Overcoming match pressure

[Yelena]

I noticed that I always do a lot better at practice that at the match. I am trying to take it just as shooting for fun and not for competing, however, when other people shoot with me, I can't achieve a good concentration and thus do worse than if I shoot alone.
Anyone else has this problem? And what do you do to overcome it?

 

[TY43215]

Yelena

Shoot your game and don't worry what anyone else is doing.

The more matches you shoot, the easier it will be.

If you really want pressure try USPSA with the usual suspects from this forum and be ready to give as well as receive

Gary

 

[Ninsho]

I imagine that in shooting matches like most other competitions of any type adrenaline can be a big issue, especially in precision shooting. I haven't been involved in competitive shooting, but it has definitely been a factor in other endeavors I have made. The only real solution to this kind of issue is going to matches. At first each match is a big deal, the more you go the more comfortable you will be, and the better you will be.

 

[Supermoto]

I noticed that I always do a lot better at practice that at the match. I am trying to take it just as shooting for fun and not for competing, however, when other people shoot with me, I can't achieve a good concentration and thus do worse than if I shoot alone.
Anyone else has this problem? And what do you do to overcome it?

You need to work on your mental game. The skills are the same in practice or a match, so why do you shoot different? Mostly it's artificial pressure that you place on yourself. Pressure to do well, pressure to have your peers see you as a good shooter, pressure not to fail. When you step up to the line, you need to be confident in your abilities, you need to believe that you will win, you need to be positive. The only stress should be the drive the win.

If you have any doubt, that is what the mind will focus on. Your mind will force you to make the mistakes. Think you will miss a target and you will. see another shooter miss a hard shot, you will focus on it. Know that the other shooters mistake will be a mistake you can take advantage of because it is one you will not make.

Shooting is very mental and it is the hardest aspect because few really work on it, but having a strong mental game will be the biggest factor in consistently doing well

 

[packingungal]

I noticed that I always do a lot better at practice that at the match. I am trying to take it just as shooting for fun and not for competing, however, when other people shoot with me, I can't achieve a good concentration and thus do worse than if I shoot alone.
Anyone else has this problem? And what do you do to overcome it?

Shoot alone, and send your scores in....

 

[Chuck Would]

Not sure how many matches you've shot, but I try to tell newbies at matches I attend that the pressure they feel is them putting it on themselves. No one is going to remember how well or poorly they shot. Relax. Be safe but have fun.

Every top shooter had to shoot their 1st match at one point.

 

[Arioch]

As I usually shoot lefty, I discovered that in shooting DCM with an M1, I had to be at the far left position or the ejected brass from the shooter on my left would hit me in a "vulnerable" area and spoil my concentration.

 

[Supermoto]

Also make sure you are honest with your practice skill. For something like USPSA, if I can not hit a skill set consistently, then I can not rely on it at a match. So if I don't consistently shoot clean in practice, then I can't in a match. don't use your top ability in practice as a bench mark for match performance

 

[TonyD]

You need to work on your mental game. The skills are the same in practice or a match, so why do you shoot different? Mostly it's artificial pressure that you place on yourself. Pressure to do well, pressure to have your peers see you as a good shooter, pressure not to fail. When you step up to the line, you need to be confident in your abilities, you need to believe that you will win, you need to be positive. The only stress should be the drive the win.

If you have any doubt, that is what the mind will focus on. Your mind will force you to make the mistakes. Think you will miss a target and you will. see another shooter miss a hard shot, you will focus on it. Know that the other shooters mistake will be a mistake you can take advantage of because it is one you will not make.

Shooting is very mental and it is the hardest aspect because few really work on it, but having a strong mental game will be the biggest factor in consistently doing well

I've suffered the same fate. SM is correct as far as it being mental game.
The above is a good start. I have really improved my high power scores since I've begun to put together a mental program.

Your score on game day was determined long before you stepped up to the firing line.

From the teaching's of olymic and world champion Lanny Bassham, "Your Self-Image and performance are always equal".

 

[Scrivener]

Yelena;

You need a concentration exercise.

Perhaps someone downrange holding the target for you, as the People's Liberation Army does.

