We recently spoke about the steps of the shot and why sometimes ignoring or skipping them may lead to poor shot making and declining performance. While there may be some room to combine steps, it is important that you understand why you are combining or omitting anything from your shot.

It is also very important, actually essential, that your practices be focused on something specific. We have all gone to the range and shot arrows hoping that the sheer volume of shots going down range will magically lead to increases in performance. While it may happen, it will never be as productive as focused practice.

Ok, let’s circle back to the steps of the shot. They’ve been defined a few different ways by different coaches, but they are essentially the same.

From Coach Kim: Stance, Bow Grip and Hook, Set up, Draw, Anchor, Aim, Extend, Release, Follow Through.

From Coach Kisik Lee: Stance, Nock, Set, Set up, Draw, Load, Anchor, Transfer, Aim & Extend, Release, Follow Through, Evaluation and Feedback

From Coach Rick McKinney: Stance, Nock, Set up, Pre Draw, Draw, Anchor, Aim, Release, Follow Through

Each of these coaches lays out the steps of the shot (shot sequence) that are very similar. They use very similar verbiage and in speaking with each of them, approach the shot in more or less the same manner. There are differences in styles, certain movements, etc., but the steps are largely in line with one another.

Now that the steps of the shot are known, which of the steps do you need to focus upon? Of course it’s different for every archer, but from the beginner to Olympic champion, each will work on some part of the shot sequence. There is no magical step, or advanced technique. There is only a continual refinement of the sequence. A beginner might focus on achieving the anchor consistently, while an Olympian might focus on an anchor angle which might lead to more consistent group sizes. The point is that from beginner to expert, the same steps are being addressed on a daily basis. The difference is the degree of refinement.

In our program, we have used the example of building a house. If you build a house on a poor foundation, it doesn’t matter if the windows are the best, or the fixtures are top notch, if you can’t open the doors or windows. Likewise, if you have an adequate release but extremely poor posture, the shot will not be able to be executed well and the results will not be what you want or expect.

So next time you are practicing independently, ask yourself what it is you’re working towards achieving/improving in your sequence. If you haven’t an answer, you’ll be the volume shooter hoping for a miracle. When you do practice with a purpose, evaluate what you are doing! Take video. Is the position better? Is the movement better? This can lead to meaningful changes in your shot, that in time will make you a better archer!

Our indoor tournament schedule has become quite busy! In the next few weeks we will shoot at our State Championship and our National Championship. It’s exciting and all of us are looking forward to seeing archers succeed, stumble, learn and compete!

As parents and coaches, we are excited to see growth and independence. Neither of those things happens without challenges and effort.

Let’s back up a bit and differentiate between skill acquisition and competition. They are two very different but related things. We continually gain skill through instruction, self discovery and the practice needed to attain competence. The more practice we employ means instruction is able to be assimilated and the process of self discovery is enabled. We gain skill incrementally by the work we put forth. There is no magic, only effort and diligence.

In competition we take our skills and stress test them. Competition also has a skill set unique to itself. Managing ourselves, our wants, our expectations and maybe the expectations of others, are things we need to compartmentalize. None of those things is relevant to the execution of the shot, but all of them often impact execution. The stresses of competition manifest themselves many different ways and every archer is unique in how they handle those stresses. We have all seen competitors in many sports practice beautifully but perform poorly under the spotlight. Competition skills are the art of managing oneself to allow skill acquisition to shine through.

Ok, ok, what is it that we should do as parents and coaches? Let our charges perform! Tournament time is not time for instruction. Instruction on the line only serves to confuse. If a coach sees something that an archer is doing that is not what they usually do, they will mention it and try to refocus that archer on the job at hand. That job is to execute the archery shot the way each archer does it during class and independent practice; nothing more, nothing less. Each archer should be focused down range. Mom, Dad, Coach, does not have the answer in the moment. When an archer is distracted on the line, they are not focusing on what needs to happen next. Shot evaluation is done immediately after the shot, by the shooter. Only the shooter actually knows how they executed the shot and only the shooter understands if any particular shot was an anomaly or something else. There is the shot. The evaluation of the shot. The preparation for the next shot.

We hope all of our shooters have an opportunity to have fun, learn and own their sport. Creating as much space as possible for archers to ‘do their thing’ is hard for coaches and parents, but essential to growth, learning and success. Let’s all HAVE SOME FUN!

Our beloved dog, Stuart Little, died a short while ago. And while he certainly made a large impact on our family, he perhaps made an even bigger impact on archery in our area. What? A dog impacts archery? It sure seems improbable but yes, without Stu, a local archery club very likely might not have been created.

As a Border Collie puppy with boundless energy, Stuart needed a place to run, play, chase balls and Frisbees. Our local park district has a dog park and we took Stu there often. As happens, other dogs and owners congregated at the dog park and while the dogs did what dogs do, we owners chatted about all sorts of things. Mike, an owner of a Rhodesian Ridgeback, was one of the owners I often talked with about our dogs and lives. One day he mentioned he belonged to a rifle club. The next thing you know we started talking about shooting sports and of course archery.

