# Tournament Preparation?



## panther08 (Jan 7, 2008)

John Dudley has a great article on this. Go to his website and look it up. He has many great articles on everything archery


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## bernies boy (Aug 1, 2010)

The only thing I really do to get ready for a shoot is to go over my equipment and make sure it is perfect. Don't want to have any doubts about that while on line.


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## Hoyt_em (Feb 18, 2007)

Local stuff...not much. Attempt to execute good shots
State...pretty close to the same, *might* have a little more adrenaline on the first end or two. 

Bigger stuff...I think to much! Shooting the pro/am "burns" up the nerves a little bit. Helps some, but still end up with some adrenaline rush/dump.

Mostly before the shoot, lay off the sugar infested caffeine, or coffee. Try to remain relatively calm, go through the shot process and concentrate on something that I may be in the process if addressing on the form side, or something that I know I need to pay attention to.


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

I shoot it like practice any other day- it's no different, I just have to shoot arrows


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

N7709K said:


> I shoot it like practice any other day- it's no different, I just have to shoot arrows


That seems to be one of the secrets: Practice like you are shooting a tournament / Shoot a tournament like you're practicing.


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## Slingshot (Jan 1, 2008)

N7709K said:


> I shoot it like practice any other day- it's no different, I just have to shoot arrows


Exactly.....

As long as you shoot every arrow the same way you practice your good. Seems simple and it is, every shot counts no matter what. 

If you practice this way it will greatly increase your focus, shoot every one like it's the only one you need to win. 

When it's time to compete, you need to know you only make good shots, this comes from practicing this way


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## bigHUN (Feb 5, 2006)

we start about two months earlier averaging a 1K per week to build the confidence in muscles and memory,
shooting in all conditions is that rain or wind or early morning late evening, mosquitoes, just anything what could possibly make your days hard......
about last two weeks clearly mental game with shooting, I am calling over my buddies to my shooting line and we make lot of just anything distracting noises, jokes, ..... 
last two nights before day 0 I can see where my arrows hitting the rings in my dreams 
:wink:


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## tmorelli (Jul 31, 2005)

My practice and prep focuses are constantly evolving based on need. Primarily being a 3d shooter, I don't need to shoot a lot of arrows. Actually I find that fewer is better. When I don't have a "special project" or "trouble shooting" effort, I prefer to shoot 15-20 arrows per day divided into several small batches across the day and I do that 4-5 days per week. I want to stay conditioned but fresh.

Most of my practice is mental prep....even on the range it is confidence building. Its analysis of targets.... Game planning to make good decisions for optimizing scores. 

Every round I shoot (even state champ level stuff) is practice for the ASA pro AM's. I work to elevate my "base level" game in practice to be competitive at the national level. As Jacob said, I want to compete like I practice ....not fall in the trap of feeling like I need everything to go right...or to have a "special" day where I play above myself. 

Make the plan, work the plan. Adapt and overcome if required. 3d is not a game of perfect. Its a game of problem solving. Good decisions backed by good shots. Failure in either defeats both. 

So my practice is "learning"....my next practice is applying lessons learned.... And learning new lessons....rinse and repeat. The outcome is confidence and a plan that works. The "real" tournament is just executing the plan.


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## cbrunson (Oct 25, 2010)

N7709K said:


> I shoot it like practice any other day- it's no different, I just have to shoot arrows


This ^^^^

I practice shooting for score. My practice and comp scores are very close.


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## tmorelli (Jul 31, 2005)

I don't get to shoot a lot of field but do as much as I can. My prep for it isn't much different mentally but I do prioritize physical conditioning. I take days in the month or two before our state shoot and spike to as many as about 300 arrows followed by rest. Then repeat as needed to build stamina and confidence for those arrows later in the rounds. 

I try to shoot a half rounds scoring over a long lunch most week days. (Benefit of officing remotely on my phone) I insert peaks of 2-3-4 halves as time allows. 

I'd have to get a lot more deliberate if I was competing nationally. Field is "just" fun to me but I like to be good at it too and enjoy the variety. I hope to build my own course in the next couple of years.


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## TNMAN (Oct 6, 2009)

Field or anything with a lot of arrows, I have always shot tons of arrows in preparation, but allowed a "light day" the day before the shoot with only a few arrows, checking a few marks, bunny shot, etc. The light day leaves me feeling really strong and ready at the shoot.

If the tournament is to be held on a range that I know well, then I will have "shot" that range in my imagination several times a day (every arrow/every target) in the few days ahead, and at least a couple of times on the drive to the tournament site. Of course, I never miss a dot in my head---and rarely an X.


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## Bees (Jan 28, 2003)

read this:
http://www.performance-archery.com/mental-toughness/


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Would you prepare differently for States vs Nationals or Vegas?

How so & why?


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

I shoot against my wife for preparation. She's shoots better than 90% of the guys.