Or, YOU could hold the target and see how the rest of us shoot. You know, so you can see the correct stance.

We'll try it on Sunday. Let me know what the muzzle flash on the Garand looks like.

 

[sig shooter]

Your not alone,when ever im doing something and i know the pressures on or people are watching i start to mess up. i kind of try to block people out but thats hard because i have a attention span of 2 seconds. just try to focus and dont drink any caffen before you shoot it helps with the stress. lord help me when i do my first CMP service rifle match i hope i dont choke.

 

[Dick]

Congratulations on being human - I don't know anyone who doesn't have the same problems you've described. I'm a bullseye shooter, and every bullseye shooter I know suffers from match nerves.

For myself, I try to pay close attention to my breathing and heartbeat, intentionally slowing the former and willing the latter to follow. I also play mind games in-between shots, trying to think about nothing (not easy to do!), or when that fails, trying to visualize the next shot falling into the center of the black. I've also tried to make a concerted effort to keep things in perspective - sure, we all want to do well, but it's supposed to be fun after all and so many things in life are so much more important.

But in the end, the one thing that works for everyone every time is simply shooting more in competition - eventually the nerves will decrease, though I doubt they ever really go away.

 

[GTOShootr]

If the nerves ever go away, I'm finding another hobby.

 

[DickWanner]

Don't compete against the others there, compete against yourself. Try for a personal best in score or time at each event you go to.

 

[Scrivener]

Don't compete against the others there, compete against yourself. Try for a personal best in score or time at each event you go to.

EXCELLENT advice.

 

[GTOShootr]

Try for a personal best in score or time at each event you go to.

That's great advice to give those that you are shooting against.

 

[Will Brink]

I noticed that I always do a lot better at practice that at the match. I am trying to take it just as shooting for fun and not for competing, however, when other people shoot with me, I can't achieve a good concentration and thus do worse than if I shoot alone.
Anyone else has this problem? And what do you do to overcome it?

The only way to overcome it is to do it. It effects some more then others, but doing it (shooting around others) is the only way to actually get past it. I can say, it took me a long time before that damn buzzer didn't make my heart rate jump to humingbird speeds at IDPA. It still gets my heart rate up (I doubt that ever fully goes away) but it's nothing like it used to be. Performance anxiety is the norm and part of ye ol' human condition.

 

[packingungal]

Don't compete against the others there, compete against yourself. Try for a personal best in score or time at each event you go to.

That is good. Fundamentally, care less about how others may view you. How they view you is more in YOUR mind than theirs.

 

[Supermoto]

That's great advice to give those that you are shooting against.

Yep, All this says is you are not confident in your abilities

Performance anxiety is the norm and part of ye ol' human condition.

If you get into the box with anxiety, then your fear is dictating your shooting. you will be hesitant and unsure of your shooting. Your mind is now conditioned to screw up.

Let your confidence dictate your shooting.... just don't be over confident

 

[Timbob1]

Try to videotape yourself while shooting, to see if you have any bad habits you might not have noticed.

Tim

 

[bpm990d]

Some very good training articles by JP O'Connor can be accessed on the Pilkguns webpage.

B

 

[Will Brink]

If you get into the box with anxiety, then your fear is dictating your shooting.

Of which we have very little control over and what training and experience counters. Over time, with training and practice, performance anxiety is reduced, but it's the norm for most people, at least in my experience. As your experience and confidence grows, your anxiety is reduced. Clearly some are more prone then others with personality types and other factors playing their Murphy factor roles.

 

[Supermoto]

Of which we have very little control over and what training and experience counters. Over time, with training and practice, performance anxiety is reduced, but it's the norm for most people, at least in my experience. As your experience and confidence grows, your anxiety is reduced. Clearly some are more prone then others with personality types and other factors playing their Murphy factor roles.

You have a lot of control over it. It goes away because you eventually learn how to deal with it. Think how much further you could progress if you learn how to control anxiety from the beginning .

