This year for the NAA Indoor Nationals I had a visitor coming to shoot with me. This tournament was the weekend following the Arnold Classic. Jamie Van Natta also competed in the Arnold Classic the week before so she needed to come shoot the Nationals in my region. Jamie was flying in on Friday afternoon. The venue was in Wisconsin Rapids which is only about an hour from my home town. Jamie was pretty serious about wanting to shoot well at this tournament. I on the other hand lacked motivation to say the least. For one I had been shooting indoors for several months already, which tends to burn me out, and the coming weather report was unbelievable.

In Wisconsin the weather in winter is pretty bitter to say the least. I think the temp was averaging around 5 degrees F. However, for this weekend they were calling for temps in the mid 50’s. That would feel like summer to me. Plus I meant that I could get the dust off my outdoor bow! I was dying to shoot some 70 meter shots and this was the weekend I had been waiting for. I told Jamie what the weather was supposed to be and told her Friday night that I may not shoot the indoor nationals but instead just practice up outside. You see I had a trip planned to Australia for their Outdoor Championships a month later so I needed to take advantage of every chance I had to shoot long distance.

Saturday morning I woke up and looked outside to the clear skies and it was already about 15degrees above normal. I told Jamie I wasn’t going to Nationals but that she could take my car and I’d tell her how to get there. She was not thrilled about this and begged me to go and gave me a sad face. I gave in and told her I would go, but on one condition. I said when we were done shooting we would come straight home and shoot outside. I also said that if I shot badly I would not go back the second day. We hopped in the car and headed to Rapids for the shoot.

I didn’t feel very well that morning, somewhat tight. The good thing was I had 45 minutes for practicing and I got loose and started to find my shot again. What happened next really isn’t anything that I can make sound dramatic. I just kept shooting and shooting and didn’t really realize anything that was happening around me. I just know that I was in a rhythm and my shot execution was repetitive. It seemed like only a short while and they were saying “good shooting Dudley”. I finished with a 597. I was extremely happy with that because I have shot so many scores like this in practice but had not put together a good round like this in a major tournament. Well I took several photos with my target faces and then eagerly packed up and headed back home to shoot outside.

Once I got home it was time to get some 70meter shooting in. I started shooting and throwing down 59’s & 60’s. I was really excited to shoot so well. My groups weren’t as tight as what I would like to see but they were scoring well. I think I hadn’t gotten comfortable with a peep height yet that was good for 70m. Jamie got out her bow and shot with me as well. We both were just shooting and shooting. I made the comment that I was so sore and I knew that the next day I would shoot like crap. I didn’t really care. The indoor shooting was the last thing on my mind. I shot until dark and actually maybe a little past dark.

The next morning I knew when I got out of bed that it would be a long day of shooting. I was stiff like a board. That happens to me if I over shoot. My neck and shoulders get so tense. I am a pretty flexible person and my form has adapted to that flexibility. When I am tense it has more of an affect on my shooting then if I was just sore from muscle tissue damage. I went out and had a morning tea and loaded the car. We made the drive again to Wisconsin Rapids. I pulled back for the first time and laughed out loud and said to Jamie that it was going to be a long day. I don’t think I shot more than a dozens 10’s in 40 minutes of practice. Actually I think I missed 4 Vegas 10 rings in practice. It was pretty bad. The scoring round didn’t go any better really. I struggled through the round and posted a low score in the mid 580’s.

People asked if I was disappointed that I had shot badly that second day. My attitude was this, I didn’t want to shoot it in the first place so the fact that I shot at all was a surprise to me. I got a full day of 70 meters in before heading to Australia the next month, and enjoyed visiting with Jamie. I don’t see how I could be upset with ending an Indoor season with a 597. I believe any athlete needs to focus more on their goals and what they feel like they need to get out of a tournament. Do not worry about what others want to see you achieve, that is not relevant. At least it’s not to me anyway. Pick smaller things you need to work on for smaller tournaments and focus on the problem areas there. This way you can be solid and confident when you are attending a major event.