Mastering The Mental Game - Part I

"We all step into the box with thoughts.

Some thoughts predictably produce Xs

…other thoughts Os.

Chambers loaded…what are your thoughts?”

Yes, the Mental Game can be explained in simple, easy-to-understand terms. It can replace fears with self-confidence and empower you to consistently break more targets. Those mental steps, used by yours truly, my instructors, and my students, are intentional thoughts that result in long runs of Xs. These long runs are built intentionally, not by accident.

Stepping into the Mental Game...

Many have said, "Good shooting is 90% mental. The other 10% is technique." There's truth in that statement. Let’s talk about that 10% first.

The first truth in the shooting box is that hope alone won't cut it. Here, we need to get organized on how to build not only our swing correctly but also our entire game. I mention this respectfully. Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results won’t change what needs changing in our game. To improve our shooting, we must first embrace and then implement those necessary changes, ultimately deciding whether we improve or not.

With that in mind, we’re already on our way. Here are some other changes.

Please give this some serious thought. Many believe (and, unfortunately, are being taught) that our natural, God-given eye-hand coordination will be all we’ll ever need to break more targets. That notion is false. It did, in fact, work way back in the 1980s and ‘90s…and still can…when our target is closer and a whole lot easier. However, most of today’s target presentations are no longer so. Today’s stellar targets now require the addition of specific shooting methods. We covered these in our 4-part series on shooting methods and created clarity for more than a few shooters…the very purpose of How Much Lead? Part 1,  How Much Lead? Part II, How Much Lead? Part III and How Much Lead? Part IV. If more consistent success is your goal in Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays, incorporating these methods into your shooting is no longer optional. Let’s move that goal up on our mental To-Do list.

To move closer to that goal, whether you opt for the trial-and-error method or seek instructor assistance, be very careful and aware of the critical difference between instructor "fixing" and "teaching." For everyone, the key to real improvement lies in learning and knowing how to “self-correct.”

Instructor fixing is for fun…instructor teaching is for educating. Let’s all be mentally aware…only one can help you improve.

Up next…

It's important to debunk the myth that a quick trip to an instructor will “magically” make you a better shooter. Sorry…not going to happen. Taking a lesson, a day or two before the tournament, won’t deliver the higher score expected on game day. Improvement “knowledge” can, however, come from spending sufficient time with a competent instructor, to learn the required basics. Followed by the dedicated practice of those basics. Skill advancement and higher scores require practice, patience, and tenacity, not quick fixes.

Regarding those skills…

Spending sufficient time with a competent instructor, one technique epiphany will follow another. Right on schedule, XXXXXX. Good on you. So…you are now a much-improved shooter. Yes? Not quite, not yet. Kudos for your hard work and what you’ve learned. Measurable skill advancement and higher scores, however, can only come in time with dedicated practice of what you’ve learned. I mentioned that a moment ago. Instructor knowledge is transferrable and you will benefit. That’s a fact. Skills, however, are not transferrable. Skills must be earned using patience and tenacity. Again, this is the realistic mindset…the only mindset that will expedite shooting progress and put more X’s on a scorecard.

Time to load the gun.

In the shooting box, chambers loaded, some shooters step in with heavy, stressful expectations, burdened by the very real fear of missing. A deep sense of not wanting to fail. Compounding matters…this is when reality shows up and announces, instant gratification doesn't hold in our shooting sports. The same, take-no-prisoner reality that lives in the shooting box full-time.

Experiencing overwhelming frustration…maybe anger when things don’t go as planned…it’s an all too easy trap to fall into. Seriously now…how can we avoid that meltdown…especially when one miss is followed by another? And another. Here’s where a totally different mental approach to missing can help. Actually help. A LOT. From OOOO to XXXX. Planned and deliberate. Not by accident. In Part II we’ll look at exactly how to do that. Because it works! We’ll also dig deeper, looking at where to put our attention, specifically, to mentally gear up for the X…both in practice and competition. X’s on purpose. Yeah…really.

The Mental Game is an incredibly valuable tool. Its proper use rewards with predictable, consistent success.

Break more targets and take the mystery out of missing targets and feathers with Dan Schindler's 3 books: Take Your Best Shot, To The Target and Beyond The Target. These simple, easy-to-understand books are your roadmap to consistently and dependably shooting higher scores. They are written for shooters of all skill levels. More information on the Paragon School of Sporting website along with dozens of blog posts.

Thanks for being here. Looking forward to our next discussion. Good stuff…I promise.

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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!  

"Folks fly from around the world to take lessons with Schindler at River Bend Sportsman’s Resort, his home course in Inman, South Carolina. Clients have included Bush staffers to NASCAR drivers to the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. The approachable teacher has spent 25 years on “gentleman’s coaching” (with social and corporate shooters) and formal instruction (with individuals, groups, and competitors). Schindler has even certified more than 230 instructors using his handcrafted curriculum—a system that signaled his qualification as the first American admitted to the British Guild of Shooting Instructors... “Shooting, like golf, or anything like that, is a mental sport, and he has the mental game down so well.” To find out how he calibrated mind with metal, we head to Japan."

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

THE TRUSTED PRIMER

To The Target (Book II)

Beyond The Target (Book III)