# My son keeps lifting his head



## Dr. Arquero (Nov 26, 2011)

My son is in JOAD and shoots very well when he sticks to proper form. He's a left handed compound shooter - cub level. Twelve year old. Unfortunately, he has developed a bad habit of lifting his head and looking to see where his shot lands. He pulls badly to the right when he does this. He knows what the problem is. How can I get him to stop?


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Get him up close to a blank bale. 5 yards or less. There is no target, so he should be able to focus on keeping his head still. Once he can consistently hold good form on the blank bale, introduce a large target, at least 24" diameter. If he can shoot this with good form, gradually increase the distance and reduce the target size. 

If he peeks on even one arrow, stop shooting for the day and start over on the blank bale for several days.

With younger shooters, the challenge is keeping this fun. Not many of us think shooting a blank bale is fun. But it is a very effective training tool.

Hope this helps, 
Allen


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

aread has given good info. again i see..... i will chime in and say; use some plain paper .EACH SHOT so hes not picking a spot, and trying to hit it.....


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## Grim76 (Feb 2, 2011)

5 yards , close eyes , over and over and over.....


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## Dr. Arquero (Nov 26, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice. I've done all these and had him hold his bow out and his left hand back with his head up for a 2 count after the shot. He gets it and shoots great when he focuses on the follow through.


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## mike 66 (Jan 21, 2010)

get some tape and put it on the riser step by step...


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## Da Vinci (May 16, 2011)

Just a thought. As opposed to making him blank bale and focus on his head not moving, why not give him an extra step at the end of his shot sequence. Say, touching his back shoulder. Make him focus completely on touching his back shoulder after the shot. This way, he isn't focusing on the negative of raising his head or where the arrow is going, but instead, addressing a new form change. If he begins touching his shoulder without moving his head, his head movement should go away. Moves his anticipation from being "the shot" to "the shoulder", and he won't look to see where the arrow is going.


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## Old Man Archer (Mar 31, 2009)

A good way to help an archer break this bad habit is to have them listen for the arrow to hit the target with their leading ear in a lefty's case his right ear. To help with this put a piece of card board behind a paper target so that it makes a very audible snap. He will begin to concentrate on hearing the arrow instead of seeing the arrow. He will soon learn that the better he gets the different the sound will be if he keeps putting them in the same area on the target and will relate to the softer the sound the better the shot due to the target getting chewed up. Listening for the shot will help to create a steady head after the shot due the concentration to hear the arrow hit.


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## Dr. Arquero (Nov 26, 2011)

All great points. I'll try them all. Thanks


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