Trapisms
Posted On: 08-14-2024
Here a few short statements one can use to coach kids and help them throughout their shooting careers.
Pick a plan and stick with it
Stop blaming your gun
If it fits – wear it
Feel the pressure of the comb on your cheek
Don’t over concentrate
Control your breathing
Dismount your gun on a slow pull or broken bird
Keep calm
Trap don’t fly backwards
Beat the target, not your competitors
Sweep your emotions, mood and thoughts aside
Turn stress negatives into stress positives
Develop a winning attitude
Work to build your own game plan and strategy
Learn to dig in when things get tough
Learn to think your way through competition – station by station
Approximately 65% of your targets will be soft away targets – Bank on those!
Approximately 35% of your targets are hard crossing targets – Win with these!
Learn to get out of your own way
Find your balance point
Feet first then the target
There are not 25 targets – just one target – only one
Each target is history
Wax on Wax off
Sand the floor
Paint the fence
Do or do not – There is no try
It’s OK to lose to an opponent. It’s never OK to lose to fear
“Pull” with authority, aggressiveness, but no movement
“Play your own game” all the time
Targets do not fly straight – they bend
In your setup visualize three basic angled targets
You can be positive or negative on the trap line, but never both
Positive demeanor + focus = higher scores
Disconnect mood and attitude from scores
“I can do it”
Take time to relax between rounds
Set goals
Learn from shooting
Shoot from your eye, not your mind
Each shooting session requires a goal
Learn to break one target at a time
Think of hits, not misses
Make every single shot count – every time
Set realistic score goals
Shoot with those that can beat you
Identify how you breathe when you are shooting well
There is no such thing as a straight away target
Visualize yourself breaking each target
Stop thinking – It’s time to shoot
Take the time when changing station to think about consistency
No emotion is the key to unlocking higher scores
Never shake your head or twitch your face with unsatisfied expressions
Discouragement encourages discouragement
Speaking out-loud to yourself in the negative is counter-productive
Psychologically treat a missed target as if it never happened
Silence is golden
Be professional
Be prepared
Try to keep the rhythm going
Being disruptive ruins your game
Keep to yourself during the match save conversation for afterwards
Confidence is trust
The best is yet to come
Ignore disruptions
Don’t expect to try something once and make it work – it might take a 1,000 targets
Experimentation means scores will drop
Experimentation is critical if you wish to become a competitive shooter
Apprehension of missing targets causes missed targets
Competition is where you put all you have learned on auto-pilot
Poor scores – examine your shoes
Get behind your gun, perfect your techniques, think positive, focus and shot to win
If you don’t walk off the line in a sweat, you are not shooting trap
COMMITMENT, PERSISTENCE, DISCIPLINE
Try More + Fail More = Win More
Give yourself a chance to fail before you win
Find the zone when shooting
Emotions mislead
Your mind is willing to wage war with you and it will likely win
You be the one that breaks the target and stops the chain reaction
Persistence + Patience = Accomplishment
Don’t try to learn trap too fast