# Anyone get discouraged?



## Skillet_007 (Oct 8, 2010)

Like a lot of people on here, I have had no professional training. Luckily I have been able to use this site as a training tool and have found a lot of helpful people to give me advice. Lately I have started to get Target panic, I think. I have been shooting two years now and the last couple months I have noticed larger groups. I have restructured my form, going back to the basics, and I have gotten my groups back to about normal but I still struggle with TP and archery is not quite as fun as it used to be. Has anyone here ever felt that they have met their true potential by learning solo and in order to get better, needs to find someone that can help or push them to a new limit? Has anyone here ever been in a similar situation and gotten a coach? Don't really know what this post was aiming at, but just felt bummer out.:banghead:

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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't think that an athlete in any sport can reach their potential without coaching. It's too difficult to see what you are actually doing in time to correct it.

And yes, I've been very discouraged several times since I got back into archery. A few years ago, I was shooting inside out X's but just before indoor season started, I developed tennis elbow. I'm just now getting back to shooting often enough to get better. If I'd been working with a coach who would have shut me down before that injury got as bad as it did or corrected what I was doing, the elbow might have been a minor problem. 

Good coaches who keep us from making mistakes and guide us on what works best are worth more than we could ever pay them. It's very difficult to be object about form from the inside.

All of the top archers did most of it themselves, but they all had guidance from someone when it counted.

One place that many archers find help and support is the local archery clubs. Are you a member of one? Most have one or more members who help and mentor other archers. Usually all you have to do is ask.

Hope this helps,
Allen


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## Archmoab (Jul 30, 2012)

I've only been into archery a few months and yes, I do get frustrated. Getting a coach would be ideal, but I live in an area that is pretty remote. So, I feel your pain. Maybe ask around. Maybe even see if the school system has an archery program. Maybe it's a start. Start your own archery group?
Let me know how it goes.


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## [email protected] (Aug 3, 2010)

Somedays the shot just doesnt feel right now matter what you do.I dont blieve you should keep hammering at it till you get it right.Put the bow down and try again tomorrow with a clear head.You can also mentally practice away from the bow.Go over your sequence and really be honest with yourself on where its breaking down.Continually regressing usually results with a lack of self discipline in the bridge program(goin back to targets to soon).A coach will give you a solid foundation which i think then can help you correct your problems faster in the future should they arise.Remember archery is fun.Good Luck!


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## AJ the TP Guru (Jul 29, 2011)

I think coaches are way overrated. Some of the best shots I've ever known (and that includes a couple of national champs) were entirely self-taught.

As for the target panic thingie, well, that's a pretty common occurrence - shooting for awhile, then suddenly finding yourself flinching, shooting prematurely, etc. Hey, what you described could've been me talking about my own most recent TP episode (which I expound on in the link below). I really thought TP was way, way behind me when it it cropped up the last time. After all, in my most recent archery reincarnation, I'd been shooting for over tow years without any problems - then, *pow!! *Just like a punch out of the old Batman TV series. 

As I've said before, it's like alcoholism - it just lurks around the corner.


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## mdarton (Jan 11, 2008)

Lesson One- Relax. Intentionally disrupt your form. Shoot from knees. Shoot sitting. Shoot on one foot.


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## Rugby (Feb 13, 2003)

I don’t think there is anyone out there who shoots well is “self-coached”. It is easy to think you are doing it all by yourself but it isn’t true.
People watch others shoot, listen to conversations, read about how to shoot, get given a few pointers when they buy their bow by the shop, etc… While they may not have had someone coach them in a session or two they have not done it on their own.

Coaching is highly under-rated by archers and bowhunters alike. Do you really see world class performances that are achieved without coaching? 
I do not understand the comments made on here there is “no coach in my area”. The USA has some of the best coaches in the world and while they are not at everyone’s doorstep they are certainly a lot closer than here in New Zealand.

I have brought out a top US coach to New Zealand 5 times to do seminars and have always bank-rolled it. This has been an investment which has paid off not only for myself but also for those who attended the seminars. The drop-out rate from the sport from those attending the seminars is around 20% over a 10 year period. The drop-out rate of archers over that same 10 year period without receiving any coaching would be over 80%.

Coaching is essential and if you are a bowhunter even more so. The winning archer at a tournament is the one who misses the least. A bowhunter cannot afford to miss.


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## Skillet_007 (Oct 8, 2010)

Wow, thanks for all the support. I appreciate all the advice. I think everyone of you gave me something to think on. Even if I'm not shooting my best doesn't mean I have to be discouraged. I am going to try harder to find some archers where I live and get out of this slump. If you want to get better, you can't expect it to just happen. You have to work at it right? Thanks again.

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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

i've hit the "wall" a couple times, both with and without a coach... I managed to mostly work through them and get to the level that i wanted to be at, but it took lots of work and it took several top tier coaches watching me shoot to figure out what little things i was doing wrong.

Coaches are great, but you don't need to go seek out a top dollar coach to get good insight


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

my opinion, i see lots of shooters every week the issue i see are they get help from someone who needs help himself. like from a uncle or friend that has a hand me down bow that does not even come close to fitting right...or they watch a shooter and try that..or this which gives them bad habits that will come back and haunt them.they seem to go through stages,to try anything that will make them shoot better. most will shoot better for a short time then fall apart. then they try another thing, and fail again and all they need is a good coach and a hour of his time to get the form down perfect, and fill his or her mind with loads of GOOD information on things that will help them.


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## Bbowlby (Jun 23, 2012)

I don't know if this helps but, I had got into a bit of trouble when I was 19. Actually a lot , I blew my scholarship and my portion of my life at that time. I had to get my life back, I went into the construction business as my old man owns a company. I worked my butt off. I realized that construction wasn't my gig, so while waiting to load the dirt trucks, I studied and studied. I really had no life other than studying.

I got a break in the IT world and worked my butt off again, I know you see where this is going but, from someone that never went to college, I am working for one of the biggest software company's in the world. 
I live well.My dad always said you have to shovel two to his one 3 to his two. 

I apply the same to anything else, I practice so much. I do get discouraged and some days want to bounce my bow off the floor but, the next day it becomes personal and I just work harder. It is almost like a obsession ( my wife would say a bad one  ) . I look at it this way, even the top of the top have crap days why should I have 10 times more. It's a new world for me and a good one.

Brandon

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