Athlete Blog
By Sarah Beard Read more on her website:
sarahbeardusa.com
Why Pressure Isn’t As Good Or Bad As You Think It Is
Pressure. I remember be-
ing introduced to this con- cept when my high school physics teacher began the day by blaring the popular Queen melody for the en- tire
think Queen explained the concept
better than any
textbook.) Since then, as my shooting career has picked up, the meaning of pressure
classroom. (I honestly
people talk about how good pressure is, and that you just have to use it to “make you focus more.” I got my À UVW ELJ EUHDN LQ VKRRWLQJ using that method (in fact at this same match several years ago). I had no idea how, but it seemed like I just couldn’t stop shooting well, even when my hold during WKH À QDOV WHUULÀ HG PH DQG
I’ve been brought to a cliff and told to walk along the edge of it. Theoretically, it’s simple — even easy — to put each foot where you want it to go.
Dealing With Pressure At The National Level Pressure exists, like it or
not.
could use. Target size, dis- tance, etc. remain the same between (approved) ranges. The fact is, however, that
if you put me on the edge of a cliff and tell me to walk along it, it’s just not the same as walking along the cracks of a sidewalk when no one’s watching. The task is the same, but the execu- tion is not. Since I’m hu- man (and unfortunately not Force-sensitive), I am quite aware of the risks involved in my situation. One wrong step, and there’s no way to recover from failure. When risk increases, awareness of possible failure also increas- es. For example, if I have declared that it is my goal to become a more consistent shooter, then it raises the stakes at every match since I now have a reputation to lose.
Lessons Learned As I always say, I learn
has morphed into something a bit more personal—some- thing emotionally charged, having power to change my entire outlook on success or failure.
Pressure Is Great! (…Sometimes) At my most recent match,
Winter Airgun Champion- VKLSV , GHÀ QLWHO\ KHDUG pressure talking to me from the passenger seat. Many
probably everyone around me who could see my gun moving). While it can work sometimes, I know that method doesn’t always work for me. I’ve learned that I can’t depend on adrenaline to focus; I must simply de- cide to focus and then do it. Pressure can make ev-
ery bit of movement, every breath, and every thought so much more real. My aware- ness
skyrockets. It’s like 56 USA Shooting News | March 2016
But I don’t agree with people who advise others to just ignore pressure, us- ing the logic that a match is “just like practice.” In a sense, yes—if someone is making up excuses as to why they “can’t” shoot well at a range (for no reason other than they’ve never shot well at that range be- fore), or something of that VRUW WKHQ WKHUH LV GHÀ QLWHO\ a healthy dose of reality they
something at each match. So what did I learn at this past match? During those three days, I was extremely aware of my expectations for myself. I learned that know- ing about pressure doesn’t necessarily have an impact on my performance. Step One: Build a solid position and shot plan. Step Two: Ex- ecute. I know of a number of top-ranked shooters (and other athletes, for that mat- ter) who the world expected
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68