The Goldsmith's had a lot of fun at our Easter get-together playing archery games.  We started off with a few games of tic-tac-toe with a bag target. After that, we played a game that we invented called "Bocci Bow".  It's a sort of variation of the popular game Bocci Ball. We used a throwing target like the one pictured below.  Playing with teams of two, we threw the target, used a range-finder to get the distance, and then one player from each team shot at the target. Before you shot, you had to call out which spot you were shooting at.  If you called and hit a small spot, it was worth 3 points, if you called and hit a big spot, it was worth 2 points, and if you hit the target, but not where you called, you got one point. We played to 21, and we weren't allowed to go over 21. It was a really fun game, and everyone had a blast playing it!  If you're interested in playing, Plum Creek Archery sells the Rinehart throwing target for around $30. 

You may have noticed that I never posted anything about how I did at the Iowa State Indoor Tournament.  This is partly because I've been busy, but mostly because I was embarrassed.  I shot even worse than I was expecting; and I wasn't expecting much.  I believe my final score was 209, which is about 70 points lower than I had previously been shooting.  I must admit that I was really glad that my dad, brother, and Uncle Tom came and shot with me, because without them there making me laugh and keeping me occupied between ends I probably would've gotten frustrated to the point of tears.  I had practiced so much during the days leading up to the state indoor, but once I got in front of a bunch of people my target panic exploded and I couldn't hit a dang thing.  

I'm happy to say that as of lately, I've been shooting MUCH better (feel free to knock on wood for me).  So what is the reason for my recent improvement? If I had to pick one thing that made the biggest difference and helped me the most, I would say it's my new release.  It's kind of a funny story of how I acquired my release.  I asked Steve Plein to bring a bunch of his releases for me to try because I had been thinking about changing to either a thumb or back tension release.  I tried a few of them, and even thought that I had found "the one".  However, I remembered that my brother Ben had just ordered and just received a new back tension release for himself.  I called him and asked if I could try it out before he got it set up for him and his bow.  Lucky for me, he said that was no problem.  I tried it and instantly fell in love.  I fell so in love that I ended up telling Ben he was going to need to order himself a new release, because he wasn't getting this one back.  Getting used to my new release was no easy task, in fact, I'm still no where near being an expert with it. 

Here is a picture of what my new release looks like, and if you click on the photo it will bring you to their website so you can read more about it.

My new release and my greatly improved scores instantly changed my attitude about shooting.  I no longer feel defeated, and I look forward to shooting.  However, I don't want you to think that I'm over my target panic, because I'm definitely not.  Actually, I ended up going to the doctor and getting some pills for what they call "performance anxiety".  I pop a couple of them before I shoot help keep my heart rate down so I don't get so worked up.  They do help some, but they're no miracle pills.  

Besides my new release, I also FINALLY received my new Sure-Loc Challenger sight, Octane stabilizer, and Bowtech Destroyer!! When I ordered all of my new toys I decided that I wanted to be the one to set up my new bow, that way if something ever goes wrong while I'm away at school there's a possibility that I'll be able to fix it myself.  The guys at Plum Creek Archery were very patient and helpful, and I'm extremely pleased with the final result.  I call my new bow "Black Beauty", and I love it very much.  The first 300 round I shot with it, I tied my high score, which I had shot at Regionals for the Minnesota Indoor, of 189.  The second 300 round I shot, I shot a new high score of 296 28X.  I can't say enough how much I LOVE my new setup! Definitely worth all of the waiting for my specially ordered items.  If there's ever something you're interested in getting, I highly suggest you ask the guys at PCA if they can help get it for you, because they'll do what they can to get it done.  

The last few weeks I haven't been shooting worth a darn, and I didn't understand what the problem was.  I know how to shoot and just a couple of weeks ago I was shooting the best I've ever shot and I hadn't changed anything about the way I was shooting.  This past weekend I was shooting at Plum Creek Archery and having a really hard time. I started explaining to Dan that every time I try to shoot, it's like I was having an anxiety attack and I couldn't control when I released.  I couldn't get the pin over the gold ring without having already released.  It doesn't matter how hard I try, or what I tell myself I'm going to do the next time I shoot, I am continuing to have the same problem.  That's when Dan said, " It sounds like you've got target panic." I immediately went over to the computer and looked up the definition of target panic.

