HOW I Miss You

PULL………..Lost-Dead. 

Mumbling.

PULL……….Dead-Lost, Sir.

More mumbling, a little louder.

 PULL………Lost-Lost Sir.

Empty hulls landing near the guilty trap machines, expletives deleted.

If I may, as a full-time instructor and coach, I’d like to share with you what I believe are a few invaluable lessons in the clay target sports (sporting clays, skeet and trap). Here’s one example which touches on the ever-popular, mysterious Mental Game…which, truthfully, is far from a mystery.

Since 1990, I've worked with thousands of students from Novice to advanced Master Class. A blessing and a privilege. I’ve learned no one likes missing. Said constructively, all too often, missing promptly throws a shooter into a self-destructive state of disappointment, frustration, and sometimes anger. The missing leading to…you guessed it…more missing, compounded by the perception of failure. With expectations spoiled, this overwhelming discouragement invariably leading to another miss…and another. While some of this self-induced stress is entirely understandable, it does bring up our shooter’s hopeful “goal” on the course: better shooting, i.e., personal skill advancement. Where is it?

SOP…in the clubhouse, I spend considerable lesson time addressing the following with every student before we step outside. Respectfully…I ask my student(s) to seriously consider the cumulative consequences of time spent criticizing oneself after missing a target. To what benefit? How does a personal scolding move us closer to our mutual shooting goal? Is precious time - dedicated to learning and raising a skill level - being wasted?

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career.

I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life.

And that is why I succeed.” 

~ Michael Jordan

Let’s take a moment to look at where some shooters allow their attention to go before and after the trigger pull. When the target is lost, does the shooter allow their emotions to guide the next swing? Or…do they evaluate the miss without negativity? The all-important questions on the table are…WHY did they miss? How can they quickly correct their swing so the very next target breaks? What happens downrange is irrelevant. That’s because…X and O… are determined inside the shooting box, behind the muzzle, before the shot string leaves the gun. That control…swing, sight picture and timing of the trigger pull…are all you can control and are in your capable hands. Yes?

When a target is lost, it's critically important to find the set-up and/or swing error and make the correction so the next target will break. OXXXXX!

Every formal lesson is built on the fundamentals of the consistently good shooting found in Take Your Best Shot. My students learn the Paragon shooting process and they learn they can trust that process. Time in the box shows them they can trust that process 100%, 24/7/365.

What is the goal here? Where is our attention? That's why…when I teach, my student and I evaluate each miss and each X. It's a golden opportunity for the shooter to learn the process…how to repeat the X...how to correct when needed. By teaching shooters the Paragon shooting process, shooters can continue to advance their skills when they don't have me, or an instructor standing behind them. We follow this process repeatedly during the lesson. Evaluating every O and every X by totally focusing on his/her swing steps (process)…my student predictably learns HOW to consistently break more and more targets...on purpose. We have a process that works and we follow that process. Negativity after missing? Disappears.  Doubling shooter self-confidence, joy and Xs.

Every single X and O…let me say that again…every single X and O is an opportunity to learn something valuable. The hard truth is…we can’t capitalize on that X or O unless we hold our attention on why that happened…evaluating and learning…step-by-step, what just took place. Predictably, this improves not only the next swing but overall skill level which leads to more consistency, and more broken targets. BTW, teaching you a completely reliable step-by-step shooting process is your instructor’s obligation to you. That's what you are paying for! To learn exactly what breaks targets and how to move your shooting forward! Not just Xs but shooting knowledge.

So…dealing with a lost target is simple? Well…not exactly. What I call the “attention factor”…is a skill worth learning and applying to meet YOUR goals…sooner. Hard as this may be at times…each of us has a choice on where we put…and focus our attention. I respectfully suggest…choose wisely. 

“Should things not be going well in the shooting box…

and you find yourself in a hole…

first and most importantly,

stop digging.” 

Taking a break for a moment, please notice that no one’s touched a gun yet. Our quiet and patient assembling of this advanced preparation eliminates serious problems later.

There are two more preparation steps on our list before leaving the clubhouse. Please remember, my student is here seeking improvement. He/she is paying not just for X’s but for specific shooting methods that work consistently, EVERY time, ALL the time. So, before closing, let’s add what I believe are two more preparation steps that should be addressed in the clubhouse before the shooting begins.

I, personally, do not “overemphasize” the importance of gun fit. I fully support that it is important, to a degree. And, by that I mean, close enough is good enough. A “perfect” gun fit is not and never will be a working substitute for shooting knowledge/skills…how to set up and execute a consistently successful swing. For those who might disagree with me, please explain how McIlroy, Rahm and other PGA Big Dawgs can play better than 99% of golfers by using any worn-out set of clubs bought at a yard sale 20 minutes ago. That said, your instructor should be doing a basic gun fit evaluation to make sure there are no MAJOR gun fit issues that do need to be addressed before heading out to the course.

In closing, I’ll spare you a thousand words needed to discuss “correctly” checking, evaluating and knowledgeably handling eye dominance “issues" successfully. If you wish me to discuss these issues later, I’ll be happy to share my experiences. For now, suffice it to say…please listen carefully…evaluations and any “needed” adjustments must be handled correctly. I say that because unnecessary, mishandled recommendations will be costly and far too often have serious, long-term consequences for all involved. I’ve seen those consequences first-hand, all of which could have been avoided had the shooter been diagnosed correctly and handled properly in the beginning. 

As you can see…while preparation steps are relatively simple and straightforward…there’s a lot more to improving your shooting…building consistency…than just heading out to the course with good intentions, hoping to gain some real shooting improvement.

 Thanks again for joining us here. Much appreciated. Until next time, be safe and I hope to see you out on the course.

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XXXX

About Dan Schindler

Dan Schindler is one of only 60 worldwide members of the Guild of Shooting Instructors (UK) and is one of the most highly respected Sporting Clays and Wingshooting Instructors in the US. Dan is an NSCA Level III Instructor (since 1995) and founded the Paragon School of Sporting with one goal in mind. Whether it be for the advanced competitor or providing the basics to the entry-level shooter, Paragon provides the simplest, most practical and most effective Instruction, Coaching and Mental Training for the Sporting Clays, Skeet, Trap & Wingshooting enthusiast. Dan Schindler helps shooters alleviate a lot of their frustration by taking the mystery out of breaking targets, calling their own misses, and making their own corrections. Lessons are fun, enlightening and our clients learn to shoot better in minutes!  

Dan Schindler's Books

"Recommended for shooters of all skill levels, Coaches, Instructors

and parents of youth shooters."

Take Your Best Shot (Book I), 3rd Edition is THE Gold Standard Primer It's all about the fundamentals, a requirement for good shooting. This book is used by high school and college shooting teams, recreational and competitive shooters from around the world. Solid, valuable, concise information that has helped thousands of shooters shoot more consistently with higher scores.

To The Target (Book II) Builds on the steps outlined in Book I. Emphasises Gun Management skills when the trap fires, creating a consistent, reliable, trustworthy swing.

Beyond the Target (Book III) is for shooters of all levels, filled with valuable information, clay target truths. Entertaining and a culmination of 3 decades of Dan's life's work as a teacher, competitor, published writer, and much more.

Here's what Shooters, Coaches and Clay Shooting USA saying...

Take Your Best Shot (Book I), 3rd Edition

To The Target (Book II)

Beyond The Target (Book III)