Our dogs often went to the park and as the days went by, we continued to speak about his club, Wheaton Rifle Club and archery. One of my really close archery friends and fellow coach, Tom and I spoke at practice one day and I casually mentioned Wheaton Rifle Club and their want of an archery program. Well that, as they say, was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Tom met with the club and single handedly created what exists today. Tom worked tirelessly to create a JOAD program and foster archery at the club.

As every dog owner knows, the love given by mans best friend is bottomless. Stu was excited to see me whether I had a bad day, or a good day. His presence always elicited a smile and he always kept me grounded to what was important in life. All things are temporary, including grief of loss. The nuzzles and licks will always be remembered, but Stu’s lasting legacy will be the connections he enabled. WRC Archery will forever be the club Tom built, but also the club Stu helped come into being.

It’s been a number of years since I pulled the compound out, but I thought it would be fun.

Too many archers believe that one style is better than another, but the truth of it all is that Barebow, Olympic Recurve and Compound are all equally enjoyable and have unique characteristics which make each style challenging. At the elite level, each style takes a tremendous amount of skill, work and dedication.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to shoot all three styles and have loved every minute of being on the shooting line with each. I encourage everyone to be open minded. Each style has its devotees and the truth of it all is that if you really want to be good, you need to focus your efforts on one style. But and it’s a large but, archery is a fun activity and I’d be much poorer had I not been able to experience all of it.

So go out there, have fun and try it all.

Well, if you hang around long enough, you’ll see things you’ve never seen before. Such are these times. I wake and look at markets shaken, not stirred. Try mitigating that risk! Social distancing? No restaurant dining? Covid 19? Masks in public? It’s beyond Orwellian.

How does archery fit in this reality? In my life it is a bit of sanity in an world turned upside down. Solace can be found in immersion. Archery has always been an immersive activity for me. When I’m shooting, all else is blocked from my mind. Look at the target and execute. There is no room for any extraneous thinking. Good. It’s what the doctor ordered.

My little range is about 5 steps long, in a garage usually reserved for a car, mower, scraps of wood and mice. In the past I used it if I had a busy day and couldn’t make it to the club. It is now being used on a daily basis. We ordered a target core, hung it from the ceiling and stuck some garage sale dots on the core for aiming points. 5 steps. While not optimal, it is more than enough to work on my shot.

No whining now, I tell myself. There is plenty to improve without arcing arrows 70 meters. Let’s clean up that motion. What about that fly away release? Yeah, let me fix that. How about that lean in motion of my shot. Ok, I’m on it. Now where is that Formaster? Ok, I know I can and should be using it. So you see, there is much to do and boy do I have the time to do it.

I sure do miss my old reality, but the truth of it all is that our realities are in constant flux, whether we realize it, or not.

I love this sport and have been a part of it for many decades. There have been successes and challenges. And while the challenges have made the successes sweeter, the entire process has defined the satisfaction derived and the reason I’ve been able to have longevity in archery.

The truism is that the journey is the end point. We may not recognize this while chasing a medal, or another rung in the archery hierarchy, but those achievements are fleeting points in time. The wealthy man is the one who has enjoyed the process of becoming wealthy, not the wealth itself. And of course wealth is measured many different ways.

One of the great pleasures I’ve had is watching archers grow in the sport. I see these archers quite often and watch them excel, fail and ultimately move forward. I can only wonder if they appreciate that the journey, with all its interruptions, challenges, tears, laughter, failures and occasional successes, is the point of the sport.

From time to time, I’ll run across folks who chase ‘the dream’, whatever that means for them, with no passion for the activity. It might be something that has come easily to them, or perhaps they were pushed to try some sort of extracurricular activity. I have empathy for those individuals when I see it. They could be doing something else which gives them great satisfaction; any activity for which they get up in the morning and look forward to pursuing.

Whatever you choose to do as a vocation, or avocation, be passionate, be present and relish the time doing it.

What does it mean to ‘own your form’? It depends on where you are in the learning continuum.

In the early stages of form development, a coach will dictate what needs to be done and make sure you adhere to good basic form. Variations in what an archer does at this point can often lead to incorrect static positions and dynamic movements.

An intermediate archer will begin to exhibit some consistency from shot to shot and there will be an improvement in performance. This stage is fraught with potential pitfalls, but this is the time when an archer begins to understand what it is they are trying to do every time they pull the string back.

As an archer moves through the intermediate stage to an advanced level, they need to own everything in their archery. Part of the ownership is an optimization of their form. Very slight changes can yield impressive gains, or perhaps a degradation in performance. This optimization, or experimentation, is essential in becoming the archer they aspire to be. There are many caveats to this process, the biggest of which is understanding how to get back to the baseline shot.

