This Sunday is the USPSA shoot down in Ruskin, FL. This month, I will not be repeating my mistakes from last time I shot. I will do this via a plan, something I should have thought about previously, but you learn from your mistakes.
First, I am not going to ‘win’. I am not J.J. Racaza, Julie Golob, Todd Jarrett, or Caleb Giddings. Those people have lifetimes of competitive shooting behind them. It is imperative that I know my limits and that I learn to crawl before I learn to run. For this, I am writing on my right hand a simple word – Walk. When that buzzer goes off, the initial response is to fly through the course as fast as you can. This is fine and dandy if you’ve shot so much that the rules and techniques are second nature but when you’re just starting out, you need to slow down and absorb what’s going on. No running, only walking. Honestly, looking at the scores, time isn’t as critical as shot placement. I bet just walking through and taking my time will keep me from last place.
Second, I’ve printed up a bunch of these. I will be using this to help visualize each stage since I do not have the skill yet to do so in my head. I can plan where to change mags, what targets I need to hit from what positions, etc. I can look at this page after each walkthrough & taping of targets to refine what I could do to make it through. I’ll probably look like a dork writing all this down, but for now I cannot do it in my head and it still needs to be done.
Third, I’m going to ensure I’m not 2nd or 3rd in line. I’m new and if the club doesn’t mind, I’d prefer to go toward the end of the group for now. I’m not going to gain an unfair advantage over the other shooters by going last, so I hope this isn’t an issue.
Finally, I’m going to not dwell on last month’s disqualification, but I *am* going to pay more attention to my surroundings. That was embarrassing but I’m going to learn from it rather than be hindered by it.
Can’t wait, and I’ll definitely give everyone a report when I’m done.