Pre-Shot Routine

 

What is the best pre-shot routine?

 

Some shooters confuse pre-shot planning and pre-shot routines, so let’s untangle this first. In sporting clays, a shooter’s pre-shot process should be divided into two very distinct phases: pre-shot planning and pre-shot routine.

Pre-shot planning is the process you use to observe, plan and test your plan prior to stepping into the station. This is a very analytical process whereby you observe the flight path and behavior of the target, choose your break points, and determine where you are going to hold, where you are going to break the target, and how you are going to move to the break point. Developing a shot plan and executing that plan consistently for each pair is what provides the technical consistency necessary to post higher scores. Once developed, a shot plan must be “tested” using your outstretched front hand and arm.

When it’s your turn to shoot, it is time to turn off the analytical part of the brain and move into a more zen-like mental state. Analytical thinking should never be conducted at the same time you are in the box and preparing to engage targets. Fifteen years ago, at the height of my competitive activity, there was very little written about the mental game and pre-shot routines. I researched pre-shot routines and how athletes in different sports prepare themselves to execute at a high level. What I discovered was the basis for what I now teach.

Almost all pre-shot routines used by high-performing athletes involve three common elements: 1.) oxygen load (deep breathing), 2.) visualization (an out-of-body rehearsal of sorts), and 3.) a trigger or cue (a thought, idea or prompt that launches the athlete into his or her shot execution). Research has proven that certain brain wave frequencies optimize eye-hand coordination in athletes. This three-step roadmap for your pre-shot routine will properly position your conscious and subconscious mind, as well as your body, for the task at hand. I go into much greater detail on this subject in my book Mastering Sporting Clays.