Official Supplier & Sponsor FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR USA SHOOTING 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, CO 80909 Phone: 719-866-4670 LOOKING FORWARD Administration Fax: 719-866-2200 Competitions Fax: 719-866-4884 s you read this article we will will send athletes to the World Clay Target LINDSAY BROOKE already be well into 2011. The first Championships in early September to Belgrade, Competitions Manager 719-866-4885 World Cups and the trade show Serbia. This competition includes junior events [email protected] season will be behind us but there that provide the experience and motivation for BUDDY DUVALL Executive Director of USA Shooting Team Foundation is much to look forward to as well. future world-level success. If you recall, our 719-866-4880 The National Junior Olympic Championships juniors had outstanding success at last year’s [email protected] BRET ERICKSON Afor rifle and pistol is a priority April event. World Shooting Championship which bodes well National Shotgun Coach 719-866-4682 The talent that continues to emerge from our for the future. [email protected] National Junior Olympic Championships Speaking of juniors and youth programs, LISA ERICKSON (shotgun included) is very impressive and is a Mike Theimer is now leading that effort and will Administrative Assistant to the National Coaches 719-866-4682 credit to our clubs and coaches nationwide. be actively promoting the Progressive Position [email protected] The World Cup circuit will be characterized Pistol program, three-position air rifle shooting BOB FOTH National Paralympic Coach by the strongest competition ever with the and working with SSSF to grow our youth 719-866-4881 majority of 2012 Olympic quotas being awarded development programs and athlete talent pool. [email protected] this year. USA Shooting is excited to host our Theimer and National Paralympic Coach Bob TOM HARRIS Chief Development Officer tenth International Shooting Sport Federation Foth will also be actively involved in hosting the [email protected] (ISSF) rifle and pistol World Cup at Fort bi-annual Coaches Conference in November. DavID JOHNSON National Rifle Coach Benning, in Columbus, Ga. We look forward to That event not only offers continuing education 719-866-4630 this event as it has proven not only profitable, to our network of coaches but in conjunction, [email protected] NICOLE LEVINE but many USA Shooting Team athletes find also offers the opportunity to attend NRA-USAS Junior Olympic Program Coordinator 719-866-4882 success stateside. The ISSF World Cup USA coach certification courses. The Level III shotgun [email protected] will be hosted May 14 to 23 with the help of the coach course is being finalized and will become SERGEY LUZOV Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau, available later this year as well. Please watch for National Pistol Coach 719-866-4615 Valley Hospitality and U.S. Army Marksmanship announcements and more information on the [email protected] Unit, all of whom have been excellent partners. coach college and certification courses on the KATIE MCGINTY Media & Public Relations Manager The ISSF activity schedule dictates a change website. 719-866-4896 in our USA Shooting National Championships. Another exciting development is the [email protected] The shotgun championship will now be hosted implementation of our gifts program. While ROBERT MITCHELL Chief Executive Officer in June at the International Shooting Park establishing a formal gifts endeavor has been a 719-866-4899 [email protected] in Colorado Springs and the rifle and pistol priority for some years, this effort has come to NICHOLE RAE nationals will be held in July at Fort Benning. realization with the hiring of Tom Harris as the Membership & Merchandise Manager 719-866-4743 Both programs and schedules are available Chief Development Officer. Tom will work with [email protected] on the USAS website and by contacting the the USA Shooting Team Foundation and Buddy CHELSEA SPEER USA Shooting Intern Competitions Division. DuVall in implementing a program that can have 719-866-4897 As the result of growth in the shotgun a most positive impact on the future of USA [email protected] sports, we will co-host a separate national Shooting. MICHAEL THEIMER Youth Programs & Athlete Development Manager championship for the Scholastic Clay Target The activities and events mentioned above 719-866-4889 Program (SCTP) that will be followed directly are only a representation of the 2011 calendar [email protected] CORRIE WEST by the USAS Junior Olympic Shotgun National which points to a busy year for everyone involved Director, Marketing & Communications 719-866-4616 Championships with both events at the in Olympic-style shooting. We look forward to [email protected] International Shooting Park located at Fort sharing those rewarding experiences with you! KARIE WRIGHT Carson, Colo. We look forward to working Controller 719-866-4887 the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation