Did you know that you can embed Youtube videos? To do it, just edit your post and highlight the video link. Then click on the youtube button. Here's how the code will look:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1qhaCee19A[/youtube]

Anyway, I actually watched the video before reading the text because of the title of the thread. First of all let me say to the couple standing next to your wife. They are clueless. I don't care how you stand or hold the gun, if you are crushing clays, you're doing something right!

Now, for an actual critique, um...did I mention that that couple was clueless? Your daughter has the right stance. She holds her right elbow up which makes a good pocket for the gun. Her feet are in the right place. She's calm before the shot. She makes an assertive call and stays in the gun until after the bird is broken. After the shot, she doesn't move her feet around and uses minimal movement to reload.

The only thing that needs to be critiqued, as far as I can see, is that she needs to get taller. :wink: She's a tiny thing isn't she?

All kidding aside, I wish I could get a lot of shooters to shoot with her form and grace. More than that, I wish I could get many to shoot that relaxed. Maybe if I watched her for a few rounds I could find some fault or help her understand why she missed a target or two. From what you've shown us here, she knows what she's doing and it will just take lead down the barrel for her to get better.

 

Looks like your wife needs some ear plugs to wear in the club house. I would even venture a guess the other couple may have been intentionaly playing head games. There are parents that do that at any sport their child is in no matter where you go.

 

Since the videos don't show her feet, it's hard to comment on that....but from what I can see they are not obviously misplaced.
Actually, the only thing that stood out for me was that she appears to be slightly leaning back instead of forward. This is probably a result of her small stature and not having sufficient upper body strength to support a heavy O/U at this stage. So, she may have to live with it for awhile. Still, I'd have her start working on it, perhaps with strength training to speed the process along.

Like the others here, I think this is more a case of the parents of her competitor trying to build up their son by tearing down your daughter. Try not to let it bother you, next time it happens tell the wife to just walk away from them without saying a word. That will get the message across clearly. Then, when the scores are posted, have the wife just smile sweetly at them and say "Your son did a fine job today."
It's called "heaping coals of fire".

 

Since the videos don't show her feet, it's hard to comment on that....but from what I can see they are not obviously misplaced.
Actually, the only thing that stood out for me was that she appears to be slightly leaning back instead of forward. This is probably a result of her small stature and not having sufficient upper body strength to support a heavy O/U at this stage.

I noticed too that it looks like she might be fighting the weight of the gun. Can't really see her feet, but in the video where she's on position one or two, she probably should open up her stance and square up more with the house.

One thing I did notice, she's calling for the bird too fast after getting her hold point. Get the hold point, move your eye out into the field, and give it a good two or three seconds to settle down, then call for the target.

~Michael

 

My advice would be to leave her alone and let her shoot. She's doing lots of things right and what she isn't she will figure out in time. When she wants help, she will ask; then get her with a good instructor. At this point in her shooting career, encouragement and positive reinforcement are more important than technique. Just let her keep having fun!

 

Agree with Code5 and slick... she needs to get her hips underneath her, and not stuck way out...

That aside, I don't see anything that's too off...

 

Bet I watched those video's 10 times. Your daughter does more right than wrong and the wrong part looks to be related to physical strength. She leans her head a little into the comb and calls for the target with eyes just off level. If she is a one eye shooter it would be a non-issue. Related to gun fit or strength. She moves her head around to mount a little and looks not to be locked down as tight as some shooters, but compensates for the loose mount by staying into the gun through the shot. Personally I would shorten the LOP and have her square up to the trap as a little experiment, but next year, with growing the LOP could be just right, and the squaring would be natural.

I like to see shooters keep their head in one position and bring the gun to their eye with shoulder and upper arm muscles. Locking the gun down with the same muscles and maintaining the lock through the shot. Many exceptional shooters lock down in this manor, helping keep their head upright and looking over the gun. A hedge on lifting the head during the shot, although dropping the shoulder is gets the same result in reverse. In your daughters case, just being aware of the mounting technique may be enough for her to experiement without much ramification. Maybe find a more certain mount, but still relaxed. If we had an oppotunity to watch her loose targets, any mount weakness would be easier to critique. Hard to improve on dead centered targets, with hesitation to make changes.

Judge by averages, this is a shooters skill level. Experiement with one change at a time to hedge against a complete break down slump, and loss of confidence. Make no changes if the shooter is not willing. They must initiate the willingness and understand any preceived risks and emotions. Know or document all gun setting and POI before trying new stuff. Making going back to basics, easy. Let them create their own problems to work out, never cause one by insisting.

From what I see. Keep in mind your probably watching tomorrows junior shooting star.

Maltzie

 

One thing I did notice, she's calling for the bird too fast after getting her hold point. Get the hold point, move your eye out into the field, and give it a good two or three seconds to settle down, then call for the target.

Most of us here do not enjoy the quick muscle reactions of the young. I watched her in both vids, and she appears to settle into the mount (albeit for a brief moment) before calling for the bird. This is probably all she needs, and equates to you and I waiting a second or a second and a half for our eyes to focus out into the distance. I doubt if many of us wait a full three seconds, I know I don't and my eyes are much older than yours.
One other thing that struck me in watching the vids again; the LOP of the gun seems to be too long for her. Dad might want to cut off 1/2". This would also make it easier for her to hold that shootin' iron up. Aside from that, she looks very comfortable shooting, and she should do very, very well.

