Charlie Ray March – During an archery tournament, there are times I shoot a great shot and there are other times that my shot goes off the aim point. These are things that have helped me get better at archery when I have a bad shot. I have used many different techniques when practicing and competing. Each one helps me in a different way. Each technique helps me in a different way when I shoot.
I like to use three different strategies to improve my shots, especially when I have a bad arrow. After each bad arrow that I shoot I take a moment to think about what I did and why that arrow went where it did. REFLECT.
I also practice with my string bow™ after a really bad arrow. I will also use my string bow™ at the beginning of each round to warm up and practice my shooting form.
I use these techniques during a tournament to improve my accuracy and mental clarity. Since each round is 2 minutes, there is ample time to reflect on each shot. When I have a bad shot, I slow down and think about what I did wrong. I make sure my form and mechanics are correct because if those are not correct then it affects how I shoot. When I use my string bow™ at the beginning of the round, I use that as a time to make sure that I am doing everything correctly so I get a good score when shooting. Each one of these methods has helped me out when I shoot in tournaments
I find these strategies and techniques useful because they all help me to focus and shoot a better round. The most helpful however is probably the string bow™ after bad arrows. It helps me reset my mind. The second most useful thing is the string bow™ before each round of shooting. It helps reinforce my mechanics.
Of these three techniques I find that thinking about the last shot can be distracting to my shooting if I only dwell on the negative arrows. I like to focus on what I did correctly. This positive state of mind enables me to work through a bad shot and move on to the next arrow.
All in all I have many more tricks that I use but these are the most helpful. A string bow™ at the beginning of a round, or after a bad arrow help to improve the next shot. Mental clarity and positive thinking help to keep me from focusing on the negative. This is one of the many ways that has helped me improve my shooting throughout my years of shooting archery.
Charlie Ray is a 2023 student contributor.
