by Hap Rocketto
Perhaps one of the most important tool in the shooter’s kit is the diary. A diary’s importance is based on two facts: shooting is a sport that requires consistency and the human memory is not 100% perfect. The diary serves as a readily available reference to mental, physical, and mechanical events in the shooter’s life. The events recorded in the diary serves as a baseline of information for the shooter. From this documented base the shooter may experiment and be assured that a return to the original condition is possible. This allows the shooter the maximum amount of freedom in seeking change to improve performance. The shooter is free of the fear of losing something that works.
The fact that a shooter must think about what is being done and then write it down is one of the diary’s most important facets. By writing down events the shooter is forced into thinking about the events in a deeper and more insightful manner than just talking about them. The additional thought and time spent often makes new avenues of approach to a problem appear. The diary is a bit like dry firing in that, if it is done with intensity, it enhances performance. The format is up to the writer. I write performance factors on the right hand side page of my diary, and scores are put on the left hand page. My reasoning is that I don’t want to confuse score with performance and by keeping them apart physically I keep them apart mentally. I feel that I must record scores so that I have a yardstick for measurement purposes in training and competition and that I have a way to check the scoreboard.
In my diary I record all aspects of shooting. If a shooting related event occurs on a non-shooting day I enter it. It might be the cleaning of gear, the purchase of new equipment, or sending a match entry. What ever it is it goes into the diary as it helps me to think about my shooting. The one critical thing to remember is to read your diary! You can write all you want but if you don’t take advantage of your recorded memory than it is of no value to you.