 

Thanks guys for your kind and thoughtful words of encouragement..Like I have said before I dont know jack about being a coach, when one of the kids is missing we just start trying all different things until we hit upon the right one..shoot higher, shoot lower, shoot in front shoot behind..haha..Since you all think she is fine,I'm not going to change anything about her shooting unless she starts dropping off..The gun has a precision fit stock, and about 1/2 of shims in front of the recoil pad. We are shooting this weekend at another ATA shoot, I may take those out after the shoot. thanks again!

 

The gun has a precision fit stock, and about 1/2 of shims in front of the recoil pad.

Precision Fit Stock? Are you certain....?

http://www.precisionfitstocks.com/models.htm

 

Sorry..its a Soft Touch..

 

I don't want to be too quick to change anything based on seeing two shots. Maybe what she's doing is working.

Here's how to tell when to start trying new things:
If she's breaking 23 or more consistently, the problem is probably just concentration. Could also be fatigue if it's always the last station where she drops a bird or two.
If she has no idea why she missed. This is largely due to lifting the head.
If she is constantly missing in one direction i.e. High, Low, Left or Right. This is a stock adjustment.

Is she shooting too fast? Maybe, but again, and I can't stress this enough, if it's working, leave it alone! Probably 90% of American Trap shooters shoot too fast. I got much better when I slowed way down. I take at least 7 seconds to mount and shoot. This is much slower than most of the people I shoot with.

 

To get an idea of just how long seven seconds is (to mount and shoot), try timing it with a watch/clock.
It's a long time.

If anyone at my club took that much time (regardless of how good he/she is), they'd soon find themselves shooting on a squad of one.
I remember shooting on a league with a guy who took an inordinate amount of time to mount and call for the bird. So many people mentioned it, that I timed him. He averaged about 5.6 seconds. It seemed like an eternity to everyone else.
I don't know if someone talked to him about it or if he just got more experience, but he takes about half the time now...and his scores have improved.

Lots of ways to do the job.
Food for thought.

 

I have also shot on squads with a 7 second shooter. When the squad gathered at the trap and realized he was on the squad, 4 guys would quietly tell the scorer to scratch their league round and make it practice. I know if you pay for the rocks you should be able to shoot at your own pace but such long delays are very disconcerting to many of us. Maybe I am ADHD but I find myself looking around and fidgeting after so long. Much rather shoot on a squad of friends who are more in sync. So, I would say let her shoot at her own pace as she is obviousely doing very good.

 

Everyone I know that has slowed down has improved. No exceptions. I do know some fast shooters that do really well also, but they are the exception.

I've never understood why people are in such a hurry. If I were to end up on a squad of one, that wouldn't hurt my feelings. I know how long 7 seconds is. I also know that I can shoot in 3 seconds. I don't do as well. I'm not a great shooter, but I'm there to enjoy myself. It's more enjoyable if I do well.

If every shooter took 7 seconds to shoot:
7*5*5/60=~3 minutes per station. Multiply by 5 and it's 15 minutes per round.

If every shooter took 3 seconds to shoot:
3*5*5/60= 1 minute 15 seconds per station. Multiply by 5 and you have 6 minutes 15 seconds per round.

If you were to add 2 minutes to each for station changing, and it probably takes less than that, it's still only 19 and 10 minutes respectively. I've never seen a round of Trap completed in 10 minutes unless you had a squad less than 5. Usually it takes between 15-20 minutes to shoot a round of Trap.

Yeah, I may not take a full 7 seconds each time, but certainly not less than 5 and by the time I pull the trigger it's closer to 7. I guess I'm just slow.

I've heard a lot of people talk about walking off the Trap field because of this or that. I've never seen it. I've refused to shoot on squads with people who are dangerous. I've yet to see anyone refuse to shoot because a shooter is slower than usual. Oh well, I don't mind shooting by myself.

 

Doug, not saying that no one should take 5+ seconds to call for the bird. Not saying it isn't the best for you.
What I am attempting to say is that someone who has a two second (average?) pause before calling pull, and is breaking targets,
should not be made to feel they should wait another 3-5 seconds.
Every shooter has their own "best" timing, and if they try to vary from that it will be of no benefit.

One thing no one can argue with is that a shooter who takes an inordinate amount of time to call for the bird can be a distraction to the rest of the squad...unless, of course, everyone on the squad normally takes the same amount of time. :lol:

Bottom line: take all the time you need, but don't take a millisecond longer.

 

More weight on front foot. Skeet shooters go for 60 to 70 percent. Ask a trap coach what he recommends for ATA style trap. Probably not as much as for skeet, but more than the young lady is using. She appears to have more than 50 percent of her weight on the back foot. The upper body should be more ahead of the hip than behind.

 

Bottom line: take all the time you need, but don't take a millisecond longer.

Well that's the idea isn't it. There are a lot of people that put pressure on shooters to shoot faster. Most feel the pressure of the squad to keep the pace moving and they shoot faster than they should. Comments like this, "If anyone at my club took that much time (regardless of how good he/she is), they'd soon find themselves shooting on a squad of one" often make new or inexperienced shooters hurry and that's not conducive to quality shooting.

In the same vein, telling this young lady to slow down after watching two shots can be counter productive. What if shooting fast is working for her? We just don't have enough info to properly critique her form with these two shots.

 

Looked pretty doggone good to me. She really jumps on those clays right after the call. Good for her.
I, for one, would like to see more youngsters participating in shooting sports instead of being glued to their damn Ipods, cell phones, blackberrys, or playing endless computer games. Sure those are fun, but it's hard to beat a nice round of clays any old day.
Kudos to you for bringing her into the sport. {RO