Shooting Tip

The more I get into trying to coach archery, the more I believe this: “Archery is 90% mental and the other 10% is mental”.   You know, I can teach someone how to shoot an arrow in less than an hour, but to have them shoot it in the same spot every time, I have to get inside their head and that can take forever if they don’t understand the mental aspect of the game.

All of the great athletes have talent, no doubt.   However, they all also do something that sets them apart from all the rest.   They put in the work to perfect their mechanical form which almost everybody does and then they do that extra thing....its called visualization.

Michael Jordan could see the ball swishing through the net before he made the shot, Tiger Woods can see the putt dropping in the hole before he makes the stroke, John Smoltz sees exactly where the ball will cross the outside corner over the plate before he even starts his windup motion.   All the top athletes, whether they are professionals or amateurs use this process to take their game to its highest level.   Ask any Olympian and they will tell you it’s the most important part of their performance.   I especially noticed it in the recent Winter Games in Torino , Italy .   The ice skaters were doing their routines in their head while waiting to go on.   So were the snowboarders and skiers.   They were programming their subconscious mind to take over their physical movements to allow them to relax and perform at their best.  

I recently had an archer who I have been working with suddenly make a mental breakthrough and shot an outstanding score in a tournament.   The archer told me after the tournament, “All along you have been telling me to relax and let it happen, and today it did!   I finally got it!”   Seeing the light bulb go on was a rewarding experience for this coach.  

Try using visualization as another tool in your quiver to achieve higher scores.   It will give you an edge on those archers who haven’t discovered this technique yet.  

One of the best sources to learn more about mental management of your game is the book by Lanny Bassham, “With Winning in Mind”.   You should get a copy and read it until it becomes part of your training program. This stuff works!  

Good Shooting,

Jim White

KAC