Tag Archives: confidence

Oct 27 2021

Regrets in archery

I think we all have things we regret in life. The path not taken or possibly the path we shouldn’t have travelled.

I always think the saddest ones come from ones actions where you are trying to help or improve things for others, but results in costing you heartache.

For me the biggest regret revolves round it standing for a club safety officer position several years ago at a local club and how it resulted in myself and Sharon being blocked from remaining members. I’m not going to go into details but this had such a huge impact on us in the years hence and to this day I blame myself for trying to help. All I wanted to do was help,  nurture and improve if possible, not control or manage.

Guess the old phrase the road to hell is paved with good intentions is true. No wonder so many people fail or feel they have.

Recent weeks and months have made me think carefully about my future in archery. I look back and am filled with doubts. I’m not an expert, and made a point of this time and time again. I’m just a well meaning amateur trying to help where I can. Passing on what little I’ve learned and experiences to help others.

I’ve struggled with motivation for podcasts and writing recently. I still enjoy coaching but feel less confident of my actions and advice. It would be fare to say I have a daily struggle with confidence, second guessing myself. Time will tell I guess.

Thanks for reading.

Sep 18 2014

Lessons learned from last night disastrous practice

Last night we headed to the wood for some practise as I know I need it. The following are the hard lessons I learned. I hope you learn from my mistakes.
  • Don’t go to the wood to practice after a long tiring day of work. Might seem good to get some practise in but really wasn’t.
  • Don’t try and practice as dusk approaches as depth perception is poor and you can’t see where your arrows land.
  • Don’t get stressed and agitated about the shoot.  this is a lot harder than it sounds and something I completely failed at.
  • Don’t let your frustration effect those around you. Sorry Sharon for my mood.
  • Don’t keep practicing when it’s not going well you just get more frustrated and smash arrows.
  • There are no easy or quick fixes no matter how much reading you do, searches of the net, youtube videos watched. Sometimes things just don’t gel.

I believe it is fair to say that I’m heading to this years NFAS championships with less conference than ever before in both myself and my shooting. I’m feeling very low and racked with doubts about my ability and capabilities. It’s not just archery related there are things going on at work which I can’t go into but its all having an effect.

 I really appreciate all the positive comments, advice and support that has been offered me. Thank you. I wish I could convert them all  in to confidence. Good luck to all heading to the national championships.

Thanks for reading.

Sep 15 2014

Question to all archers – How do you overcome a bad shot?

How do you overcome a bad shot or a poor round?
Whether this means a missed target or reduced score.
What do you say to yourself to buck yourself up or doesn’t it effect you?
What coping mechanism or strategies do you apply? 
To be honest I really struggle with this in a big way and with the NFAS national championships in a few days I’m feeling less confident than ever.
Looking forward to your answers.
Thanks for reading,