Post tournament prep usually consists of alcohol.:beer:


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## possum trapper (Nov 24, 2005)

aread said:


> Would you prepare differently for States vs Nationals or Vegas?
> 
> How so & why?


you shouldn't have a different mindset no matter where you are and that's the problem with most.guys dream too much stuff into things that simply are not there.
to me you need to find your inner self all times and believe in yourself.

one thing ive done from day one when I got serious about tourneys in practice I would never get myself in a rhythm by shooting end after end.i would shoot practice just like a tourney by more time between ends and having myself shoot (cold) ends and think about more things between ends.

I believe you need (Me) time in practice (half the time) with no distractions to really find yourself mentally.I know you need to be around distractions and get yourself use to it but you need to find a mental game by yourself before you expose yourself to distractions.once your in around the tourney you need to go to your mental game and believe in yourself


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## Target Tony (Mar 3, 2003)

possum trapper said:


> you shouldn't have a different mindset no matter where you are and that's the problem with most.guys dream too much stuff into things that simply are not there.
> to me you need to find your inner self all times and believe in yourself.
> 
> one thing ive done from day one when I got serious about tourneys in practice I would never get myself in a rhythm by shooting end after end.i would shoot practice just like a tourney by more time between ends and having myself shoot (cold) ends and think about more things between ends.
> ...


you are a wise possum...


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## Target Tony (Mar 3, 2003)

just a repeat


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## miko0618 (Mar 3, 2005)

Which state?


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

For me, Maryland.

Shooting this Saturday & Sunday.


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## tmorelli (Jul 31, 2005)

I'm not sure if this link will work but I hope so. Its the bow junky podcast with Nathan B at indoor nats talking about his preparation specifically when he won them back to back. 

http://media62.podbean.com/pb/e5e2c...2/blogs60/647137/uploads/JunkyardTalkPC33.mp3

The power of visualization.


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## possum trapper (Nov 24, 2005)

tmorelli said:


> I'm not sure if this link will work but I hope so. Its the bow junky podcast with Nathan B at indoor nats talking about his preparation specifically when he won them back to back.
> 
> http://media62.podbean.com/pb/e5e2c...2/blogs60/647137/uploads/JunkyardTalkPC33.mp3
> 
> The power of visualization.


yep and you have to really believe in it and sounds like Nathan did.A few years ago when I won Vegas and indoor nationals(bhfs) I did a lot of visualization with my pin in the middle and executing the shot.it really works when you can go back to that when people or the atmosphere trys to get the better of you


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## ArcherXXX300 (Apr 22, 2013)

I should have done better prep for state.

I'm not used to the ridiculous slow pace of tons of people shooting 2 lines.
I'm not used to shooting crappy morrell targets
I'm not used to poor lighting
I'm not used to standing on carpet shooting
I'm used to always starting on the TOP target not the bottom and need to shoot bottom first occasionally.
I'm used to shooting a lot more than 10 arrows before scoring and it takes a long time to warm up

Had center serving too thick of a diameter due to its all I had and had nock pinch also.


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## baller (Oct 4, 2006)

My usual training is around 50-75 arrows a day, and close to 400 arrows over the weekend for a non-event full practice week. Its been this way since I shot Olympic Recurve (because 50 or so every day or every other day was minimum just to maintain the shooting muscles for recurve). Anyhow, the habit carried over, so now I shoot for score two to three times a week (indoors or outdoors long range doesn't matter, shoot for score) sometimes on a timer, and every other round I will spread my shooting out over time similar to how a double line event would be. One round will be shot one end after the other, the other will be alternated by 5 minutes, AB, BA like a double line. The rest of the week I'm working on blank bale, with specific form work in mind.

When I'm not shooting physically I'm shooting mentally....going through my shot routine one step at a time...and I NEVER miss an X when doing this . 

During a major event week I usually will reduce my shooting to about 30-60 every other day, all for score on a timer shooting the game that I will be shooting in competition. I do not blank bale during major weeks unless something VERY wrong comes up, and I only shoot 1 end of practice, which helps me learn to get focused and keyed up right from the jump.

For 3D prep, I will go judge yardage on my blank bale days, and on my scoring days I'll shoot a half 5 spot round (30 arrows) at a black target with scoring lines that i can't see from the shooting line, one arrow at a time. Shoot, retrieve, shoot, retrieve. Takes a while yes, but trains me in two areas, executing a single shot VERY WELL, and aiming at something specific when there is little or no reference point for aim. I usually try to do this excersize from different lanes on the range if there is room, to get used to abnormal body position etc.

No matter how YOU do it, train like you compete, compete like you train. If you treat them both the same, you'll barely notice the difference between the two. Know your average, shoot your average. You can raise your average with training, not many shoot better than their average when shooting competition. You do have to train to win....do what works best for YOU.


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## Camp (May 30, 2010)

panther08 said:


> John Dudley has a great article on this. Go to his website and look it up. He has many great articles on everything archery


:thumbs_up


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