Visual Pathways
Science has proven that the visual pathway processes the lead and the line data of the moving object. In fact, the visual system of the brain actually anticipates where the object is going to be even though the retina sees it to where it is. That...
Learning to Compete in Master Class
As you work your way up through the classes you’re actually learning to shoot; but once you punch into master class, you have to really learn how to compete. As you’re going along doing your best to compete and learning to compete, one of the reasons...
Sharpening Your Anticipation Skills
When you react, you’re going fast. When you anticipate, you’re going slow. What do we want you to do? We want you to get to the breakpoint early so that in effect slows the bird down so you can control the bird. Anything that has to...
Turning Fear Into a Motivator
You can turn your fear into a motivator. That’s what I’m trying to do. Every time I come to an impasse and I know fear is there, I can feel it. I know that there’s something good getting ready to happen. There’s something good on...
Practicing Before Nationals
So, let’s talk a little bit about how we practiced the three times we had time to practice leading up to going to the actual tournament. In our research, we have determined that when we shoot different shots (especially in sporting) many shooters think that they...
How We Practiced Before Nationals
In our three practice sessions before the National Championship, we shot no more than three or four boxes, and shot only singles. But we each announced what approach we were going to shoot and where we were going to break the target. This forced our...
Evaluation and Living in the Past
Back in the mid-80s, I finished a really good round of sporting at Greater Houston Gun Club. Andy Banks watched intently as I ran the last station and asked what my score was. I didn’t know. So, Andy asked to see my score card. “Andy,” I...
Speeding Everything Up and Cortisol
Most shooters’ reaction to adversity is to allow themselves to speed up in everything they do - especially in how fast they talk. This leads to a timing problem, which leads to hope. Then this leads to evaluation, which deeply drinks the hormonal cocktail of choice...
How Shooters React to Missing a Target or Two
As coaches to many shooters worldwide, both in person and through our Knowledge Vault, we’re often asked about helping them overcome a missed target or a loss by only one or two targets. The typical reaction to a less-than-satisfactory station for the majority of shooters is...
A Change in Our Approach to Shotgunning
Six to eight years ago, we dramatically changed our approach to coaching clay and wing shooting after reading Anders Ericsson’s book “Peak,” where he talks about why and in what detail the brain must have a mental representation of what you ask it to do...