Ask the Instructor: “Practice Hero, Tournament Zero”

Q: In practice I shoot well, but in tournaments I get tight and start leaking targets early. I know what to do, yet my body won’t cooperate. What’s the simplest way to show up “ready” on game day?

A: In competition as in war, you don’t rise to the occasion; you default to your training. If your process in competition differs from practice, the evidence is on your scorecard.

Build a repeatable pre-competition, pre-shot planning, and pre-shot routine process, and the disparity in performance between practice and competition will narrow.

The night before, lay out your gear using a written checklist. This removes stress and uncertainty. After your gear is set, conduct a short rehearsal of your preshot planning and preshot routine with an unloaded gun. Run a minimum of two imaginary stations in your head, four pairs each. Deliberately plan your breakpoints, engagement technique, hold points, and visual pick-up points.

Then, step into your imaginary station, into your pre-shot routine.

Your in-stand routine should be simple and consistent.

1. Oxygenate: take two or three slow deep breaths, and simultaneously:

2. Simulate loading the gun.

3. Conduct at least two out-of-body rehearsals (OBR), imagining what your body will feel like executing the pair.

   
   

By the time you finish oxygenating, loading, and running through your OBR twice, you will be ready to close the gun and apply a “visual cue” as you move to your first hold point.

The visual cue is a mental suggestion, reminding yourself where on the targets you will focus as you execute the shot. It prepares and directs your eyes for a more deliberate and efficient eye movement: “front edge” or “dome” or “4 o’clock”.

Now at your hold point, move your eyes to the visual pickup point, pause briefly, “PULL”.

On the morning of the event, repeat a shortened rehearsal before leaving the house or hotel, and again after check-in.

During competition, focus on the process not your performance. When your planning and routine are identical at every station and every pair, nerves and inconsistency fade into the background. Consistency is built before the first target is thrown—and after a miss, you reset immediately. Every pair deserves a clean plan and a familiar routine.