# Handling high pressure situations



## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

I've been shooting a bow for 20 years now. I've been into 3d and indoor archery for roughly 5 years now. I feel like I'm a decent archer but I have a hard time if I know my score or if I'm having to keep score. I'll give an example and I want to know if any of you guys in the upper classes of archery have had this issue and what you did to combat it. 

I was shooting the Classic this past weekend and found myself in a multi way tie for 3rd place after the first round. I knew that if I could put together a solid 2nd round I'd be in good shape. I got picked to keep score, which I hate. I was sitting 10 up 7 targets in and looking at my score just kept making me that much more nervous or anxious. Needless to say I screwed it up on target 8. My back tension wouldn't fire and I went into panic mode, rushed the shot and blanked it. How do the guys and gals that consistently shoot high scores deal with it? I know everyone has to keep score so how do I deal with that also?


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

First of all to me after listening to your post I think that you need to accept that you belong there, if you are contending after day one and 10 up on day two after a few shots then it isn't a accident that you are doing well. 

Once you believe that you belong then you can just go ahead and do what you do and that is make good smooth shots. I don't think that I have to do something special or that I have to score better than I normally do, I just need to go out there and smoothly shoot just like I always do and enjoy the day. 

I have learned that shooting a asa course is a weird thing, you can be shooting awesome and missing 12 rings by 1/8 inch all day long and be getting frustrated and let it get to you and then force things and be screwed or you can allow those close shots be a positive thing and know that you are shooting strong and sooner or later you are going to get on a run of 12's and end up with a quality score.

I also think you have to be hones with yourself on your scoring ability, last year I had a great year for me in open a and i could shoot above even easily give or take in the 10 up range. That seemed to be my ability because I don't shoot very many 12's around 9 for the weekend most of the time and so If I can smoothly stay in the 10 ring I can only have a few 8's and end up 10 or so up. I did have one weekend where I made it 27 targets before I shot a 8 and I got on the podium and shot 20 up for the weekend. That doesn't mean I can crank out 20 up every time, and it didn't mean that I shot a crap load of 12's. That weekend I shot a couple more 12's than normal and I just stayed in the 10 ring the rest of the time. I think I had 12 twelves for the weekend and 2 8's.

I am happy that I had that weekend but it doesn't mean that i have to do it every time now, I hope to improve my game and get to the point where I can show up and crank out a 20 up score anytime I want and that would be great. So again I think you have to be honest with your ability and allow yourself to just shoot and enjoy the weekend.

Every time I have failed and gotten nervous it was because I tried to be somebody I wasn't or do things that I am not capable of doing, when I simply shoot like I always do at home I am good to go.


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## Mainefella (May 25, 2013)

Those are the situations that show how well ingrained your shot process and execution are. The highest pressure situations are often best handled with muscle memory and repetition. If you are struggling with these things then there is still some work to do (as if you didn't know). When you can allow your mind to blank and still execute the same every time is when you will find your success.


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## Mainefella (May 25, 2013)

And it has to happen one target at a time. If you miss the target before then it needs to be forgotten before the next shot. Each shot needs to be focused on as if it was the only one that day.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

I can handle shooting in front of crowds pretty easily. For some reason, I tend to shoot better in those situations. Knowing my score and not having anyone to cut up with or some way to keep my mind off of it really works on me tho. I've got to figure out how to keep calm in that situation. 

On a side note, I'd like to thank you Padgett for sending me your articles on firing engines. They have helped me tremendously!


