MINDGAME
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IT’S A MIND GAME
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es, it is highly likely my last article, “It’s 100% Mental” (ClayShootingUSA, March/April 2021, pp. 72-76), ruffled the feathers of many shooting instructors. An activity I have become quite familiar with over the last 12 years of my work as a mental trainer helping clay shooters with their mind game. But having facts related to the mind, cellular activity, synopsis pathways, neurotransmitters, premotor cortex, basal ganglia, and procedural memory, makes the argument of whether “it’s 100% mental” a moot point. Now that I have proven that even your mechanics are mental… I am going to help you to see how and why It’s A Mind Game. Let’s walk through the journey CLAYSHOOTINGUSA
of a common clay target shooter’s life. An enthusiast of the outdoors who has hunted for many years of his life, or who has enjoyed outdoor competitive sports… stumbles upon the sport of clay target shooting. He has a great day with a friend shooting his shotgun at various flying orange saucers soaring through the air. He is intrigued by the strategically set targets at the many stations which meander through a beautiful winding path among the peaceful, gorgeous outdoors. At the end of the day, he has a natural high from spending hours shooting a gun and blowing things up. He is immediately hooked. The adventure begins. He buys a starter shotgun and gets his ammo from Walmart. The more
often he goes to the club, the more he sees that the regulars have shooting vests, colorful shooting glasses, fancy custom molded ear protection, their own transported golf cart, better guns, and better ammo. He invests in the better! He works up his courage to go to his first competition, but has so much anxiety that he can’t sleep, and it doesn’t help that the bed is hard and the pillow is flat. As he arrives at the event he doesn’t know where to register, and doesn’t know where he is shooting. As the anxiety grows, he then realizes he forgot his special colored shooting glasses. In spite of the obstacles, he stumbles through the day, but his scores reflect his difficulties. No worries, he’s got that
BY DAWN GRANT competitive nature that can’t be denied, so he continues to go to competitions. With each return he is more comfortable and more aware of handling the important technicalities of packing all his shooting equipment and having a good bed, a good pillow, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and water. Oh, the beautiful life of the competitive shotgun shooter. Great friendly people that are like an extended family, gorgeous locations—all with fun and unique target presentations set by masterminds who enjoy messing with your head. By now, all the upgrades have happened, including the heated and air conditioned enclosed cab
