time, he focuses on just making good shots and trying to put it on the X. Most days he shoots 20yds for 50-60 shots, then will blank bale a little to work on specific things. All with breaks in between. I also do offer things for when he shoots a good score and that drives him to practice hard, but seems to have no effect on how he reacts in a tournament situation.


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## [email protected] (Apr 14, 2016)

It's gonna sound nuts but make a playlist that rotates every other song between a type of music he hates and some he likes. I do this. the urge to rush a shot to skip over katy perry back to my rock music really makes me focus on execution and block out outside stimulus. or shoot with a favorite snack. the urge will be there in the mind to hurry up the shot to grab a snack or something and it makes you focus on the shot. I know it sound absolutely nuts but i used this for 3D and it really helped me learn to block out the outside distractions like a mosquito or other shots or some idiot spraying bug spray to close. And it really works. Also while doing this make the release .5 to 1 times colder to make it take longer to execute. wont really impact the shot process but will slow it down just touch.Again, it sounds and looks nuts but it works.


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## dunmoab (Apr 4, 2013)

The best way is to shoot at different venues and crowds as much as you can. Do tourneys whenever possible as much as possible as well.
Also, have you checked into getting him on something like Archery Abroad on Facebook?? Its an online video tourney. Believe me
shooting on camera adds a whole different level to shooting pressure.


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## "TheBlindArcher" (Jan 27, 2015)

Personally, before you can fix any problem, you need to know exactly what it is... Is your son faultering because on the added noise and distractions? Is it being on the line between several strangers [not the same as shooting next to dad and people he knows]? Is it the scoring format [shoot a couple arrows, score, wait for a second line, etc]? Is it simply being in a competition? You can throw several solutions at the problem and hope one sticks, or have some real conversations with your son in diffe3rent shooting environments and look for the mental changes.


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

First off your son is putting end result in front of process. He needs to imbed in his brain that the things that make him nervous he has no control over. The process must be solidified first. 

Also, score every arrow. Have him shoot with someone better than him at every opportunity. 


.02


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## dajogejr (Dec 20, 2012)

Just take his cell phone, video games and TV away.
If he can stand that mental anguish, he can shoot through anything.... 

Kidding of course.

I agree, more tournaments and always shoot with a better shooter.
When I'm horsing around, I get horsing around results. When I shoot with peers who challenge me, it ups my game too.


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## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

He's one of the younger kids on his JOAD team so he shoots with kids better than him. In fact, most times he shoots along side an 18yr old that is a 300/25x shooter. That seems to bring out the best in him when he shoots beside him. Shooting on the line in practice never seems to bother him. 

I have asked him what got him nervous and his words were "I dont know. I was fine until the first scoring round". That's about all I could get out of him. 

This last tournament, he was on a bale with 3 middle aged adults. I really feel like that was a big factor. They were very courteous to him and encouraged him but I feel he let the notion of shooting with adults intimidate him. We will start scoring every arrow from now on. I'm thinking that alone will put more pressure on him.


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## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

I appreciate all the input! I will definitely take the info and slowly start implementing it into his shooting.


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## dunmoab (Apr 4, 2013)

With what you just said...I have a buddy that I shoot with that does the same thing. Scoring starts and he get more and more anxious.
Waiting to miss the farther in he goes. He tries not to miss instead of knocking the middle out and letting it happen.
It's not easy to shoot one at a time and only worry about the one your shooting. Waaaaay easier said than done. Once he gets that,
he will be able to pound out good scores. 1 arrow at a time...good strong shots and not worry(care) about the score.


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## Bobmuley (Jan 14, 2004)

Bashams Mental Management books are a good place to start.


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

If his main goal is tournaments, he needs to keep score more, pretty much all the time, so it’s not suddenly an additional stress. 

One thing you could try is a risk/reward situation. You know him better than anyone else - what motivates him? Have him shoot FOR something. Maybe a small bit of cash, maybe extra privileges. Keep a “bank”, and if he meets a score goal, add to the bank, and if he doesn’t, deduct from the bank. Set it up so he wins more than he loses, but raise the level as he improves.

Find a shooting partner or several for him, who are wiling to compete among themselves during practise sessions. I used to shoot for beers back in the day. Highly motivational for me. 

And of course, enter him in as many competitions as possible.


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## BlackHoleCreatr (Nov 30, 2018)

Pressure is make believe.

He enjoys target archery because why? If the focus is on the winning then he’ll become a mike schlosser. Have him watch some of mike’s competition videos on the youtube. The ones where mike completely broke mentally and started focusing on the X. Mike is by far the best archer in the world when he can get out of his head.
My granfather taught me archery is about myself and the bow and the connection we have. Target archery is nothing more than a showcase for others to see that connection.


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## widow maker 223 (Sep 7, 2011)

Im the same way but I haven’t shot indoors in 18yrs. Shot a warm up league yesterday. Couldn’t get my float to settle, was nervous! But i was hanging right with the target rigs with my BHFS set up. I think keeping score in practice will help make every arrow count. Sounds like he is putting a lot of pressure on himself as I do. Tell him hes only competing against his last score, not everyone else’s.


