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Pressure CMP Training Staff answer reader questions concerning competing in the big matches Q: My shooters shoot great scores in practice, but when we get in matches, particularly big matches, their scores fall down and they are often disappointed. They obviously are feeling the effects of nervousness. What can I do to help them handle match pressure better? A: Coach, your approach is great! You have studied the pattern and deduced a likely cause based on their feelings of disappointment and the manifestations of nervousness. Now you want to know how to help them. The goal is for them to have better match performances, more aligned with the capabilities they demonstrate in practice. Lets focus the plan to achieve that in two main areas, mental and physical. First, it is very natural to struggle to learn this skill. Many great athletes in all kinds of sports have to deal with this issue. Athletes have a strong desire to perform well, to shoot good scores, especially in the biggest, most important match of the year. Doing well there is a great long-term outcome goal. It should motivate them to train hard and smart, clarify their training calendar and bring them together as a team. It is, however, a horrible task goal while they have a round loaded in the rifle and are trying to hit the ten ring on one shot. At that moment thinking about doing well in the big match is likely to produce anxiety and detract from focus. Work with them to get them focused on the right things at the right time. The additional pressure of being part of a team in a sport where the performances are individual and very measurable through score just exacerbates the problem. Start with shot plans or mental programs. Have your shooters map out the details of what they do to execute one complete shot. They should have a different shot plan for each position. (I even had two for prone, so I could respond differently in unusual weather conditions). Shooters must develop and refine these plans over time, in practice, without pressure. Completing thousands of good repetitions is the way to program the human mind. Learn to rely on this mental program to control match performance through the correct execution of skills in sequence. Have them replicate matches and learn to compete in practice. Have team "record days" run just like a match. Try various games and contests where they compete with each other. Run finals and "guts" matches; stage events with obvious distractions, like loud noises for them. Work on physical conditioning as well. Being in good shape will help their bodies and minds respond better to the stress of competition. Aerobic training is probably the most effective here, but don't ignore sport specific training exercises, including balance exercises. Encourage them to find activities that are fun for them to improve their motivation and the likelihood they will stick with it. The next part of my answer may surprise you a bit if you haven't been to one of my CMP clinics or summer camps… Help them build shooting positions that work well under big match stress as well as in practice. Some positions feel balanced and settled while you are relaxed, but are less stable if you get tense (during a match). Try to get all parts of the position that are supporting weight to be oriented in vertical planes. (The left arm in all three positions, both legs in standing, legs in separate planes in kneeling.) This is most likely to result in relaxed, balanced positions with minimal use of muscles. In the sling positions you can achieve relaxed, tight positions by orienting the shooters more toward the target, shooting "out of" the position, instead of "across it". This gets them relaxing toward the target, directly into the buttplate, tightening the position and controlling recoil. This also means they are relaxing against the sling tension so their natural point of aim (NPA) doesn't change much with variations in the level of relaxation they maintain. Conversely, if they are shooting alongside the rifle instead of behind it, small changes in relaxation can produce large changes in NPA. This is most obvious in kneeling where the right shoulder is free to slump down and right, producing a left and upward shift in NPA. All of these things working together should produce a positive result with more comfortable performances and higher scores in those really big matches. |
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