In archery, target panic is defined as a psychological condition that forces the archer into a premature hold or release of the arrow. 

Before this past weekend I had never heard of target panic, but that's exactly what's been going on.  And the more research I do, the more I realize just how common target panic is.  It's kind of a relief to see how many others have dealt with it, but then of course there are the stories where people are never able to recover from it.  However frustrated this does make me, I promise that that will not be my story.

Have you ever had an experience where you're trying to explain something to someone and they just don't get it? Or try teaching someone how to do something but they just don't listen?  And all you want to do is put your hands around their neck and strangle them because it's so simple and they just don't get it!? Well that's exactly how I feel when I shoot, except I'm the person I want to strangle.  I know what I'm trying to do, I just can't get myself to do it.

I've asked lots of people what I can do to fix it, and everyone's been giving me relatively the same advice.  They say that it can't be fixed overnight and that there's no "wonder pill" to make it go away.  (Personally, I think someone should invent a wonder pill, because I'm sure people would pay some pretty good money for it!) I've been told to start close and shoot at a blank bale, some even say to do it with my eyes closed so I can get the feel for a what a shot is supposed to feel like.  Then put a target up and work my way back to a further distance.  And although I know it's great advice, I have a tournament tomorrow night that I have to shoot at a target from 20 yards!

Basically I've tried everyone's advice, and I think it will work in the long haul.  Unfortunately, because I'm shooting at the Iowa State Indoor tournament tomorrow I've been doing most of my practice from 20 yards and it hasn't been going near as well as I'd like.  I'm especially nervous that when I am in front of a crowd and have to shoot in public that I'm going to completely suck.  However, I've been telling myself that this tournament is me being one step closer to improving, no matter what my score is. 

I'll be shooting tomorrow night at 7pm with not only members of the Iowa State Archery Club, but my brother Ben and my dad Bruce are coming with me too! I'm extremely nervous and extremely excited all at the same time.  Feel free to wish me luck, because I need all the luck I can get!

While at the Iowa Pro Am I was speaking with someone from Minnesota who recommended that I shoot at the Minnesota State Indoor Tournament.  She told me that it's her favorite tournament to go to, which says a lot saying that her, her husband, and her daughter only took two weekends off in 2010 from archery competitions.  I found out that it was in April, but didn't know the exact date so I looked it up a couple of days after the Pro Am.  Thank goodness I looked it up when I did, because it turns out for this particular tournament you have to shoot a qualifying regional round in Minnesota one of the first two weekends in February to be eligible to participate.  There are lots of locations where the qualifying round can be shot, so I decided to shoot in Stillwater, MN which is near my sister's new house.

I didn't have to shoot until Sunday, so I ended up making a Minnesota weekend out of it, starting in St. C loud (not exactly on my way to Stillwater) to visit my college friends from freshman year.  After a great night out on the town Friday night, I headed back south to my sister Liz's place in Woodbury, MN where her family as well as my other sister Ali and her son were waiting for me.  I spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday morning playing with my nephews and having a blast. 

The place I was shooting my regional round is called Chilakoot Bowhunters out of Stillwater.  Once again, I'm glad I looked up information on this place ahead of time, because even though it says it's in Stillwater, it's actually in Somerset, WI.  Apparently it has something to do with being able to get the land for a really good price.

As soon as Ali and I pulled into this place, I was in heaven.  There were trees and trails everywhere that appeared to go on forever (turns out they own about 50 acres). One of the first things I saw was a really nice outdoor range with a tower to shoot from.  Then I saw the clubhouse; what a beaut!! I thought it looked nice and big from the outside, but it was even better when we got inside!  It really wasn't anything extremely fancy, but it had everything an archery club could need.  

There weren't many people there (probably because I chose Superbowl Sunday to shoot), but the guys that were there sure were helpful.  They helped me fill out the paperwork, explained all of the rules, and were more than willing to answer any questions that I had for them.  The only people shooting their qualifying round at that time with me were my new friends Doug and Hal.  

