Mental Skills Help Breed Consistency and Improve Performance – A Case Study!

A little over a week ago, my good friend and fellow shooter Doug Parsons punched up from A to AA class while shooting at Kidd’s Place! His feat was followed by a flurry of congratulatory emails.  One email in particular caught my eye.  Randy Donovan had commented that Doug’s having switched to a 32” Caesar

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Seven Days in Utopia

I would have never known about this movie had it not been for the kindness of friends.   This 2011 movie starring Robert Duvall provides a fantastic look into sport psychology methods using professional golf as the backdrop. To whet your appetite, here is the trailer: It is beyond me how I missed out on this

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Are you a Sporting Clays Shooter, or do you Shoot Sporting Clays?

No, this isn’t a trick question…  I was recently thinking about this book: This book was mentioned in a previous post on this blog written and submitted by guest-writer Grant O’neal.  If you missed it, check out his summary of pre-shot routines to include a great summary of Pia Nilsson’s book HERE. In the introduction,

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This Post Brought to you by Artificial Intelligence!

By now, you probably have heard rumblings about ChatGPT – an “AI Chatbot” that was recently released for general (free) use. Coming off the heels of just having read a few books on artificial intelligence, I was curious to see if AI could take over my blog posting duties and give me a vacation! Getting

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Can Music Calm the Chatter in our Heads and Help us Focus?

Our mental game should always consider ways to stay focused.  Professional athletes are often seen with earbuds in while doing their pre-performance routine.  Why?  Well, there are literally tons of studies that indicate that there are significant positive effects of listening to music.  Here is just one example: <https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/82414> If you want to read more,

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“The Confident Athlete – 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence”

My stack of books in the “unread” pile was getting precariously low… I did what I often do…  fired up the Amazon App on my phone and started searching for new materials.  My search using the key work “confidence”  lead me to the book title above.  I was intrigued as it was written by a

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What Does Your Mental Game Look Like?

Today’s post is number 62!  Taking a look back we have covered a lot of territory.  Looking through the posts, they can be grouped into roughly 10 categories as follows: Goal Setting Self-talk Visualization Stress Management / Emotional Regulation Mindfulness / Meditation / Focus Confidence Fitness / Eye Training Performance Logging Self-image Pre-shot Planning So…

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Playing in the Box

I am always mining for good books to read – especially those related to sport psychology.  Recently, I uncovered a gem! In his book “Playing In The Box – A Practical Guide for Helping Athletes Develop Their Mental Game”,  Dr. Pete Temple uses some very simple models to explain what an unbalanced athlete is, versus

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A Real Nail Biter! – The Final Sporting Clays Tournament of the Year

The final tournament in our local area was held at Kidd’s Place this past Saturday.  There was a lot on the line for a couple of our shooters!  Both Dave Coffman and Randy Donovan faced “sudden death” in this shoot.  Due to the way the NSCA handles carry-over punches, they both faced the prospect of

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“What is Your Philosophy?” – “What are Your Values?”

In a previous post, I introduced Deena Kastor’s book “Let Your Mind Run – a Memoir of Thinking my way to Victory”.  Deena Kastor is an Olympic medalist in the Marathon.  The book tells of her early successes in running, and how she nearly decided to quit running after hitting near-burnout.  After her collegiate career

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“Clay Target Nation” September Edition

Just a quick post to thank all who have commented on the publishing of my feature article in the September 2021 edition of “Clay Target Nation” covering the topic of “Performance Logging”! If you have interest in giving the article a read, you can find it on page 59 of the digital version here: https://www.claytargetnation-digital.com/publication/?i=717594

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Two Hours with Brian DeMott – Self-Image Building and Mental Management

Recently, I had the honor of having lunch with Brian DeMott, master class competitor and former PSCA shooter.  I had reached out to Brian after observing him shoot on a couple of different occasions noting how confident he appeared as he prepared for each shot and how smoothly he executed each pair. I introduced him

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Performance Shorts?

For my birthday last year, my lovely bride surprised me with a pair of “performance shorts”.  I had no idea there was such a thing. These particular shorts are made from a blend of spandex and polyester.  They are advertised as being “water resistant, quick-drying, moisture-wicking and breathable. The fabric stretches for mobility.  Even the

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Rinse and Spit!

No, this is not a post about going to the dentist! Instead, it is a tip that I have implemented personally after having read the book “Peak” by Dr. Mark Bubbs. In his book, published in 2019, Dr. Bubbs covers a lot of territory including chapters on sleep, nutrition, exercise recovery, brain health, mindset, coaching,

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More Musings on Muse

You may recall my earlier post “Mindfulness, Meditation and Muse” where I discussed my initial experiences using the Muse EEG headband system.  Here is the link to that post: I am now going on my 5th month of utilizing the Muse system and thought an update on my experiences was in order.  During this time,

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The Wonder Woman Pose

You find yourself walking towards the first stand of the competition early one morning, but you are just not feeling it!  You are a little doubtful of your abilities even though you have seen and broken these same targets a hundred times before.  Your lack of confidence shows up in your physical presence.  Your posture

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Things That Work – Gravity Defyer Mighty Walker Shoes

Just yesterday, I had a conversation with a fellow sporting clays shooter about the trials and tribulations of performing while dealing with pain associated with various and sundry medical conditions.  This seems to be more common as we age.  Mental skills are all about learning how to stay focused allowing peak performance, but focus can

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Did we Evolve to Become Couch Potatoes?

In a word – “YES”!!! According to the Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389) there are numerous benefits to regular physical activity including: Controls weight Combats health conditions and disease Improves mood Boosts energy Promotes better sleep Can be fun and social What does this mean in terms of mental skills and the recreational athlete?  Being more fit

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NC Shooter’s Meteoric Rise from D-Class to Master Class in 17 Months!

Those who shoot NSCA (National Sporting Clays Association) registered events know just how challenging it is to move up the ranks.  It takes 60 “punches” to progress from “D Class” where shooters begin the journey to “Master Class” – a journey involving navigating through 5 classes (D, C, B, A, AA, and Master).  Punches are

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