New Goals....suddenly....

I was looking over the goals I wrote at the beginning of the year, and came across this part:

"Overall Competition Goal: In the long term, reaching Master class is the goal, but isn't the goal specifically this year--instead, the goal is to consistently shoot to my level of ability for all stages in a match. That, coupled with the technique goals given above, should be sufficient for the moment."

[sigh]

Well, apparently I'm a little ahead of myelf, what with making Master-class in USPSA this past month. Occasioned some thinking, though--because I didn't really practice that much. (No matter what my wife says.) Yes, some dryfire periodically, and it is true that during the summertime I go shooting a couple of times a week. But in the last year, that summer shooting was mostly training someone else, instead of practicing on my own, and so I really haven't practiced that much.

But apparently it was enough to make Master. Granted, I'm barely Master, with several big competitions coming up--so this means I really DO have to practice now, so that my shooting supports that Master-class ranking. I've managed to go out and do some work on distance shooting, and at home on some reloading---but more is necessary.

I've been looking at some of the "skills tests" worksheets and lists that several shooting coaches (and GMs) make available, in terms of what they think are important. For my level I think I have a decent grasp of most of them, except for reloading (still fumble those, and I shouldn't!) and long-distance accuracy. (Distance meaning accuracy past 15 yards.) I'm certainly not perfect at the others, but I do all right. That distance thing, though---I'm just very, very inconsistent. I can make those hits, I just don't always have the discipline to do so.

So--those are what I'm going to work on. Manny Bragg has a great dot drill to use to start and end a practice session, I'll always work on some transitions and movement, (plus another one of his "practice everything in one drill" drills) but I think much of my practice time for the next month or so is going to be on distance shooting (particularly interspersed with close-range blasting) and reloads (standing, on the move, or table reloads).

Area 5 in a couple of weeks, Great Plains Sectional and Area 3 at the end of July, and Nationals in October. I don't mind not being the best (hey, I'm not done learning and getting better yet!) but I do mind looking incompetent, and like I don't deserve my classification. So, let's make sure my shooting is Master level by the next match.

Time to work.