Mental Training Mental Training cont'd.
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Mental training involves the development of two
types of skills: offensive and defensive. The
mastery of offensive and defensive skills is
absolutely necessary for you to be consistently
successful in any form of competition. The Olympic
Training Center's Sport Psychology staff has done a
great deal of study on offensive and defensive
mental training, and has determined that these skills
can be organized into three groups:
! Basic
Visualization
! Competition
Self Talk
Energy Management
! Elite
Goal Setting
Lanny Bassham, 1972 Olympic Silver Medalist and
1976 Olympic Gold Medalist, has done extensive
research on the subject of mental training. In his
book, With Winning In Mind, he explains that
performance is a function of three processes:
Copyright 2003 by Terrell Deppe, All Rights Reserved
! Conscious Thought
! Sub-conscious Thought
! Self-Image
These three processes must be balanced in order
for you to perform at your maximum potential. He
presents a very compelling argument for
visualization by stating that the conscious mind can
only think about one thing at a time. He goes on to
say that the conscious is responsible for training the
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subconscious mind, and also for calling it into
action.
The subconscious can do more than one thing at a
time (like walking, catching, throwing, driving, and
dodging a punch), it can also cause you to shoot a
perfect shot -- the same one that you have trained it
to do.
But what happens if you doubt your ability to shoot a
center-ten? Suddenly, you cause your sub-
conscience to follow another path -- one that does
not include success. However, if you have shot
many tens before, you are confident of your
abilities, and are not likely to second guess them.
Think about what it takes to ride a bicycle. You just
get on and pedal right? You don't even have to
think about it. Or do you?
Once you have learned to ride a bicycle, your
subconscious mind takes over. Your self-image
says, "No problem. I can do this.", and your
conscious mind doesn't have to put forth much
effort. However, your sub-conscious is very active:
it's causing you to move your legs, adjust your
balance, steer, and make thousands of other
reactions and adjustments.
As you can see, the conscious, sub-conscious and
self-image are very dependent upon each other. If
one is too dominant, or under developed, the effect
will not be as positive as having them well balanced.
Learning to shoot is like learning to ride a bike: it's a
matter of balance, both physical and mental.
Conscious Self Image
Sub-conscious
 Basic Mental Training Visualization cont'd.

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Visualization
Visualization works by:
! Refining your skills
See it. Feel it. Sense it. Do it. ! Correcting mistakes
! Enhancing your decision making skills
Visualization (sometimes referred to as "Imagery" or ! Building confidence
"Rehearsal") is the first mental skill you should ! Dealing with adversity
develop, and the most basic skill for you to rely on. ! Refining concentration
It is really not much more than an active imagination ! Strengthening your motivation
that you use to guide yourself toward success. ! Managing your emotions
! Preparing for competition
Everyone is capable of doing great things, but only ! Seeing success
those who are willing to dream about great things
will actually achieve them. When you visualize, you
remove the single greatest barrier between you and
your success: YOU! By imagining yourself doing
something great, you have taken the first step in
actually doing it.

Visualization is an Offensive Skill. It will help you

with:

! Extending and increasing your training.

! Increasing your self-awareness.
! Getting you in "The Zone".
Copyright 2003 by Terrell Deppe, All Rights Reserved

Some people claim that they don't have an

imagination; that they don't dream. However,
studies have shown that everyone dreams, whether
they remember them when they wake or not. So if
you dream, you visualize.

The process of seeing success

before it happened put me in a
positive frame of mind and prepared
me to play the game.
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- Michael Jordan
 Competition Mental Training
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Self-Talk
Have you ever blushed at being caught talking to
yourself? Almost everyone talks to themselves at
some point during the day. Even if it is something
simple like, "YES! I did it!" or "Oops... that's gonna
hurt."
Unfortunately, sometimes we say things to
ourselves can be damaging to our self image; things
that would hurt our feelings if someone else said
them to us. For example, if you forget to bring your
shooting journal, ammunition or gun to the range
you might say, "I can't believe I forgot again! I'm so
stupid." or if you are having trouble shooting you
might say somthing like, "I'm still the lowest scoring
shooter on the team. I stink." Why is it okay for you
to say mean things to yourself or about yourself?
It's not! After a while, you will begin to believe what
you tell yourself day in and day out.
How do I fix this problem?
First of all, start by stopping. Catch yourself saying
something negative, and correct it. When a
negative thought enters your mind, recognize it then
do something like snap your fingers or say a made
Copyright 2003 by Terrell Deppe, All Rights Reserved
up word. Then, redirect your thoughts toward what
you can do to correct the things that frustrate you. If
you forgot your shooting journal, then find a way to
correct the problem. Write yourself a note (in your
journal, of course!), and then verbally tell yourself
that you will do better the next time. Picture yourself
remembering. Then repeat that positive statement
you just made. Every time you say something
negative about yourself, say your made-up word,
then repeat a positive statement twice. Most
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importantly, genuinely think about what you are
saying.
Self-Talk cont'd.
If you catch yourself saying the same things over
and over, write down what it is that you normally
say, then write down a positive way of saying it. If
you normally say, "I forget everything" write
something like, "I sometimes forget, but I have a
plan to develop a better memory: I write things
down in my journal."
Play the Pebble Game!
Something else you can do is to try putting a few
pebbles in your right pants pocket when you start
your day. Each time you say something negative
about yourself, move a pebble from your right
pocket to your left pocket. If you run out of pebbles,
move all of them back to your right pocket and keep
going. Make it your goal not to run out of pebbles
the next day. Once you reach that goal, throw one
of the stones as far away from you as you can, like
into a lake or field -- some place where you can
never take back that bad habit.
The pebble game is fun, but it's not magic. Just
moving pebbles from one pocket to another will not
change the way to think and talk to yourself. You
have to teach yourself how to say positive things to
yourself and about yourself. This takes time. Don't
give up, or get frustrated, and remember to reward
yourself for reaching milestones and your ultimate
goal: a day, week or month with only ten pebbles,
five pebbles, and even NO PEBBLES in your
pockets! Track your goals using your journal, and a
Goal Plan worksheet.
Just say, "Thank you."
Always accept a compliment! It has become
fashionable with women to be unfashionable. Have
you ever heard one woman say, "What a lovely
 Self-Talk cont'd.

dress!" Only to hear the recipient of that

compliment reply, "This old thing?" It's a running
gag in Hollywood, but it's one that is sure to make
you choke when it comes to reaching your goals.
Most people don't hand out free compliments. That
makes compliments very valuable, so accept them
whenever possible. Just say, "Thank you." and
accept the compliment. You will reinforce your self-
image, and best of all, you will do it gracefully
without appearing too modest or too vain.

Shoot More Tens!

Another important thing to remember is to figure out
what you are doing right on the good shots, then
figure out what you can do to repeat that success.
Avoid getting angry or frustrated with your
performance, and don't try to figure out why some of
your shots are not as good as others.

Choose Good Friends!

Be careful who you associate with. Choose your
friends wisely, and avoid people who speak
negatively about themselves or others. The same
principle applies to people who talk about their bad
scores and poor performances. Walk away from
Copyright 2003 by Terrell Deppe, All Rights Reserved

them, and don't look back. Find someone who will

inspire you and challenge you with positive words
and encouragement.

Don't Forget Your Successes

The Shooting Sports ETC curriculum has a form for
you to use to record your accomplishments. It does
not have a form for you to record your failures. Be
sure to record your successes and achievements
whenever they occur, and forget about everything
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