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Below is a copy of my Jan 2007 column in Trap and Field.
Let's try a different approach and instead of getting emotional everyone analyze the rec's a piece at a time and figure out if anything is acceptable or tweak able to be acceptable.
For example I know that MANDATORY REDUCTIONS which is mentioned below is not acceptable so that would fall under the NFW (NFW = NO F'ing Way)category
The handicap system – one more time
I first ventured into this topic in December 1999 then updated in October 2001 and here it is January 2007 and for some reason I skipped ’03 and ’05.
As I have traveled the country both shooting and teaching I have heard enough “grumbling amongst the troops” to figure there is sufficient interest (discontent) to warrant further analysis and discussion. This comment comes directly from the 1999 article and what is interesting to me is that nothing has changed except that perhaps the grumbling is worse than it was in 1999 or maybe it is not worse but more visible as a result of the internet.
So this months article will be directly “stolen” from the two previous articles with any new thoughts I have thrown in to stir the pot. Previous articles quoted actual statistics for the currently available average books. I will not use the exact current ones because like usual I am past the deadline and don’t have time to do it and make the article work. Plus and this is what is amazing to me is that things are actually not a whole lot different. The numbers change very little.
There is a major problem with our handicap system. There are some 27 yard shooters that are very proficient at the 27 and are under-handicapped. There are some sandbaggers that have figured out how to beat the system and are under-handicapped. If you add these two groups together you probably get to a number that is probably as high as a whopping ½ of one percent of the total shooters shooting ATA competitions.
Over 50% percent of the ATA shooters probably never get more than a 1 yard punch in their “competitive shooting life”. What is even more telling is the fact that when you look at the annual statistics it doesn’t tell you how many shooters quit after a year or two or three that never got past the 20 yard line. If you could do some type of dynamic time series and would look the number of shooters over a 5 year period that were truly non-competitive and non-punched it would astound you. I think that it could easily exceed 80 percent.
Now look at the above two paragraphs and tell me where logic would dictate that by focusing all of our attention on the problematic ½ of one percent is going to do anything at all to help the 80+% that cannot compete. If you kill the scores of the top tier of shooters you are still going to lose shooters every year by the droves and that 50 percent of the shooters that cannot hit a bull in the butt with a base fiddle at handicap distances will continue to miss targets by the bushel basket full. We need to figure out how to help shooters get competitive.
Continually “allowing” shooters to get “cheap” punches compounds the problem and causes the recipient of the cheap punch problems that he/she is not even aware of.
I am not trying to insult any shooter or groups of shooters so some of my comments that may sound disrespectful are not intended that way only trying to make my points. Also anytime you try to change a system if you only “tweak” on the fringes you will only change the fringe of the system and never truly get to a solution.
Based on my observations at shoots and clinics there are far too many shooters over handicapped than under handicapped. Standing too far back and missing targets is not the way to learn how to break good scores. To quote one of my good friends who also happens to be a great shot “you will learn much more when you practice hitting them than you ever will by practicing missing them”. He is 125% correct. When you are standing far enough back that you are constantly breaking scores in the low 80’s and below you are heading for mental problems with your 16 yard scores if you are not already there.
There is another group that do get beyond the 21 that are also problematic. They have run into the wall so to speak. By that I mean they either went back so quick either on soft targets and automatic punches or some variation there of that they finally get to the point that they are absolutely non competitive. Instead of taking a reduction they try to get over it and never do. Especially when they go to a real shoot with real targets and get their asses handed to them. Then there is one more group that is causing part of the problem. That is the “elite group” of 27 yard shooters that have about the same chance of winning the power ball as they do of breaking a winning handicap score at a major shoot. As much as most shooters do not want to admit it there is a significant change at the 27 yard line that many shooters will never be able to handle. The above mentioned groups are a victim of their own pride and are killing themselves score-wise by refusing reductions.
On more than one occasion I have seen someone that is a solid AA singles shooter get to the 27, refuse reductions, not handle the 27 and end up in a slump that takes them down to a B/C class at the 16 yard line. When this happens the next stop is usually out of the game.
If I were “dictator for a day” I would :
Make the 17 yard line the minimum. All new shooters would start at the 19 (juniors and ladies 17) and earn their way back or forward.
Change the 1000 target review to 700 to make reductions easier to acquire.
Do away with automatic punches for 96’s and 97’s.
Change the earned yardage table to make it harder to get a yard especially at small shoots. Never give a punch for less than 50 or 75 shooters.
Give a mandatory 2.5 yard reduction to every ATA shooter except the group of 27 yard shooters that are effective such as All Americans (Men’s and First Team Ladies only) and Handicap specialists ( e.g. known sandbaggers and great 27 yard shots that have not made the All American team).
Add the 28 yard line. This one yard would be a bigger change and have a bigger impact on the problematic ½ of one percent than most realize and would be much easier to accommodate for more clubs i.e. it is doable.
Make reductions mandatory.
Make all non competitive shooters take a clinic (that’s a joke). We do need to figure out ways to help shooters score better.