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

it's a hard thing to do, i'll be the first to admit it. but what I do when being chosen to keep score for a group, I take the job very coldly and "matter of fact" like. just walk up to the target and hammer the scores down pull my arrows and walk away. I'll talk about it later as we move to the next target, but not at the target i'm presently scoring. it may seem a bit unfriendly at first to people who don't know me, but later after the round, when I explain that I was just keeping myself from getting worked up about the scores, they usually say that was a good idea. it seems that for me, if I just hammer the score down and walk away, I don't think about it and I don't reflect on the score I just shot,...it doesn't seem to stay in my head, when I do it this way. 
if you watch the pros shoot, I think allot of them do it the same way (just a guess), there's never much expression on their faces or talking while they are scoring....they approach it like a job that has to be done, get it over with and move on to the assignment....so to speak. 
I've learned from many years of shooting spots, that you have to find a way to mentally bock the score out of your head.....it's just another part of the round, no different than making a good shot. 
sometimes I think i'm somewhat lucky in that sense, from all my years as a carpenter. I've learned to get measurements and remember them just long enough to get the pieces made and then those numbers are out of my head,...gone....on to the next pieces with room in my head, for new measurements. if I remembered all the measurements and thought about them all the time while I was working, I think i'd go nuts ! some guys can remember stuff like that and not dwell on it,...I can't.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

Would this be something a coach could help with?


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

You have moved your focus from process to outcome. You start worrying about what you cannot control. The other archers. The score. Where your arrow is going to land. If you stay with the process these things do not matter. Most of us start to "over aim" and the process falls apart followed by the mental game. Been on the line in a few state tourneys where I could not drop a point. I stayed focused on the task at hand-stayed in the process- outcome will take care of itself. It was good. 

A process is no more than following an established procedure. 

.02


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## Sasquech (Dec 15, 2014)

Experience and confidence.


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## Lazarus (Sep 19, 2005)

subconsciously said:


> You have moved your focus from process to outcome.
> .02


^ Problem and solution all in one sentence. 

Switch the words outcome and process and you're on your way. 

Taking it beyond shooting, when scoring I focus on getting it right (process) instead of what someone else shot. Do results thoughts creep in? Of course they do, if you're human. The instant the results thought creeps in you have to replace it with a process thought. It's not that hard at all, just takes a little practice. 

Since we are sharing experiences I'll share mine, briefly. I shot my best "shoot down" type experience of my career this past weekend. In the finals I shot my very best four ends of the shootdown. Something that was really odd that I thought of afterwards was this. Well, let me back up, we were shooting 60 meters, and I can almost to the T tell you where an arrow has hit the target when the bow goes off without even looking, normally. In the finals of the shootoff, 4-3 arrow ends, my best shooting of the day, I can remember after every single end walking away from the line and looking at one of the other competitors shrugging my shoulders and saying "I have no idea where they hit." (I had purposely left the spotting scope off the line so I was focused on process not results.) And the truth is I DIDN'T know where I was hitting, until I walked to the target and saw my arrows all huddled around the middle. 

I honestly had no idea where my arrows were hitting. It was a really uncomfortable feeling not knowing and having no scope to confirm. But it seemed to work. I don't know for sure what this proves, I think I know but who knows for sure. It was a really interesting phenomena that I had never really experienced. It never really dawned on me until later in the evening and I was replaying it in my mind.


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## Lazarus (Sep 19, 2005)

bill_collector said:


> Would this be something a coach could help with?


Of course. For that type of coaching I'd look outside the sport of archery. 

Many people have dealt with these types of issues using the techniques found in Lanny Bassham's "With Winning In Mind."


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

good book to deal with the pressures of competition !. not necessarily archery oriented, but the issue that build anxiety are the same and the methods to eliminate them apply to both sports because no matter the activity, our heads all work reasonably the same.


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## TNMAN (Oct 6, 2009)

Lazarus said:


> ^ Problem and solution all in one sentence.
> 
> Switch the words outcome and process and you're on your way.
> 
> ...


I'm looking. Just another part of the process.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

important post there, Laz, !.
having confidence in your execution plays a great role in being able to concentrate on your execution and makes it much easier to "convert to concentrating", and/or "stay on" concentrating on your execution when the pressure is on. the better developed your execution is, the more confidence you will have in it and the easier ot will be to use that as a tool to shoot well..


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

This whole thread is something that I have to deal with every year, last year I had many pressure shots where I could win a open a tournament and I felt little to no stress or extra heart rate and I was able to make perfect executions and send my arrow to the target. 