to Editor: Katie McGinty promote and build the SCTP athlete pipeline. Designer: Katie McGinty In the early fall, the USA Shooting Team Printing: Sport Graphics Cover Photo: Tom Kimmell Contributors: Sgt. 1st Class Terri DeWitt Staff Sgt. Ryan Hadden Michael Theimer Katie McGinty USA Shooting News is published six times a year. USA Shooting is the national governing body for Olympic Shooting sports Vladimir Chichkov in the United States. USA Shooting News is produced as a service to international shooters, coaches, officials and media who Marcus Raab Sergey Luzov cover Olympic-style shooting. Shooters featured in USA Shooting News magazine may be photographed without eye protec- Bob Mitchell tion. These are posed photographs using unloaded guns and do not represent actual competiton. USA Shooting encourages JP O’Connor all shooters to use proper eye and ear protection when shooting. Inclusion of advertisements in USA Shooting does not constitiute endorsement of advertised products or services by USA Shooting, its staff or its sponsors. 4 USA Shooting News COLUMNS (Aim with AMU) Attention! thletes often ask, “How do I behavioral control (rest, set routines, control positive attitude necessary for successful keep from getting nervous in of environment). Because coping strategies are performance. Affirmations should be competition?” The answer, dynamic and fluid, successful athletes might use believable and vivid (“I have a laser-like short and sweet, is: “You one or more of these tools during the course of focus on the leading edge of each target”). don’t.” Your body is naturally a competition, depending on the situation. When used on a regular basis, both programmed to respond to threats or fear Almost all athletes use self-talk, whether self-talk and affirmation statements give Ain a certain predictable way and you the athlete a tool to use when anxiety cannot prevent it. You can, however, interferes with attention control. There are mitigate the effects of anxiety. four distinct zones of attention; as athletes, Anxiety is a natural physiological we often switch our focus between them response to fear, pain or a perceived as needed. These attention zones are as threat. It is commonly referred to as the follows: Broad Internal (e.g., analysis of “fight or flight” response and is associated a missed target), Narrow Internal (e.g., with the symptoms experienced during a feeling your finger on the trigger), Broad major competition: increased heart rate, External (e.g., attending to environmental increased blood glucose, increased blood cues) and Narrow External (e.g., seeing flow, increased respiration and pupil the leading edge of the target). All of these dilation. These physiological symptoms zones are needed at any given time, but are designed to prepare your body to keeping our attention in the right zone at engage in battle or to run from it. Yet, the right time is a challenge for most of us. our battles on the field or range are Understanding the dimensions of mostly waged in our heads as we struggle attention and different types of coping to achieve top performances during strategies will assist the athlete in putting competition. While an optimal level of together a successful plan for competition. these physiological changes is desired, too Terri DeWitt takes a moment to focus between shots at the Attention training teaches the individual much of a good thing is disruptive. 2010 USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships. how to eliminate negative thoughts and to Typically, athletes will employ one bring concentration back to the appropriate of two coping styles when faced with deliberately or not. Self-talk is a personal focal point. Because our conscious minds too much anxiety or nervousness—an dialogue in which the athlete interprets feelings, cannot give quality attention to more than approach or an avoidance style. The perceptions and convictions and gives him one demanding task at a time, recognizing approach style of coping addresses the or herself instructions and reinforcement. a negative thought and replacing it with situation directly, with an aim to problem- Obviously, for self-talk to be productive, it something such as your routine (what it solve. The avoidance style of coping is a must be positive. Cue words or phrases can specifically takes for you to execute the short-term solution that usually involves be used to key in on specific tasks (“See the shot) gives your mind one right thing to repression, disengagement or rejection of target”) or provide encouragement (“I can do focus on. emotions. this”). Concentrating on the things you can Once the negative thought is replaced Repressing feelings of nervousness control is an example of positive self-talk. with positive self-talk, the next step is to is difficult because these feelings don’t Worrying about weather, who’s on your squad center the attention internally by taking a disappear simply because they were deep breath and directing your thoughts ignored.