We were shooting an NFAA 300 round, and with only 3 people and no breaks it felt like we were running a marathon. I started off shooting quite well, but it was pretty obvious when I started getting tired.  About 2/3 of the way through I think we were all beat and I could tell the other two were starting to take longer breaks between ends.  I'm thankful they did because I started feeling and shooting better towards then end... and that's when it happened.

It was the second to last end and I had just flung my fourth arrow towards the target when I heard a very loud, very odd noise.  No one else said anything though, so I shot my fifth arrow and waited for Doug and Hal to finish shooting their last arrows.  As soon as Hal finished shooting, he started hollering "Anyone have a camera?! I think we're going to want to get a picture of this!!"  That's when I realized I had robin hooded my very first arrow.  Everyone was really happy for me and we did end up getting a pretty decent picture (shown below).  Luckily I had two extra arrows to shoot the last end with, otherwise I would have had to choose between pulling my robin hood apart and shooting the one good arrow or take a miss.  

The reason for the regional round is basically just so they know what flight to put you in at the actual tournament.  I ended up shooting a pretty good score of 289/300.  I still haven't found out which flight I'm in or what my line time is, but I should receive that information sometime here in March.  

Although it was fun even without the robin hood, it sure was a great capper to a great weekend.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I joined Iowa State's Archery Club last semester. I only went to a couple of the shoots last semester because they were always on the weekends, and not a lot of my weekends were spent in Ames.  Although I wished I could have attended more shoots, there was definitely one shoot that I am very thankful that I attended! 

I had received an email from the Vice President of the archery club stating that they were going to have try-outs to go shoot at the Iowa State Pro Am in Mason City, Iowa.  I don't know if I had ever tried out for anything before, but I do know that I was really nervous.  I had no idea how many people to expect to try out, or if I even had a chance.  I also had no idea what the Pro Am even was, and looking back that's probably a good thing. Had I known the size of this tournament, I more than likely would have chickened out. 

Long story short, I went to the shoot (making my roommates come with me because I was scared) and tried out. There were very few people at the shoot, and to my knowledge I think everyone that tried out was able to attend.  The tryouts were at the end of the fall semester, and the Pro Am wasn't until the weekend of January 14th so I had a little time to practice over Winter break.  

I don't think it was until the ride down to the Pro Am and when I actually walked into the building that I knew what I was getting myself into.  I was in awe.  This building was huge, and there were people and bows everywhere!  I later learned that there were roughly 570 shooters from over 30 states and 3 countries, and we were shooting right along side the pros. 

I was extremely lucky to have some very friendly people shooting in my same lane, because otherwise I can promise you that I would have made a pretty big fool of myself.  They couldn't believe that I had only been shooting for seven months, or that I had never shot a tournament before coming to the Pro Am.  They explained to me how the scoring worked, how much time we had to shoot, when it was my turn to shoot, etc. It wasn't until everyone stepped up to the line with all of their really flashy target bows that I felt really intimidated.  Not only was I shooting right next to a pro, but because I'm left-handed I was facing the opposite direction of everyone else. And it didn't help that he was almost as short as me and it felt like my face couldn't get any closer to his. Talk about a distraction...

I posted a couple of pictures below so you can get a feel for the atmosphere.  For more pictures or information on the Iowa State Pro Am, I highly suggest you visit their website or facebook page. Their facebook page has a lot of great pictures posted that everyone can take a look at.

www.isaaproam.com

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/ISAA-Pro-Am/157895981690

I'm not sure how familiar everyone is with how the tournament works, but the first day of shooting was an NFAA 360 round.  It consisted of 60 arrows shot in 5 arrow ends. The target has two sides, and you can choose to either shoot at the single spot side or the five spot side.  An X is worth 6 points, the white spot is worth 5, and the outter two blue rings are worth 4.

The second day was a Vegas 330 round, consisting of 30 arrows shot in 3 arrow ends.  Again you could choose to shoot at either the single spot or three spot side. This time the X is worth 11 points, the second yellow ring worth 10 points, the third yellow ring 9 points, and so on.