Some examples of shot optimization might be a modification of an anchor point, a change in stance, a string alignment change. Just about any static position, or dynamic movement could be the focus of ‘advanced shooter’ tinkering. As one can readily see, if you make any change, your performance can take some interesting turns. Any change should be within the framework of good basic form. A change should be carefully considered and given adequate time to implement. One of the worlds foremost coaches says making a permanent change can take 20,000 shots.

An archer then has to evaluate if the optimization has had the desired effect on their shot. This is of course vetted in competitions. It is often very hard to let go of something not yielding results, simply because of the time invested to make that change.

A coach can help guide a shooter with evaluation and efficacy of what that archer is trying to do with their form. This whole topic can seem daunting, but when trying to elevate oneself to the best version of ‘you’, this process is a necessity.

As I was participating in this years Indoor Nationals, it dawned on me that life had come full circle. Here I was sitting next to my son, who was lighting it up, while I was struggling with my shot. Every end he would encourage me and let me know if I was executing the way I intended. I sat there sort of stunned and chuckled to myself at the irony of the situation. Truth be told, I rather enjoyed how the tables had turned.

In general, parents and coaches secretly long for the time their charges outperform their mentors. We all expect growth but when it becomes clearly evident that there is not only improved performances, but a depth of understanding of the task at hand, it is deeply gratifying. And so it went this year.

There is one other observation from this years event. While I did struggle with my process early, prior success led to a slight adjustment in my shot and I was able to shoot with competence, if not brilliance. I was able to draw on shot keys I had abandoned and used them to quickly find a way to compete. This is very different from ‘trying new things’ in the middle of an event, which leads to nothing but frustration. It was adopting something which I had discarded in error, in hopes of shot improvement. I tested those new ideas in practice and a local event, but when really put to the test, those new ideas couldn’t hold up to the stress, while the tried and tested methods shone through my calcified psyche. Perhaps an apt analogy is an old horse finding his way home without a rider. It isn’t done consciously. The sheer repetition of the horse going home allows it to happen.

I’ve spoken often of the value of competition. To me there is no finer test of my archery shot. We practice and work diligently to improve, but how do we know when improvement is attained? We often intuitively know we are getting better, or have solved an issue. The open question is always if we can bring perceived improvement to a pressurized situation. If that answer is yes, the improvement can be considered durable. If not, there is work to be done to make a change, or improvement permanent.

Let’s take a few examples of how things might play out in a tournament. An archer has worked hard to keep their emotions under check and move on from a poor result. As always happens, unexpected things occur during a competition. What is the reaction after a poor shot, or shots? An archer may break down and not be able to recover from the situation. This archer clearly needs to work on a more effective recovery technique. The archer may recover after an end or two of reflection. That represents improvement and a platform from which to build. The archer may shrug off the result and continue to shoot well. The correction can be considered durable. Congratulations to the archer for implementing a process which works under high stress.

Is there any other way to simulate the stress of a tournament? I have yet to find one. So if you want to know if you’ve improved, or implemented an effective change in your archery, shoot tournaments.

Archers often ascribe too much importance to a result. That’s natural. I’m reminded of the question Rick McKinney asked on the line many years ago. ‘Are you shooting tens, or your arrow.’ If you are shooting your arrow, you have a chance to focus on the important things which may lead to shooting tens. If your mindset is all about shooting tens, your focus will be incorrectly placed on the result.

Implement a great process for your form, mental game and physical conditioning and test the changes you make rigorously.

Tournaments are light. Veritas est lux.

I had the opportunity to shoot with my son and friends a couple of days ago. One of the things we often do is a one arrow ‘shoot off’ at the end of every practice, or when one of us has to leave. Well my son and I were just getting to the range when some of the others were getting ready to leave. Of course we couldn’t let anyone go until we had our one arrow shoot off. We slapped our equipment together and 5 of us stepped to the line and gave it our er……best effort.

Well, in my haste to set up, I moved my sight to an incorrect position and scored in the straw at 70m. The arrow in the gold was my mulligan, which of course didn’t count. 

The point of this post is to have fun, stay positive and accept our errors. When was the last time you solved a problem while being upset? Well I believe my track record is 0 for 61 years. I often shoot with youngsters who get really worked up about shooting arrows poorly. Instead of being upset at a result, why not look at the result and get curious about why it happened and what steps you might take to solve the error? With that attitude, you stand a chance at solving shot errors. 

It all starts with attitude. Bring a positive mindset with you to practice every day! We all get upset about shooting poorly, but put aside results and look for causes. Don’t get me wrong, a positive mindset doesn’t mean you’ll always ‘figure it out’, but you are at least giving yourself a chance. I’ve had many practices and tournaments where I just couldn’t find my groove, or figure out my error, but because I’m a natural optimist, I’ll stick with it and perhaps in a few days, or weeks, find the issue which had been vexing me. 

Get out there, have some fun and figure out the sport you enjoy!