As I step off the ramp from the shooter’s waiting area on to the Bianchi Cup practical range, the gravel crunches under my shoes. I don’t hear it, because in my head I’m not walking to the 10 yard line to start the Bianchi Cup. In my head, I’m already there, rehearsing exactly what’s going to happen. “String 1 – draw, one each target” I think to myself. I visualize perfect little 38 Special holes in the black x-rings of the targets as I step on the line.  In the time it takes me to walk from the staging area to the 10 yard line and listen to the instructions, I’ve fired the entire stage in my head and visualized each trigger pull.

Stage planning and visualization are key parts of success in the shooting sports. While they’re more commonly associated with sports like USPSA and IDPA, incorporating them into any shooting competition will dramatically improve your performance. Visualization prior to matches is one of the principles espoused in “With Winning in Mind” by Lanny Bassham. This then becomes part of your stage planning procedure on the day of the event. Let’s go through an example of how this can play out in a match as we create a stage plan together.

Creating a Stage Plan – 2023 IDPA Nationals

I’ve been to the CMP Marksmanship Park in Talladega what feels like a million times at this point. Everything is familiar, from the parking to walking across the little bridge to get to the action shooting bays. Two weeks before the match, I started reviewing the match book to get an idea in my head of what the stages would look like. Based on the information in the stage book, I’m able to create simple plans for each stage. These plans aren’t specific, they’re “shoot six, move, reload on the move” etc. I’ll rehearse those in dry fire and then work on visualization. The visualizations are also simple; I’m imagining hitting perfect reloads, what my sight picture will look like, basic stuff. I’m also working on affirmations as part of my stage planning before the match.

Calming Nerves

In my shooting career I’ve struggled with pre-match jitters. I’ve had matches where I’m so nervous on the first stage that I’m just in survival mode trying to get through it without torpedoing my entire match right then and there. Pre-match visualization and affirmation have genuinely changed that for me. Sure, I still get nervous, but I’m not a trainwreck like I used to be. Before the 2023 IDPA Nationals, my affirmation was “you’ve been here before, and you know what to do because you’re a professional and you belong here.” May seem silly, but basically every mental coach for sports teaches their clients to do affirmations.

I arrive at the match with enough time to have a whole day free before I shoot. This means I can see the stages, and balance what they look like in the real work with my stage plan. When I’m standing there on the range by the bays, I’ll stick around each stage long enough to observe a shooter run through them, which helps me finalize my initial plan of attack. After that, I’ll head back to my hotel.

The Night Before A Match

The night before I shoot I don’t dry fire. I just visualize each stage in my head, one at a time. I can see them now, and I can imagine my front sight moving from target to target, hitting reloads, and seeing clean 38 Special holes punching through the targets.

Now it’s match day. At an IDPA match, this is the first time I’ll get to rehearse the stage, as per the rules you’re allowed one mass walk through. I can put my feet in the positions they’ll need to be and see specific target angles. Once I’ve seen all the positions, I’ll step out of the stage into the prep area, close my eyes, and visualize each shot, each position, and each reload. I want to get three perfect runs done in my head before I’m the on-deck shooter. Once I’m next up, I’m now looking at the stage again, one last time, burning in those positions and reload points.

Now I’m stepping in to the start position. I hear the safety officer say “load and make ready,” and I draw my Taurus 82. IDPA doesn’t allow air gunning or sight pictures, so as I pull a speed loader out of my back pocket to load the gun, I’m staring at the first array of targets, or the position I’m going to move to. I glance down briefly to make sure I get the speed loader in the gun, then close the cylinder. I’ll pull back the hammer slightly to allow the cylinder to free wheel, then spin it, checking for high primers or binding. While I’m doing this I’m taking one last run through the stage in my head.

My revolver clicks into its holster. I inhale deeply through my nose, hold it for a 2 count, then slowly exhale.

“Shooter ready?”

I nod slightly.

“Standby”

The timer beeps.

 

 

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