I believe that I shot a 288 the first night and 256 the second day, for a total of 544. I was extremely satisfied with that score for my first tournament, but that doesn't mean I want to get a score like that again.  My goal for next year is to shoot 580, and now that my goal is posted online I guess I'll have to get practicing and hold myself to it!

Even though the Pro Am was a little nerve wracking for me, I had an absolute blast!  I think what I enjoyed the most was that there were tons of people there who were extremely knowledgable, and all of them were more than willing to share that knowledge with me and help out.  I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the archers are this way, which is awesome for people like myself who really want to learn. 

The next tournament I'm planning on attending is the Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines.  It's a 3-day event on February 25th, 26th, and 27th.  I've never been to the classic, but I've heard good things.  Below is a link for the Iowa Deer Classic, and I hope to see some of you there! 
http://www.iowashows.com/Shows/index.cfm?Show_ID=43

The first time that I ever shot a bow was quite interesting.  I'm right-handed, but I shoot left-handed because my left eye is my dominant eye.  The first time I went in to PCA to shoot they didn't have a left-handed bow set up for me to shoot yet, but I was determined to give archery a shot anyway.  Not only is my left eye dominant, but I can't close just my left eye for the life of me.  This is when I took a white rag and attempted tying it around my head covering my left eye.  When I finally got it so that I could only see out of my right eye, a couple of the guys started explaining things to me.  They taught me how to wear a release and how it worked, how to nock an arrow, how to keep my finger behind the trigger when pulling back, how important it is not to dry fire, etc.  However, shooting right-handed was not pretty.  My dad got a kick out of hard of a time I was having getting my arrow nocked because doing things with just my right eye was quite the challenge.   I shot a couple of times and did alright, but I knew that eventually I'd have to shoot a left-handed bow.  

That day was the first example of just how willing these guys were to do anything to make me satisfied with my shooting experience.  Even though it was getting late and I was going to be around the next day, they still set up a left-handed bow for me to be able to shoot yet that night.  The left-handed bow that they had there was just a used one that they still have there for people without bows to shoot.  However, they didn't have a rest that fit that bow, and I believe that they actually had to drill a hole in the bow just to mount a rest so I could shoot.  After they got it all set up they helped me sight it in, and I even managed to get a bullseye on my first night of shooting!

I'm willing to admit that I have quite an addictive personality, and from that night on, I have been hooked.  Every spare minute that I have when I'm in the Dyersville area is spent at the archery.  The guys are probably glad that I don't live in Dyersville permanently, because there's a solid chance that they would be pretty sick of me by now.  Even on my dad and brother's nights off I often make them come in after the shop is closed to shoot with me.  I think it has payed off though, because the first couple of weeks that I shot the TechnoHunt I was averaging a low 4, and now it's unusual if my score is below 7.5 with my high score being over an 8.  

After my first weekend shooting, I had decided that I NEEDED to have a bow of my own.  Within two weeks of research and lots and lots of phone calls and texts to my brother asking what I needed to look for in a bow, I had my PSE Chaos and Radial X-Weave arrows ordered and on their way to my place in Ames.  During what seemed like a dreadfully long wait, I went out and bought a hard case for my bow so I could keep it safe on my drive home, a Scott Little Bitty Goose release (which I love), and some field points.  There was no way I was going to receive my bow without being completely prepared.  

Naturally, the weekend after I received it (I believe it was the first week in June) I was headed to Plum Creek Archery to get it set up.  I'm pretty sure that I actually drove right past my parents' house and went directly to PCA.  My bow came with everything on it, but the draw weight was set too heavy for me so Tom turned it down and made sure everything on it was properly set up for me (lasered it in, checked my draw length, etc).  They also got my arrows cut for me and I was ready to go!  I can't think of a day that I was happier than that one right there. I FINALLY had a bow that was mine, set up just for me (and when I say finally, I know that it wasn't that long of a wait, but it sure seemed like it!).  Needless to say, when I woke up the morning after getting my bow set up, I was one sore girl!