Final Preparations for the World
By: Paul Giambrone, III
The 2011 skeet season is nearly complete with only two months remaining and only a single month before the Mini and Main World shoots in San Antonio, TX. At this point in time, most shooters are looking over the shoots they have made for the year and trying to figure out what they can do to finish strong. Well, for starters, take a minute to think about how you feel at the moment about your skeet game. If you are confident in your game plan and know exactly what you want to do when you step on the field, why change anything? If you are having one of the best years you can remember, keep doing exactly what you are doing. If you are trying to change a few things before going to the World shoot, more than likely you will hurt your scores rather than help them. Why is that? It is fairly simple. Your mind will become more focused on the changes you are trying to make rather than executing your shot like you normally would. In other words, you will be distracted with the technical details rather than being focused on SEEING THE TARGET! If you are shooting well, there is no reason to make any major changes before going to such a large tournament! However, if you want to make minor hold point or look point adjustment, basically an adjustment that you can easily remember, by all means go ahead and make those adjustments to help make your shots easier. For example, I was recently in Dallas, TX competing at the Southwest Classic and a good friend and student was not making the best move on his pair on stations 5 & 6. We simply moved his foot position SLIGHTLY (moved his back foot literally 2 inches) and I do not think he missed a second target on those stations. Those are the kind of “small” or “minor” adjustments I am talking about. Another good example would be moving your hold point maybe a foot up, down, in or out. A five or six foot adjustment would not be ideal right before a major tournament like the World shoot.
What if your game has been way off all year and you are desperately trying to find some solution to salvage the year? Well, for starters, it would be helpful to try and see a professional coach that could help you turn some things around. Without a professional looking at your form, it is difficult to make the correct changes. However, it might be something as simple as your prescription in your eyes. When was the last time you had your doctor check your prescription? If you haven’t had it done in a while, it might be a good idea to make sure you are seeing as close to 20/20 as you can. As you know, the targets we shoot at are not extremely big and they fly kind of fast…so without having proper vision, how could you expect yourself to do well if you can’t really see the targets to the best of your potential? Personally, I have my eyes checked every year about a month before my first tournament and every year my prescription has changed. Thank God for contacts!
So if your eyes are good and up to date but you are still struggling, what can you do? Again, the best thing to do is see a professional coach to help guide you in the correct direction and here is why. Most shooters are just shooters; they are not coaches or instructors. There are very few people involved in the game that can coach and instruct to help you before an upcoming major tournament or in general. The problem that newer shooters or struggling shooters encounter is the peanut gallery. What I mean is that if you ask 5 different people what you are doing wrong you will probably get 5 different answers puzzling you even further than where you were before. My personal favorite is when someone yells out “you’re behind it!” Well that is a good observation, but my question would be “why am I behind it?” Is the shooter rolling their shoulder? Are they stopping the gun? Are they even looking at the target? Well if they are rolling their shoulder, what’s causing the roll? Are the lower body and upper body fighting each other causing the roll? What about stopping the gun? Well why are they stopping the gun? You see, there is a lot that goes into the statement of “you’re behind the target.” In very rare occasions, the shooter is doing everything mechanically correct; they just might have a “sight picture” issue. However, most of the time, there is something mechanically wrong with their game to cause them to miss the same target(s) consistently. If you do not understand the fundamentals and mechanics of the game, then it is hard for you to figure out what someone is actually doing wrong. Therefore, find a competent coach that can help you improve your game and explain why these changes will help you. If you understand why the changes will help you that will help you in the future understand the game better!
If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit breakmoretargets.com for more information! Please check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area… Next scheduled clinic will be in Burlington, MA on September 1-4 at Minuteman Sportsman’s Club. Next stop will be in Little Rock, AR September 12-14 at Blue Rock Gun Club. Also, Detroit Sportsman’s Congress will also host a clinic on September 19-21. Please email or call me or the local organizer directly for more information about these clinics.
Tip of the month: Keep any adjustments you plan to make before the World Shoot very simple and easy for you to remember. The last thing you want is to go to the largest shoot in the world and not remember your game plan. Keep it simple!
