Crushed By The Mental Breakdown

Amputee Marksman

Amputee Marksman

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In 2020-2021 I started shooting 22 pistol bullseye again after a 20+ years hiatus. It was very enjoyable to shoot the 2020-2021 season in the Greater Boston Pistol League. I started out slow but improved all season and ended the year on what i considered a roll.

I came back this year and quickly picked up and was shooting far better than last year. So far I have continued to hold that level however the last few weeks I have struggled with the mental aspects of the sport. In other words I have hit the wall but not physically. Last year was nothing. My scores really didn't matter (only the top 4 scores count in a match) and I had no mental investment. This year my scores count, they make a difference. My competitive spirit is at full throttle and I want to win.

Tonight was a big match against MIT who is currently in 1st. place. To beat them and we would be tied at 5-2 each. I let the mental aspects of the whole situation get the better of me and I did not shoot up to my potential. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a complete meltdown and I shot well enough for my score to count but I expected better of myself. My mojo never got going and I never got in the zone.

It has been a long time since I have felt the drive to win in a team shooting sport and after tonight's performance it reminds more than ever about the mental aspects of competitive shooting.
 
Any competitive sport or activity has this - you get several first fun years with your skill progressing, until you hit a flat plateau that may be very prolonged- with no visible improvements. It gets frustrating at times, as you do not feel anymore how it gets any better.

For me it was about lap times on track DE events, as I got to top black group level and then progress just stopped. And it got exhausting to such extent that I did not track my car in 4 years now, as it was getting to unsafe level when you keep pushing yourself beyond the limit of your ability.

Sometimes it just means it may be a time for a break.
 
What level are you shooting at?

When I was very active in it non of us were very competitive but we wanted to win and we wanted to bust each other’s balls and laugh. As a team we enjoyed that more than winning.

I won’t lie and tell you it didn’t feel good to be in the top 20 shooters in the league. Top 10 when I got there once in a while felt better.
 
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it is common, even in professional athletes.
there are a bunch of books out there giving you methods to cope (the one above is just an example, i have not read it)
golfers do the exact same practice swings as they step up to the tee, to get into the zone.
baseball players do the exact same practice swings before stepping up to the plate.

and so on

why do pro hockey players all enjoy playing golf? Because they have the mental toughness to endure 100 games during the season, play thru injuries, and still score. So walking up to a ball next to a water hazard is not an issue for them, they do not even see the water hazard as they loft the ball over it each and every time. the rest of us, the ball goes kerplunk.
 
The mental aspect when the pressure is on is no joke. Last year in centerfire bullseye league on the last night I needed a 90 on the last relay to take first place.....well within my ability as I'd been averaging 94 all season. Totally broke down on that last relay and shot an 88 and finished 2nd. But....I still had fun.
 
Asaltweapon said:
What level are you shooting at?

When I was very active in it non of us were very competitive but we wanted to win and we wanted to bust each other’s balls and laugh. As a team we enjoyed that more than winning.

I won’t lie and tell you it didn’t feel good to be in the top 20 shooters in the league. Top 10 when I got there once in a while felt better.
Click to expand...

My handicap is 38. I have been slowly making my way up the standings each week. As of last leek I was #20 out of 55 in the league for the season. I'd like to crack into the top 10 however that is going to require me to step up my game by about 10 points a week for the remainder of the season.
 
Last edited:
After 30 years competing in the GBPL, made the All Star Team a few times, I'm taking a break this year.
I understand where you are coming from. Check out Lanny Basham's "Mental Management" audio course, or his "With Winning In Mind" book.
Very good stuff.
Most of all, remember that you are your biggest competitor.
You are there to have fun! So relax and enjoy.
 
EddieA said:
After 30 years competing in the GBPL, made the All Star Team a few times, I'm taking a break this year.
I understand where you are coming from. Check out Lanny Basham's "Mental Management" audio course, or his "With Winning In Mind" book.
Very good stuff.
Most of all, remember that you are your biggest competitor.
You are there to have fun! So relax and enjoy.
Click to expand...

A person on the team had been asking me for a couple of years to shoot so last year I jumped on the WSA-2 team in the B league. Depending on how things end this year I might jump up to the A team next year. If I was in the A league this year I'd be in lower middle of the pack for standings.
 