BUT

I showed up to a little local indoor league in early January where the strongest shooter there barely shoots a 300 54x and I warmed up and stepped up to shoot my first end and my freaking heart rate went through the roof and I got nervous and tense and I totally dropped 5 x's in the first two ends and ended up shooting a freaking 52x when I hadn't missed a x in practice all week.

The mental game is huge especially in indoor, with 3d you may be nervous on the first shot but you have 10 minutes before your next shot and usually you can get things under control where in indoor once the timer starts you have to either send 3 or 5 arrows to the target and there just isn't any time to fix the problem. My thing is to just be honest with yourself and just know what your true abilities are and go enjoy the day, when things are firing on all 8 cylinders from feel to execution to float that is when you are going to really get to enjoy the day but even when things aren't perfect at least you aren't at some stupid little kid birthday party or mowing the lawn.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

What kind of coach do I need to be looking at for something like this?


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

bill collector, how many 3Ds do you shoot? What I mean is, you put yourself into enough of the same situations you get use to them. Ask to keep score all the time. If a fun shoot, keep score anyway. Try starting out like you're 10 or 20 down. Sidekick of mine, I use to spot him up to 50 points. Just dozens of different things you can do. At home or the local archery range have some one turning off and on a blaring a radio, throwing tin cans, screaming.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

this is true !,.....
put a little "artificial pressure" on your round by spotting your partner some points and then seriously try to beat him. another good learning trick, if you are having problems with yardage, is to shoot a round with someone and deliberately discuss yardage at each shot. you might be surprised how much you learn about judging yardage, when you hear different ideas about how other people do it and the end result is the confirmation of both shooters agreeing on the specific yardage, which builds confidence in your judgment.


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## Garceau (Sep 3, 2010)

all the books and all the coaching in the world wont cure everything for everyone.

some people are just wired differently - some it will have very little effect on them, others significant effects on them. Hell when I was sitting in the airport with Tommy Gomez sunday night he said he was really nervous in the shootdown. But was able to push through it and make good shots.

Biggest thing that will make it "easier" to manage for everyone is experience........


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

yup,..... but, the point of this thread, is getting to the point of having enough experience to be able to use it as tool when shots get tough. there are many ways to apply your shooting towards gaining that experience. if you don't do it constructively, all you're doing is "flinging arrows through the air".


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## stoz (Aug 23, 2002)

Pressure is a good thing you have to tell your self that. It helps you focus and makes you run you shot program. I normally shoot better at big shoots bc I focus on each shot better. I visualize and run my program on each shot and dont allow myself to run sub par shots. The more you get in those situations the better. Seek out as many tournaments and pressure shoots as you can and learn to thrive on the competition. I love to shoot with the best shooters at the biggest tournaments. Good luck


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

the whole reason we work to get our execution to run reliably by itself, is so that pressure, doesn't affect it's operation. 
everybody knows that pressure of getting the first few arrows in the X when you start a spot round, and most people can realize the pressure of getting the last few arrows in the X on what is developing into a 60x round. 
the better and more reliably your execution runs by itself, makes those high pressure shots much less intimidating, and not much more pressured than shots through the middle of the round, when you've established that shot rhythm that is producing X's.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

SonnyThomas said:


> bill collector, how many 3Ds do you shoot? What I mean is, you put yourself into enough of the same situations you get use to them. Ask to keep score all the time. If a fun shoot, keep score anyway. Try starting out like you're 10 or 20 down. Sidekick of mine, I use to spot him up to 50 points. Just dozens of different things you can do. At home or the local archery range have some one turning off and on a blaring a radio, throwing tin cans, screaming.