DUCK and never show my face in public till after one whole year of this experiment.
Let's try a different approach and instead of getting emotional everyone analyze the rec's a piece at a time and figure out if anything is acceptable or tweak able to be acceptable.
For example I know that MANDATORY REDUCTIONS which is mentioned below is not acceptable so that would fall under the NFW (NFW = NO F'ing Way)category
The handicap system – one more time
I first ventured into this topic in December 1999 then updated in October 2001 and here it is January 2007 and for some reason I skipped ’03 and ’05.
As I have traveled the country both shooting and teaching I have heard enough “grumbling amongst the troops” to figure there is sufficient interest (discontent) to warrant further analysis and discussion. This comment comes directly from the 1999 article and what is interesting to me is that nothing has changed except that perhaps the grumbling is worse than it was in 1999 or maybe it is not worse but more visible as a result of the internet.
So this months article will be directly “stolen” from the two previous articles with any new thoughts I have thrown in to stir the pot. Previous articles quoted actual statistics for the currently available average books. I will not use the exact current ones because like usual I am past the deadline and don’t have time to do it and make the article work. Plus and this is what is amazing to me is that things are actually not a whole lot different. The numbers change very little.
There is a major problem with our handicap system. There are some 27 yard shooters that are very proficient at the 27 and are under-handicapped. There are some sandbaggers that have figured out how to beat the system and are under-handicapped. If you add these two groups together you probably get to a number that is probably as high as a whopping ½ of one percent of the total shooters shooting ATA competitions.
Over 50% percent of the ATA shooters probably never get more than a 1 yard punch in their “competitive shooting life”. What is even more telling is the fact that when you look at the annual statistics it doesn’t tell you how many shooters quit after a year or two or three that never got past the 20 yard line. If you could do some type of dynamic time series and would look the number of shooters over a 5 year period that were truly non-competitive and non-punched it would astound you. I think that it could easily exceed 80 percent.
Now look at the above two paragraphs and tell me where logic would dictate that by focusing all of our attention on the problematic ½ of one percent is going to do anything at all to help the 80+% that cannot compete. If you kill the scores of the top tier of shooters you are still going to lose shooters every year by the droves and that 50 percent of the shooters that cannot hit a bull in the butt with a base fiddle at handicap distances will continue to miss targets by the bushel basket full. We need to figure out how to help shooters get competitive.
Continually “allowing” shooters to get “cheap” punches compounds the problem and causes the recipient of the cheap punch problems that he/she is not even aware of.
I am not trying to insult any shooter or groups of shooters so some of my comments that may sound disrespectful are not intended that way only trying to make my points. Also anytime you try to change a system if you only “tweak” on the fringes you will only change the fringe of the system and never truly get to a solution.
Based on my observations at shoots and clinics there are far too many shooters over handicapped than under handicapped. Standing too far back and missing targets is not the way to learn how to break good scores. To quote one of my good friends who also happens to be a great shot “you will learn much more when you practice hitting them than you ever will by practicing missing them”. He is 125% correct. When you are standing far enough back that you are constantly breaking scores in the low 80’s and below you are heading for mental problems with your 16 yard scores if you are not already there.
There is another group that do get beyond the 21 that are also problematic. They have run into the wall so to speak. By that I mean they either went back so quick either on soft targets and automatic punches or some variation there of that they finally get to the point that they are absolutely non competitive. Instead of taking a reduction they try to get over it and never do. Especially when they go to a real shoot with real targets and get their asses handed to them. Then there is one more group that is causing part of the problem. That is the “elite group” of 27 yard shooters that have about the same chance of winning the power ball as they do of breaking a winning handicap score at a major shoot. As much as most shooters do not want to admit it there is a significant change at the 27 yard line that many shooters will never be able to handle. The above mentioned groups are a victim of their own pride and are killing themselves score-wise by refusing reductions.
On more than one occasion I have seen someone that is a solid AA singles shooter get to the 27, refuse reductions, not handle the 27 and end up in a slump that takes them down to a B/C class at the 16 yard line. When this happens the next stop is usually out of the game.
If I were “dictator for a day” I would :
Make the 17 yard line the minimum. All new shooters would start at the 19 (juniors and ladies 17) and earn their way back or forward.
Change the 1000 target review to 700 to make reductions easier to acquire.
Do away with automatic punches for 96’s and 97’s.
Change the earned yardage table to make it harder to get a yard especially at small shoots. Never give a punch for less than 50 or 75 shooters.
Give a mandatory 2.5 yard reduction to every ATA shooter except the group of 27 yard shooters that are effective such as All Americans (Men’s and First Team Ladies only) and Handicap specialists ( e.g. known sandbaggers and great 27 yard shots that have not made the All American team).
Add the 28 yard line. This one yard would be a bigger change and have a bigger impact on the problematic ½ of one percent than most realize and would be much easier to accommodate for more clubs i.e. it is doable.
Make reductions mandatory.
Make all non competitive shooters take a clinic (that’s a joke). We do need to figure out ways to help shooters score better.
DUCK and never show my face in public till after one whole year of this experiment.