Know your skill level and execute your plan. No anxiety involved.
Not knowing will cause anxiety

I'm not saying that all you need is confidence to shoot well, but it removes a major stumbling block others deal with. Your mental game will always out perform your skill, either in the positive or negative

 

[Will Brink]

You have a lot of control over it. It goes away because you eventually learn how to deal with it.

Ergo, due to experience and practice that you learn to deal with it. The control you have is getting out there and doing it, but you can't will it away.

 

[GTOShootr]

I still get as much of the butterflies as I did when I started but instead of triggering a sweat or a shaky hand, it triggers a wake up call to relax and execute the tasks at hand. I don't think of trying for a personal best or whatever. You're not magically going to add to your repertoire while on the line. That's for practice and learning from what you've done wrong in past matches. Build a tool box of skills with a familiar comfort level attached and bring it to the match to apply it with consistency.

 

[Supermoto]

I still get as much of the butterflies as I did when I started but instead of triggering a sweat or a shaky hand, it triggers a wake up call to relax and execute the tasks at hand. I don't think of trying for a personal best or whatever. You're not magically going to add to your repertoire while on the line. That's for practice and learning from what you've done wrong in past matches. Build a tool box of skills with a familiar comfort level attached and bring it to the match to apply it with consistency.

As much as it pains me to say, the above is why Steve has a very strong mental games. You are not going to learn any new skills when the buzzer goes of, you only can execute on what you have. You are not going to learn how to shoot steel on the move or how to overcome anxiety when you step in the box.

Experience will teach you that you need to invest time into your mental game, as your skill increases, so does the stress of shooting, people expecting you to win, time and money invested, sponsorships etc all weigh alot heavier. you can learn it now or fight through it later

 

[PistolPete]

The mental game is the hardest of all the things you will learn in the shooting sports and it's the one thing most of us don't practice. There is a great book by Saul Kirsh named Mastering the Mental Game that is great and goes over all the details of match stress. The advice in this book opened my eyes and has helped me a ton. It helped me channel the nervous tension into performance tension. I still get nervous when I compete but I'm better able to deal with match stress.

 

[RKG]

I noticed that I always do a lot better at practice that at the match. I am trying to take it just as shooting for fun and not for competing, however, when other people shoot with me, I can't achieve a good concentration and thus do worse than if I shoot alone.
Anyone else has this problem? And what do you do to overcome it?

You have discovered that competitive pistol shooting, like golf, is a game in which your primary opponent is yourself.

You ask, has anyone else had the same experience? The question is: has anyone else not had the same experience.

While it may not be of much comfort, I'll offer two observations. First, with time, the effect will diminish (but not go away altogether), as you begin to accept that "There's always another match." Second, years ago I learned to quit looking at the spotting scope after finishing with the sighters.

 

[Lugnut]

Compete with PistolPete and Supermoto! Two things- they will rib you all day long for shooting a plastic gun- that will make you mentally tough.
And when you even think for a sec that you can shoot as well/fast as them with their open guns... just smile inside and hope you can do it in half the speed with your production gun! .. that will make you mentally tough.

Seriously- we're all human. I too can feel my heart beat hard on my first stage at every match. I must say though... I thrive for the competition. Without it.. I'd be bored to death. That being said sometimes things go to hell at matches sometimes... when I F up at a match I try to focus more on my weakness. Make your weakness your strength. Look forward to it next time.

Practice at 100+%.... don't try this in a match... shoot at 90-95%. You can't afford to get wreckless at a match but in a practice push hard.

Not sure what shooting you do but I'd imagine this applies to most activities...

Mental... read With Winning in Mind... good stuff. Visualize good things happening... before you even get to the match!

 

[Supermoto]

when I F up at a match I try to focus more on my weakness. Make your weakness your strength. Look forward to it next time.

Practice at 100+%.... don't try this in a match... shoot at 90-95%. You can't afford to get wreckless at a match but in a practice push hard.

Make sure you focus on your weakness after the match is over not during


I wouldn't practice at 100% alot , you make to many mistakes, you have to practice perfectly, or you will start engraining bad habits. Practice slow, work your way up, then try to push the envelope.


Also be careful who you practice with.... make sure they share your drive and goals, you need to learn skills not compete against each other. A bad practice will is worse than no practice