While there are many frustrating things about this silly game we call sporting clays, where you try to break a 40-cent target flying across the sky with a 30-cent cartridge before it breaks when it hits the ground, most of them are self-induced. They are by and large caused by the shooter’s expectations being greater than their commitment to achieve those expectations. And the better you get, the greater the commitment must be to continue to get better.
Gil was at a lesson sitting in a clays car years ago with Craig Hill, at the time when Tiger Woods made his debut on the tournament circuit. Tiger was dominating everything, and the whole sports community could talk of nothing else.
“Don’t you think Tiger is just one of those phenoms who will dominate the game forever,” Craig asked, “because he is just a natural which makes him so good?”
“No,” Gil said. “I believe that his presence in the game will bring about a whole new group of golfers who will take their games to the next level through hard work and a greater commitment and dedication to improve.”
The rest is history.
The great pitcher Nolan Ryan said, “Champions stay
on top by being willing to improve.”
Tiger Woods said, “My opponents may outscore me, but they will never
outwork me!”
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said, “We are all creatures of habit, and the better your habits
are, the better they hold up under pressure.”
These are just a few of the phrases we have come across while coaching shooters, golfers, fishermen, and coaches of different sports on three continents over the past 25 years.
Another story that comes to mind is Michael Jordan, who was cut from his high school basketball team the first time he tried out. If you study his journey to elite performance, you will find that without exception, all of his coaches said that his work ethic was ten times better than anyone else.
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