Conquering New Equipment

For a variety of reasons I was not planning on doing any of the indoor world cups this year, however, at the last-minute I made a quick change of plans and decided to head to Thailand for the second stage in the indoor circuit. I had only had my new bow in hand for about 2.5 weeks, so I knew I couldn’t expect too much…but I’m a competitive person and hate to lose, so that was easier said then done.

I’ve always been someone who takes awhile to pick things up, so changing bows was a BIG deal for me. Although I was confident long run in my choice in going with Hoyt, I was definitely not tournament ready for Bangkok. I arrived more nervous at this tournament then I ever remember being at one.

I didn’t just want to do well for myself, but I also wanted to prove to Hoyt they made the right decision in signing me. Basically, I didn’t want to let them down by not performing my best.

Practice day was pretty typical for me, but when qualification day came around I was EXTREMELY nervous. I literally was shaking on the shooting line and had trouble getting my pin to settle down. The first two ends I was fighting so hard against my nerves, yet I managed to open with two 30s. I then began to relax and unfortunately my shooting went the other direction. I struggled most of the day, just not knowing where my shots were going.

I was lucky, however, and managed to tie for 2nd with Toja, who was also shooting the same new equipment as me. I had a bye into the next day, so I didn’t have to shoot any matches that evening. The next morning we started in the 1/8ths, where I was able to breeze into the next round, after taking an early lead in the match.

My next match was against a girl who had shot a miss during qualification (I didn’t know this at the time, but was told after). Had she not shot the miss, she would have been in 2nd, meaning she was a tougher competitor then her rank signaled. My first arrow of the match was a 7! Anyone who shoots compound knows that with cumulative scoring, you are done after shooting a 7, especially indoor with no wind. I took a minute to clear my head, and then told myself I was determined to win the match with a 7, just so I could say I did it.

I battled back and shot well the rest of the match (tying my score from my first match) and taking the win. Now I had to face Toja in the semi finals to see who would go on to the gold match (loser would go to bronze). I know both of us were having our ups and downs with the new equipment, neither of us feeling 100% adjusted to the new bow, however, we are both fierce competitors, so I knew it would be a tight battle.

I started the match up, but Toja quickly closed the gap, shooting a couple perfect 30s in a row. In the final end, I again shot a 7, opening the door and allowing her to take the win by two points. I was pretty upset, but I knew what caused my bad shots. Also, I knew I couldn’t dwell on it bc I still had the bronze match to shoot in. I was able to regroup and stay in the yellow for that match, bringing home a 3rd place at my first tournament with the new bow.

I was disappointed yes, but I also knew it was a step in the right direction. I had learned some stuff about my new equipment, and I had things I could take home and work on. I knew I had to do this quickly though bc I would only be home a couple of days before heading to Team Trials in Michigan, hoping to make the Indoor World Championship team.