Sounds like an awesome place to be. Excitement of competition and stress of the same is the SAME feeling, biologically. It's our impression that decides how it goes. Do we think Tom Brady gets "nervous"?? Nope. He revels in that moment. (Possibly more than anyone since MJ.)

The older and wiser I get, the more I enjoy being in that moment.
 
Look up Lanny Bassham's teaching on "Mental Management". He famously won a championship after a year of almost nothing but dry-fire practice in his room, and developed a world-class athletic consulting business based on his methods. Biggest takeaway: a score is the result of following a perfect shot process consistently. If you focus on the score, you will not get it, because you must focus completely on the process.

Once saw an interview with a Russian shooter who won the Olympics. The reporter asked, "Aren't you excited? You don't seem excited." He replied, "I spent all my career learning to control my emotions. Why would I break that now?"
 
Dude, you repaired Xerox 2400/3600 copiers for a living at one time. That's as mentally taxing as any human can be expected to survive!

:)
 
Spanz said:
[
it is common, even in professional athletes.
there are a bunch of books out there giving you methods to cope (the one above is just an example, i have not read it)
golfers do the exact same practice swings as they step up to the tee, to get into the zone.
baseball players do the exact same practice swings before stepping up to the plate.
Click to expand...
For snowboarding I had a certain song on the iPod that would bring my head back around when I’d start to fall off my game.
Amazing how well it worked. Like a crazy magic trick.
 
it was explained to me this way:

you are golfing, you come up on a water hazard, your brain starts to say to itself "Do not hit the ball into the water, Do not hit the ball into the water"

But your BRAIN ONLY HEARS: "Hit the ball into the water, Hit the ball into the water"
 
The key to managing performance stress is breathing. You gotta have that experience it to familiarize yourself with what it feels like when that feeling starts to creep in, so you can start working on your breathing and keep your focus. You breathe in slowly and pause and focus on that moment before you exhale. This will keep your heart rate down and help your adrenaline and cortisol release slowly instead of all at once. You'll never reach the top of your game without that happening a couple of times. Congrats, you've reached a new plateau and have found something to improve. You have something to work on and you know what it is. Lucky you.
 
EddieA said:
GBPL has been handicapping for a few years now.
It gives everyone a chance to have a counting score (only the top four count), not just the best shooters.
Shooter count has been declining, need to make it fun for everyone.
Click to expand...
Ahhhh. Got it.

Everyone gets a participation trophy. Just like "T" ball.
 
Spanz said:
it was explained to me this way:

you are golfing, you come up on a water hazard, your brain starts to say to itself "Do not hit the ball into the water, Do not hit the ball into the water"

But your BRAIN ONLY HEARS: "Hit the ball into the water, Hit the ball into the water"
Click to expand...

Yeah. That's not how it works. Because the OPPOSITE is exactly true.

I've had numerous people say, "Just hit it to the green."

"THAT TREE IS IN MY WAY! I'm gonna hit the tree."

"Just aim at the tree and you'll miss it right off."

I can't tell you how often my most accurate shots were "at" those trees. I didn't just hit them. I hit them Tom Knapp dead-freaking-center. You couldn't have GOTTEN a more square hit. All while saying, "I will not hit the green, I'll hit the tree." ROFL!!!

Basically, your brain breaks down. . . or not. But learning that don't-break-down thing?? It's one of the best feelings in the world. And once you do it successfully, you have to go find some other place to do it. Because you can't replicate it by just playing well in that one way.

There was this one hole - the 9th at some local golf course. It was a dogleg right that was SUPER long. We're talking 200+ yds to the leg. The whole thing is up-freaking-hill - more so for the second shot. You clearly can't cut teh corner unless you can consistently hit 250+.

I choked every time on that hole. I'd shoot a crappy first shot. Have to recover with a 5 iron to get to the corner. Then UP hill for 2 more shots just to be NEAR the green. Chip on. 2 putt. 7. Every time.

Then one day my brain changed. I stopped fretting over that first shot. It set the tone for the whole hole. I mean, it still took me 3 to be on - because that second up-hill was a b-word. But that tee shot didn't bother me anymore. And the hole became. . . .boring. I needed a NEW place where I fell apart and try and conquer that.

Keep shooting. Figure it out. Just remember the journey is what you're after, not the destination.
 
I shot my personal best (290 7x) when I was so pissed off that I didn't care about the match that night.

For me it was always mental. I shot for 10 or 11 years and got burned out. I hope to get back to it someday.
 

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