Mental Prep for competition

jacky

jacky

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Well in two weeks I will enter my first PITA competition and these days it all seems to mental prep. What do any of you other competitors do to prep your mind and get ready for a shoot.

Jacky
 
A solid 30 minutes before I'm scheduled to start, I head to my truck and put my gun together. Anyone who's put together an O/U knows it doesn't take more than 5 minutes if you go real slow.

I try to clear my head of everything else going on around me. I'll get my ammo ready, and make sure I have everything else I may need (towel, kleenex, water, pouch). I'll take off my cell phone and make sure I don't lock my keys in the truck. I'll make a note of what the wind is doing. If possible I'll have a look at the targets to see what they are doing. The pace of this is very slow and deliberate in an effort to get my head set, and everything else relaxed. Having everything all ready to go once it is time to go to the field will prevent the last second, "oh crap where is my ...." and let you keep your head on the task at hand.

YMMV...
Brad.
 
Jacky, Try get on a squad with shooters that are better than you and then just try to get a rythem going with all the shooters. Keep your feet planted ,head down and don't worry about anyones birds but your own. Oh and if your still interested in a loader give me a pm I think I am going to sell both my 366's and I have a bunch of extras to go with them ,hulls primers ,wads,etc.

Ed
 
Like Brad says ... be prepared - and show up for your squad on time.

Make sure your safety is "off" and the barrel selector is in the right place, glasses on, ear protection in place, be READY to shoot when it's your turn to do so.

Once on the line, concentrate on YOUR TARGET, eyes WIDE OPEN. Don't be concerned with what the other shooters are doing ... the scorekeeper will keep score for you ... you don't have to - JUST SHOOT ! Turn rhe concentration on when you slip the shell in, and keep it on till after the shots been made. Otherwise, relax and have fun in your first registered shoot. No need for nerves, you're only measuring yourself ... not trying to win the whole shebang first time out, so just pay attention to what you're doing and enjoy.
 
I dont do to much until just before I'm ready to shoot, like Brad. If you start thinking about it now it leaves you to much time to think about it. Thinking while shooting I find is a bad thing. I try to walk to the line in as much of a brain dead state (for lack of a beter term) as I can. The less you have to think about when shooting the better.

Tim
 
I try and stay away from the leader board, from idjits that PO me, and simply relax.
Mind in nuetral, nothing there.
The wife says I'm getting better at it - if she looks in one ear, she can see the room on the other side!:D
Seriously, thoug, realaxing and having fun with a goal in mind are the important things.
Concentration willbe there for you at the right time......
Cat
 
jacky said:
This looks awesome. Has anyone ever used his stuff ??
Click to expand...


I have purchased some of it and listened to some of it, but I haven't had time to really start training as Bassham describes. He really does have some insightful thoughts on mental training and mental practices for any competitive activity - I use his theory as much at work as I do on the skeet field.

If you don't want to drop the big bucks, you can get a good whiff of his theory in NSSA's magazine (Bender ran a few articles on him last year), or buy "With Winning in Mind". That will tell you where Bassham is coming from and what the general Mental Management system is.

His theory wasn't built on shotgunning, it was built on Olympic rifle, and has been applied to shotgunning quite successfully.
 
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