Recent Posts
Building Long-Term Memory in Practice
We are finding out that practice is perhaps the most valuable tool in our game of shooting a moving target with a shotgun. At the same time, it’s the most wasted tool. Shooters shoot a lot and think they are practicing, but all they are really practicing is loading the gun and calling “pull.” You have two kinds of memory: long-term and short-term. Short-term memory is great for remembering a phone number until... Read more…
A Flexible vs. Fixed Mindset
Our research shows that a person’s mindset is the greatest single determining factor that opens the door to higher and higher levels of performance, because it must be learned. The majority of shooters have what is called a “fixed mindset,” where their main goal is to look good. When offered either a hard course that pushes them out of their comfort zone or an easy corporate course where the targets are easie... Read more…
The Myths of Skill
In his book Peak, Anders Ericsson mentions that there are three myths associated with skill and improving skill. We think it’s important to talk about them. That way, you can be aware of them and not fall prey to them, because they will kill the learning process in your game. The myths are: 1. Our abilities are limited by genetics or surroundings. 2. If you do something long enough you will get better. 3. A... Read more…
Building Long-Term Positive Memories
You become what you repeatedly do, and eventually you become what you remember. How you file those things in your brain as positive or negative will determine who you become. In their book Be A Player, Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson share this about memory: “Psychological research has shown that humans have a 3:1 negativity bias as our default setting in storing memories. The brain naturally stores negati... Read more…
Inconsistency and Evaluation: What’s Holding You Back?
Ask a room full of sporting clays shooters if they would like to be more consistent, and you’ll be overrun with enthusiastic responses. Few, if any, really know why they are so inconsistent. They’re good on some days and not so good on others. But there seems to be no real consistent rhyme or reason for their results. It’s the inconsistency that keeps most shotgun shooters from practicing, because they don’t ... Read more…
