After a clinic, Todd Bender talked to our youth team about the mental mindset while shooting the game. How to keep in the groove, how to avoid the peaks and valleys, the frustrations, the crashes!!!

He indicated that conscientious thoughts should be minimal. Further, keep them to process oriented. Never outcome oriented!

Mental setup will vary shooter to shooter, but a process oriented version might be ‘Hold point there, Look point there, Call for the target’. Then reset for the low-house side where it would be ‘Hold point there, Look point there, Call for the target’. When you get to the next station it would be, ‘Hold point there, Look point there, Call for the target’. A consistent, quick reminder of the physical process, minimal, and nothing more. Again, everyone’s mental trigger may be different. For some it may be, ‘Eyes, Thighs’, …‘Eyes, Thighs’, … ‘Eyes, Thighs’. Different, but still a reminder of the physical process the shooter intends to undergo.

What would be incorrect is the outcome oriented thoughts. Something maybe like saying to yourself, ‘Okay, I have hit 83 in a row, I need to hit just this one high-house’. You don’t want to even think about your score or how one more will improve it. You don’t want to be congratulating yourself, nor beating yourself up based upon the outcome of previous shots. Outcome oriented thoughts will lead to peaks and valleys, and the crashes!!!

Keep your mental trigger to the physical task / process. ‘Set the eyes, wait for it to fly’, … ‘Set the eyes, wait for it to fly’, … ‘Set the eyes, wait for it to fly’! When you concentrate on the physical process, the outcome part will take care of itself. Throughout the entire event, a consistent, quick reminder of the physical process and nothing more. At the conclusion you will almost certainly be pleased with the outcome.

This time of year you have on extra layers of clothing, the weather is a bit snotty even on the best of days. So, those 23’s & 24’s will mature into 98’s 99’s and 100’s.