Attention to Detail

by Hap Rockettto

Years ago at the start of my first war, I was a Naval Aviation Officer Candidate. I was much younger, somewhat slimmer, and, in the words of Roberto Valdez, “I didn’t know no better.” Under the tender ministrations of a cadre of U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructors I became an expert at doing push-ups. There is a spot in front of building 603 at the Pensacola Naval Air Station that looks like Graumman’s Chinese Restaurant’s sidewalk because the imprints of my hands are still in the concrete.

The sin that seemed to keep me perpetually in the front leaning rest position pushing away Pensacola was that I lacked, according to Staff Sergeant A.W. Myers USMC, “attention to detail.”

A shooting match is made up of thousands of small happenings. Each one is important. Yet we tend not to think of what is happening as a series of very discrete steps towards success. Rather we view things as being more global. Each step in the integrated act of shooting requires attention to the tiniest of details. When we first begin to shoot we spend a good deal of time aware of the actions. After much practice many of the actions become second nature and only become noticeable when they are not done correctly. Attention to detail and consistency are the keys to success in the shooting sports.

The concentration on the details is what will make a match performance outstanding, not necessarily a winner. You cannot control the competition because you can only effect your own performance. What you must do is concentrate on each aspect of your performance. This intense concentration will make you feel that the match is happening more slowly. As a result your actions will be clearer to you. By breaking down the match into its smallest elements and concentrating on those elements you bring consistency to your performance. By concentrating on the individual elements – taking the match into sharp focus and before you know it the match is done. Quite possibly you might have not won but you may have turned in a personal best performance.

“Attention to detail!” still echoes through the passageways of my memory. Although I didn’t know it or appreciate it then SSG Myers gentle concern for my well being has paid off handsome dividends in my shooting.