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## Kragg (Feb 26, 2018)

Here's a short Sarah Lopez video that might help him out.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu1a9K-Pm7w&index=12&t=0s&list=PLnGbQXzYstgExJ0RLfl0_30YHRMkroiwu

Also, just like spouses usually make for poor coaches in motorcycle and firearms training, parents can add stress to a situation when they're coaching their own kids. Make sure you remain relaxed and happy no matter how he's shooting so he doesn't pick up on your negative vibes.


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

Video record him, and tell him he is going to post the video to YouTube. And you are going to put a link to it in the general forum and ask about form (sure to cause quite a stir! LOL).
Quite often, the problems in tournaments are from people getting it in their heads that “everyone” is watching them.
When he knows there will be 10 pages of battling critiques, he will feel some pressure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## widow maker 223 (Sep 7, 2011)

Make him drink a pot of coffee then shoot. This is what recreates the competition jitters for me. It will gove him something to look past as he focuses on the fundamentals.


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## huteson2us2 (Jun 22, 2005)

After reading what you have written, I believe that it is not the noise or the crowds, but that he might change his mentality from trying to hit the X during practice to not missing the 10 during a tournament. A common problem. A good coach can fix the problem.


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## MaJa77 (Jun 26, 2016)

A little update; his coach has been getting him to open up about his mental state under pressure plus a more accurate description of his at home practice regimen. 1) more scoring at home but don't score EVERY time he shoots. Certain days he shoots scoring rounds, other days is form/technical work. Also, don't shoot a score round the day or 2 before a tournament. 
Set a goal and don't deviate from it in his practice. 2) learn to get tunnel vision when shooting around others. Basically, it's just you and your target. 3)let down when the shot isn't there. Don't force it. This was very hard for him at first but recently I watched him let down 3 times in a row and on the 4th attempt, got an inside out x. He immediately said, "the 4th time it just sat there". At first, he was letting down quite a bit, but after just a couple weeks of it, he doesn't have to let down as much. The biggest thing though, us he admitted he wasn't as focused on the X as much as he thought he was. He has caught himself looking at his pin or thinking about his grip, etc and until he REALLY started paying attention to details, he didn't notice it. Now, I've seen him let down and he'll tell me he caught himself focusing on the pin and not the X. 

He had tryouts for this quarter last weekend. He was a little nervous and made a couple mistakes but way better than in the past. This time however, I watched him "coach himself" after every shot. He wasn't doing that before. He's making progress and doing better. Thank you guys for all your suggestions and experiences.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

subconsciously said:


> First off your son is putting end result in front of process. He needs to imbed in his brain that the things that make him nervous he has no control over. The process must be solidified first.
> 
> Also, score every arrow. Have him shoot with someone better than him at every opportunity.
> 
> .02


Sub is always spot on. Process over results. Maybe even a written shot sequence that he has to focus on that will keep the demons out of his shooting. He'll quickly memorize the sequence so he doesn't have to keep it taped to his arm like an NFL QB.

The thing that will help him most of all is experience. It doesn't take many tournaments for most archers to begin to feel comfortable, at least in local competition.

Good luck & let us know how he is doing.
Allen


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

Not to change anything in the middle of a season, but twice I read something to the effect of “looking at his pin”.

Perhaps in the off season, have him try a ring instead of a pin.

I have seen a lot of people that shoot well, but you can often see them (and they later admit it) that they literally moved OFF of the X just to see it, instead of leaving their dot centered on the rings.

That actually helped me get over TP, which is a close cousin to tournament jitters.


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## NoviceAddicted (Dec 25, 2015)

MaJa77 said:


> My 14yr old shot is 2nd indoor tournament this weekend. He did well, coming in 3rd in a 17 and under age division. However, he was a nervous wreck and was making mistakes that I never see in practice. He would get to his anchor and the click on his release, and as soon as he was on target, he would rip through the release. He said he kept telling himself to relax and trust his float but he couldn't do it. He never does this in practice. It told him he needs to put a ton of time in with his release to where he only knows how to make it go off one way (he has been taught to relax the index with slight pressure into the wall). I also told him theres really no substitute for just shooting as many tournaments as possible. I'm proud of how he did and I've told him that it'll get better over time. None the less, I want to figure out a way to keep him on track under pressure.
> The next tournament is roughly 3 weeks away and I was trying to come up with some way to occasionally introduce some pressure to him in a way that may help him when he shoots an actual tournament. Any ideas on how he should practice or on drills to help consistency with his shot execution?


A lot of good posts here about distractions, shooting more tournaments etc. I did a quick glancing here so not sure if posted but my 2 cents. Every sport, discipline I have ever seen states, don't coach your own child, if you can avoid it. It doesn't mean you can't watch. Remember he is there to have fun, and the only way to have fun is just win baby win. lol Sorry I was reverting to probably most of our childhood experiences. My point being good to have a balance of being competitive and having fun at the same time, it also helps him relax. Also if you are at tournaments be the most easy going couldn't care less about anything Dad you can be and give him space, keep distance and just be within distance for him if he needs something.


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## NoviceAddicted (Dec 25, 2015)

I didn't see posting about having his own coach, that's great! I was referring mostly to advice given in Terry Wunderle book about his experiences at tournaments and coaching with his children.


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## Airmonkey471 (Oct 8, 2018)

End practice with some one shot closest to center shoot offs thise always get me pumped.


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