Archery coaches, little help please.

[Unicam]

My daughter is doing well in her archery exploits but has a habit of slapping the release. She draws, aims and brings her index finger around to the trigger, then pulls back fast, slapping the trigger. I have tried explaining this in several ways but am not seeming to get through. ANy ideas as to how to get her to slowly pull back and not slap. Her release is a true fire and is really sensitive, I mean it has a hair trigger and no adjustments. Do I need to get one I can add a little weight to the trigger to so she can feel the trigger? If she pulles correctly she gets a 11 or a 10, if she slaps its in the 8 or outside of that completely.

 

[infoman jr.]

I'm no coach, but I'd have her practicing her release on a piece of cord so she can separate the release from the commotion of the bow firing.

 

[Remington742]

I'm no coach either but maybe you could show her how you do it by shooting your bow and getting her to watch and see if that helps her understand or try what infoman jr. said either should work.

 

[TNDeerGuy]

There are many things you can do to help her. The first thing I would do is have her use another release where it has some pressure behind it. I don't like "hair" triggers for the reason that it induces people jumping on them because they are so sensitive and they hurry to get the shot off. Below are a couple of things you can try.

1. Have her blind bale shoot 6ft in front of a bag...put a towel over the sight, or have her close her eyes and just 100% concentrate on constantly squeezing thru the shot with someone watching/reminding her before every shot.
2. Take a 3/4" PVC pipe cut down to 8" and drill 2 holes near each end and take a bungie cord and run thru the drill holes and knot them off once they get to the desired draw length and tie a d-loop and she can practice anytime on the proper release.
3. You can buy a release like Golden Key's "The Answer" that will definitely fix her, but they are hard to find (went out of business years ago) and you 100% cannot get it to fire by punching it....they can be found on AT from time to time for $100-$175.
4. Bernie's has a "Can't Punch Release" that I've heard is like The Answer... http://www.robinhoodvideos.com/index.ph ... path=50_62
5. Get an arrow and pop her on the head every time she punches it.... That actually works...LOL

It is all mental in her head and if you can get her to the point where the last thing in her head during the shot cycle is squeezing through the shot then you are golden! I had some issues due to injury over the last couple of years that caused all kinds of problems in my shooting and I've had to retrain and reinforce my own habits to where I don't think about the shot....I think about squeezing through the shot—it's the last and only thing I think about during the shot cycle. If she doesn't get the slapping/punching under control, it can lead to a whole bunch of serious problems down the road like anticipation/confidence loss/target panic.

One more thing, some people respond better if they can visually see what they are doing. There is a phone app called "coach's eye" that you can record a video and then slow it down frame by frame. It was initially designed for baseball/softball, but I have used it many times to demonstrate. You can record her and show her either what she is doing right or wrong via slow speed video playback.

 

[lazyhubby70]

I tell kids I help to "feel" the trigger before squeezing it.....that seems to help.....

.....I explain to them that using a release is a lot like picking their nose.....you feel the nostril then pick.....you don't just jab it in....this also helps them to laugh and relax....alot of punching the trigger can be that the kids are nervous with people watching.....

 

[TNDeerGuy]

I tell kids I help to "feel" the trigger before squeezing it.....that seems to help.....

.....I explain to them that using a release is a lot like picking their nose.....you feel the nostril then pick.....you don't just jab it in....this also helps them to laugh and relax....alot of punching the trigger can be that the kids are nervous with people watching.....

What if kids are taught to not pick their nose—that method of learning then gets all boogered up. :whip: :lol:

 

[HogHvn]

Try this http://www.carterenterprises.com/releas ... /evolution

 

[breston]

You may try having her pull through the release by rotating her shoulder back instead of squeezing the trigger on the release. Have her touch the trigger with her trigger finger and apply pressure by rotating the shoulder back slowly. It is all about pull through / follow through. This eliminates slapping the trigger and punching the target.

 

[gobblinfool]

Forgive me if I repeat what someone else has already said.

1. Set the trigger so that it isnt being touched by her finger tip, but so it sits in the bend of the first joint.

2. Make the trigger tougher to go off...not a lot, but enough that she can't punch it

3. Teach her to squeeze her back muscles....pretend that she is trying to hold a dollar bill between her rhomboids (between the scapulas).

4. It will take a while, it won't be instantaneous.....but to learn how to make those back muscles fire, slight push with bow arm forward, while pulling release arm to the rear

5. You can also have her learn to shoot with her middle finger, some concept.....but tough to punch with middle finger

6. Don't set the release so tough that she cant get it to go off

7. If you have the money, buy her an evolution, which is a handheld release made by Carter.......you have to execute properly in order to make it go off!

 

[Poleaxe]

A pressure release possibly. If you pulled the bow back to fast with them and it sets it off. I didn't like it but it teaches you

 

[Toxophilite Phil]

Get a different release. Get one that is heavy on pressure. Shorten the release up to where she can get the first joint on her finger wrapped around the trigger. By doing this she really can't punch the trigger. Once she has her finger wrapped around the trigger she has to learn to relax her hand, no tension in it what so ever. Then she can start pulling with her back. DO NOT rotate your shoulder, this is just a modified way of jerking the trigger. She has to have a set order to do her shot process. Draw, aim, pull, shoot. Every step has to be in order in the beginning. Make a list and have her go by it. If any step is forgotten. Stop and start over. You have to let your subconscious take over. Once you let your thought processes into the shooting process you are asking for trouble. Like was mentioned Bernie makes a can't punch release and it does work, I have used one for at least 14 years. Also Bernie has a book Idiot proof archery that is quite helpful.

 

[Unicam]

I used a lot if not all of the advice posted. First off I put her on my flight glove release and she did much better. I filmed her on the phone and showed her what punching the trigger or slapping was. We watched several you tube vids of womens and juniors archery tournements. One thing that really helped was I had her draw and put her finger on the trigger but not allowed to release until after I counted three seconds. She was amazed at how long three seconds was after looking down the sights. I was worried this would get her shooting right at the three second count but it didnt. She averages between 2.5 and 6 seconds after I count to three. We went and got her a new release and she has tightened up her groups at 20 and 30 yards considerably. She has gotten good enough now that I have invested in bulk knocks and several packs of quick fletches. We numbered her arrows and she has her favorites. Thanks all for taking the time to help out, great advice!