I shoot several a year. Probably 15 or 20. I probably shoot that many nights also at our local indoor range before 3d season. Shooting in front of people doesn't really bother me that much. When I practice I have a 3 and 5 year old usually out there with me, so I have the noise part covered. lol. The thing that bothers me is like what I stated above, keeping or knowing my score when I'm doing really good. The same thing happened to me on the 5 spot last year. I wanted to shoot a 300 so bad. I would have a clean game going until the last round. I would know I hadn't dropped any all night and screw it up on that last round. My nerves would go crazy on that last round every time and I would end up dropping a point. Then one night, I finally shot the 300 I was looking for. I had some buddies in my ear the last two rounds making fun of me and carrying on and I just blocked them out and concentrated on my shot. It happens if I'm shooting a 3d shoot and haven't shot an 8 all day to. I will get to target 18, 19 or 20 and knowing I hadn't dropped any points all day just makes me a ball of nerves for some reason and I'll blow it on one of the last targets. 

The second year I shot tournaments, I won 2nd place in bow novice at Cullman. That year they had some kind of a deal where the amateur classes shot in a shootdown just like the pros do. I remember how I was dreading shooting in front of all them people and once I got up to my spot to shoot, I was so focused on what I needed to do that I didn't think a thing about them. 

I've tried practicing like I had a clean round going and I was 20 up but it just doesn't make me nervous like it does when I actually am in that situation.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

that's why we have to teach ourselves to immerse ourselves in the process, not the score.


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## possum trapper (Nov 24, 2005)

I can tell you it's only high pressure if you think it's a high pressure situation.Most people fail because they let the surroundings affect the way they think.Archery is a discipline skilled activity

If your mind is on your so called form and just making the best shot possible you can at that time that's about all there is to it


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

well, pressure is an inert self generated response. it stems from the fact that you sub conscious knows how well it is able to perform on difficult shots by evaluating how it runs by itself......ie., it knows how well it works all the time and in layman's terms,...will be worried about how good it performs when the performance needs to be good. 
so....
the better you perform under pressure, the less worried your "generator of pressure" will be, about performing when it has to. 
it learns to be relaxed by your having a well developed execution that it knows it can rely on.


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## subconsciously (Aug 22, 2009)

Work in practice and play at the tournament. 

Because if you play at practice you'll work in the tournament.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

exactly.....
any athlete especially runners and guys that speed skate, know that the race, is supposed to be the easy part. I speed skated on almost a national level when younger. my coaches were world class speed skaters, past and current Olympic skaters and coaches. this is something they stressed all the time. if you don't train harder than you compete, you don't compete as hard as you can train.


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## bill_collector (Jul 5, 2009)

Thanks for the advice guys. Its very much appreciated.


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## cbrunson (Oct 25, 2010)

Padgett said:


> First of all to me after listening to your post I think that you need to accept that you belong there,


To quote a famous archer..... "In order to be able to shoot a 300, you have to shoot a 300."

Same thing applies here. Every time you shoot a little better than before, you gain confidence and the pressure decreases. There was a time not long ago that I could not shoot a 300 5-spot in competition to save my life. I could shoot 50+ Xs, but I would always sail one arrow out into the blue. State shoot a couple years ago, Day one - 299-54x. Day two - 299-56x.

Then finally it happened. A local shoot came up and I cleaned it. My X count was low and I was all over the place, but I shot a 300. I haven't shot a 299 since. Same thing happened with Vegas leagues last year. It took me two years to clean a 300 on league night. After I finally got it, the 300s started rolling in. Now I just need to get that first big win in competition.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I hear you cbrunson and couldn't agree more, it is funny two winters ago I got to shoot two leagues and many 5-spot rounds and i still haven't shot a 60x round in a league night or competition. But I shot a 300 vegas round in every league night that I attended except one and I had a misfire and shot the wall and shot a 290 26x I believe if that is how you score a freaking zero on a vegas target. 

I got to the point where I was shooting 300 vegas rounds every time in practice and league nights without even worrying about it happening where with a 5-spot round there was something lurking mentally that made it feel much harder and something was going to happen.

Confidence and pride and approach and nerves and desire and wants and everything else have to be in check and then you can just show up and shoot.


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