Working out of a slump

[Michigander]

Was having a fairly good outdoor season this year.......then it happened.I went to a feild & hunter shoot and about a third of the way through,I couldn't focus.Not only that,I could barley get centered up on target.Needless to say it was a pretty bad day,especially after I expected to shoot well.The next day,I had to go out of town for a couple of weeks for work,and it was impossible to practice.
Once I got home the practice sessions were hard and not very productive.After a week,I'm still not back on par.I'm thinking of just stopping shooting arrows ,and concentrate on aiming only for awhile.My follow thru is bad right now,and so is my release.(I seem to be firing before being centered up the way I should be.)A very bad habit to break,and one I aquired in only a short time.
I know all the standard answers I'd get from AT,so hoping a veiw point from our overseas freinds will help.
By the way,I'm shooting a compound with a pure bt release.And mosly 50-70 meter practice sessions right now.
Thanks for any help,
Jerry

[Harald]

Kind of likes the Vibracheck safedraw thing. Haven't used it for a while now but it's nice to fire your bow whenever you feel for it without actually shoot an arrow. Think it'l help in concentrate on settling the aim before firing. (Pneumatic tupe thing attached to riser)

[Michigander]

One of the few training devices I havn't used yet.......not a bad idea.
I fought thru panic a few years ago.I worked hard to get thru it then and I found that aiming practice for awhile,then just settling on center as long as I could before letting the release explode helped more than anything.I also found that blind bale is a waste of time since it is pretty easy to pick up form flaws while doing so if you spend too much time at it.I remember the follow through taking care of itself if I was comletely lost in the target and relaxed.
Any other training ideas?
Jerry

[Marcus]

Tough one.
I shot a woeful shoot on the weekend at our Nationals and came back and shot just fine at training (in fact shot a personal best at 30m). I think it's important to not try too hard when you get back to training. Identify where you went wrong and start working on that aspect.
Be honest with yourself. Why did you slump in the first place? What was the trigger?
Best thing to do is learn what you can, then put it behind you and move on.

[Michigander]

I think the 2 weeks of stewing about it afterward was actually more harmful than if I could have just been able to practice the following day.
Good advice Marcus,sometimes we make to much out of things that if you'll just step back and look at what happened,things look better.
I worked real hard this year since I had decided to shoot more Fita this year.Things were going real well.I guess its just part of the game these set-backs..................doesn't mean I have to like 'em though. :D
Jerry

[Marcus]

Yeah be careful to not rush things. I think sometimes we look at archery in the same seasonal sense as football or basketball, but that is not wise. I spent years rushing to win that big shoot and dug myself deeper and deeper into a hole. When I realigned my goals and actually started working on getting better I started making progress.

Also remember there will be peaks and valleys along the way. Sometimes you will 'slump' but the key is average.
I track my scores religously and have been doing so for over a year (there is athread here that covers that) and by graphing my scores I can see that while my scores go up and down, the average is improving, and that's what counts.

Remember, you have the rest of your life to get this right, no need to hurry.

[SteveFSA]

I think it's good to mix up the kind of archery you are doing. I found myself getting a little burned out shooting and training just for FITA's so last weekend I shot a 3-D novelty that was great fun. Heck even clout may be called for at some point!

Another thing to try is look up some friends you haven't seen or shot with for awhile and just have fun. Make soda or beer bets. Also, travel to a shoot you have never been to. Just a few ideas, you have probably thought of these.

[Sweetspot]

Michigander
I know the feeling. I came home from the State Indoor yesterday after doing very bad to the point I do not even know where I placed. I could not see why my scores should be so bad. This has been going on for me for the entire year. My scores are the same or a little worse than this time last year ( 12 months ago) yet I feel I know so much more and shoot much better than back then. Even though I am not out to be on top or to always be winning but it is disheartening to feel you are going back wards.
After getting home last night I found a volume of Archery Focus with an article titled, "In a Slump? Techniques for continued inprovement" it was then I realised this was me.
The advice Marcus has given is basically what the article also preached.
I am thinking of not doing tournaments (we don't have many coming up at the moment) for the moment and go back to basics and get things happening naturally again and without thought and to develop that surprise release again. In the same magazine was an article on "Using the Back Tension Release".
I know the feeling and good luck with getting back on track. The fact that there are numerous articles written on this topic makes me beleive this is not rare.
Have fun and keep smiling.
:rainbowafro: :silly: