Ancient History

This was the update/status page from 2001-2008, when essentially all development halted on the site. I was very involved in actual coaching and had just wrapped up my time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. All links have been removed. This is more of a nostalgia piece than anything else.

September 3rd, 2008: What the heck happened to the last three years on this website? I’ve been busy and doing all sorts of great things in the world of shooting. In fact, I just came back from coaching at the Olympics in Beijing. It was a dream come true and I learned a lot. I also spent some time at a Chinese shooting training facility. That was educational as well. Last year, I received my ISSF “C” License Pistol Coaching credentials. Again, I learned. I’m looking at the website and thinking, the material is good, but it can use a face lift and some re-writes. I also have GBs of video, which should really be uploaded into the Analysis section. Outside of shooting and coaching, I’ve just returned to university (part-time) for adult education, which supports my coaching goals and my job as a corporate trainer. Everything fits together, but I need to find some time to make the connections apparent.

So many projects and so little time. Hopefully, I can get this old place spruced up, to showcase what I’ve learned.

August 20th, 2005: I am very much behind on updates to the site and this “What’s New” page. I offer my apologies and hope that you can forgive me. In compensation, I’ve added some pictures of the Walther SSP in the Picture Gallery (under the Match Pictures section), their new standard pistol. Very cool. The Competition Arms Rating system was taken offline because I want to ensure adequate screening on the site. The response intake works, but the client output is in question. I need to work on that.

Offline in the real world, I’m coaching a lot, with both the Canadian National Pistol Team as an assistant coach and as the head coach of the Ontario Junior Pistol Team. Both groups are fine individuals, and I’m learning a great deal from them. I’m taking some coaching courses, as well as some documentation courses. My career path has changed for the better and now I am a corporate trainer and documentation specialist. I really like the new challenges and feel they fit better with my passion which is coaching. Life, as they say, is good. While the last 6-8 months have been busy, the next 6-8 will be insane. I will endeavour to add some updates (i.e. new video footage) and content. Sorry: no promises as to when.

December 26th, 2004: I have the basics of a Competition Arms Rating System available online. I’ve tried to balance the rating of the gun in question versus the experience the person rating it. I just didn’t want it to be too intrusive. Essentially, I strove for simplicity. Go to the Competition Arms Database, select the category, then from the list presented, select “Rank this Item (test only)”. Fill out all answers please. Currently, the system updates the database with your rating. Then, I review the rating for content to make sure that it is for real, which allows the results to be displayed. Currently, there is no viewable output. I have to code this still. Give me some data to work with. I may have to blow away the data submitted, so you may get another opportunity to rate the guns again. If you’d like to test it out, feel free. Send me an email with your thoughts.

November 25th, 2004: Reading, reading, reading. The only thing better than reading is shooting. And if you can read about shooting, you have the best of both worlds. I’ve been doing looks of reading lately, so I thought that I would update my Bibliography Section. It’s been extensively updated for your education.

August 29th, 2004: While being the International standard, not everyone has access to electronic targets. Here is a page dedicated to electronic targets, what they look like, plus some photos which show how they look from the back. Visit the Coaching Section to see the link for electronic targets.

August 28th, 2004: In celebration of Canadian Susan Nattrass’ fifth Olympic Games, I’ve uploaded some footage and pictures that I took of her at the 2004 Athens World Cup. Visit the Coaching Section and the Video Theatre Section for all of the files.

August 24th, 2004: Due to increased demand, I have set all of the files in the Theatre for download, as opposed to streaming video. You will still need to have RealOne Player installed on your system to view the footage. I have neither the time, nor the interest in recreating the files into another format. Visit the Coaching Section and the Video Theatre Section for all of the files.

August 15th, 2004: Ukrainian Olena Kostevych, at 19 years of age, claims her first Olympic Gold Medal in Women’s Air Pistol at the 2004 Athens’ Olympics. I have some footage from the Athens World Cup back in April 2004. Visit the Coaching Section for all of the files.

August 14th, 2004: In recognition of Wang Yifu’s Olympic Gold Medal Win at the Athens’ Olympics today, I’ve added footage and stills of Yifu’s performane from an earlier event. Check out the Coaching Section for all of the files.

August 3rd, 2004:To reduce the strong bias towards pistol shooters, I’ve added footage and photos of Slovakia’s Jozef Gonci to the Coaching Section. I cannot offer any insight into his technique, but I can show you some footage. Additionally, I have added my Annual Training Plan Overview to the Document Library Section. I had to put an annual training plan together for Avianna for my NCCP Level 3 Coaching Theory. I decided to create a summary of Mental, Physical and Technical Training Goals, based on the various phases of the year, which I used to guide the development of my detailed plan. While created for a pistol shooter, the overview can be applied to any shooting athlete.

July 20th, 2004: I’ve just added photos and video of France’s Franck Dumoulin to the Coaching Section, in addition to the updated material on Mikhail Nestruev. More files available in the upcoming weeks.

July 19th, 2004: I’ve been taking pictures and shooting video at a couple of events over the past two years. I’ve learned alot from observation, so I decided to make a few compilations and make them available here. If you look in my Coaching Section, you’ll find the start of this work with Mikhail Nestruev. I hope to produce more files as the come along.

June 13th, 2004: We’re approaching the 20th Anniversary of the Inaugural Olympic Ladies’ 25m Pistol Match and Canadian Linda Thom’s subsequent Gold Medal. I’ve been doing some research and came upon an interview, detailing how Linda prepared for the competition. The article, which I’ve titled Linda Thom – Psyched! is an excerpt from Dr. Terry Orlick’s book, PSYCHED: Inner Views of Winning. This article and several others can be found at Dr. Orlick’s Zone of Excellence website.

April 28th, 2004: There are some pictures and results posted for the Athens’ ISSF World Cup 2004 now on the site. More info to come!

March 2nd, 2004: There are some pictures and results posted for the Canadian Airgun Grand Prix now on the site.

December 29thst, 2003: The year is rapidly drawing to an end. I have some projects underway and work (that ugly affair which pays rent, puts food on the table and acquires sporting equipment), so I haven’t updated the site lately. Well, fortune favours the persistent. In May 2003 at the USA World Cup, I had the opportunity to meet Tom Redhead, the UK National Pistol Coach. We talked about how hot it was in the oven which the people in Georgia mistook for an airgun range. Later, while surfing the net, I came upon a couple of good articles which he had written. Unfortunately, they were well hidden on the internet and might not get the exposure they deserve. As such, I wanted to get ahold of him to ask if I could post them. A mutual friend, David Levene (UK centrefire coach), passed along Tom’s email address. Well, permission came along today. The articles are: Introduction to Mental Training,  Dry Firing Advice from a National Coach, and  Training Plans (Verbal Notes). I’d made a few minor edits from the original documents. These articles, plus many more, can be found in the Documents (PDF) section.

October 1st, 2003: The first month’s results for the database-driven Postal Match System have gone on-line promptly today in the early morning. Results look good and they were published FAST!!!!!! I like the system and hope that everyone else does as well. Considering it takes less than 5 minutes to publish the results online, and links out to the Competition Arms Database, and will remember your basic information (assuming that your browser has JavaScript and cookies enabled), you should love it too!

September 25th, 2003: Its been a long-time in the works but we now have a database-driven Postal Match System. What does this mean for you? Well, you can link your target gun directly to the Competition Arms Database. More importantly, it will allow match results to be posted VERY quickly on the first day of the month. Lastly, as time progresses, we will be able to present some basic statistics for participants, if they desire. Try it out and let me know what you think. Thank Avie for this great addition!!!!

August 18th, 2003: Here’s an update and I think you’ll like this one: new video footage! Check out the Streaming Video Theatre where you’ll see footage of Daryl Szarenski (USA – Free Pistol), Sharon Bowes (CAN – 3-P Rifle), Mauricio Mingone (BRA – Running Target) and Julio Molina (ESA – Rapid Fire Pistol). Avie competed at her first multi-sport games and did fantastically. She took lots of footage and photos. We’re still sorting through all of it and hope to post the remainder soon.

July 22nd, 2003: The Canadian Nationals (both pistol and rifle) are over and Canadian shooters are taking a little breather. Many athletes are gearing up for the Pan Am Games, so some will be resting less than others. I attended the Pistol Championships in Edmonton and you can see some pictures and read the results on my 2003 Canadian National Pistol Championships page. I am very pleased to say that Avianna Chao, my girlfriend and co-host of TargetShooting Canada, successfully defended her title as Canadian National Sport Pistol Champion. Congratulations to her and to all of the other competitors who participated.

June 12th, 2003: The TSC Postal Scores for May 2003 are now available. It’s good to see that we have some international athletes joining us. Honest: I’m not putting in scores because of my elbow!

May 25th, 2003: For several months, I have been working half-heartedly on a Competition Arms Database, detailing many currently available pistols and their technical specifications. My thanks to Philippe Beauverd (of Switzerland) who unknowingly inspired me to get it finished and provided me with some missing information. This is a work in progress, so expect a few changes as we move forward. Additionally, I will be adding smallbore and air rifles. I just haven’t spent enough time researching them and now I have the time. Please bear with me. Consequently, if you see an error or an omission, please contact me: your feedback is appreciated.

May 15th, 2003: The TSC Postal Scores for April 2003 are now available. I did shoot a couple of matches last month; but, I treated them as physiotherapy instead of practice or matches. As such, I didn’t post my scores. Real physiotherapy for my arm is supposed to start next week, so maybe I’ll be on the firing line soon.

I’ve also added 2 video files: Abhinav Bindra and Mikhail Nestruev at the USA World Cup 2003. You’ll find them in Streaming Video Theatre.

May 14th, 2003: I’m testing streaming video. Please visit Test Streaming Video Theatre and let me know your thoughts.

May 12th, 2003: Remember the Canadian Airgun Grand Prix, back in February? Seems I had forgotten to post some of the pictures that I took. As such, CAPG 2003 Misc. Photos have been posted. Sorry for the delay.

May 11th, 2003: I’ve just returned from the USA World Cup in Fort Benning, Georgia, and posted a few Misc. Photos. I’ve taken a lot of different photos and some video as well. I hope to put some of this up soon, over the next week or two.

April 14th, 2003: I’ve added the TSC Postal Scores for March 2003. Once again, the scores look great and many thanks to all the participants for getting out there and shooting.

Speaking of shooting, last month I broke my shooting arm in a stupid fall. After 4 very, VERY long weeks, I finally was able to pick up a pistol and not scream. Ok: half of the first 10 shots fired missed the page. I’d rather be shooting and missing than not shooting at all. After a few more outings, I am now able to shoot a 40 shot air match and most of a standard pistol match. I can hardly hold up the gun by the time I finish, but I can see the progression. With luck, I should be at a weekend match at the end of the month. Thank you to everyone who sent encouragement and condolences: it was appreciated.

March 27th, 2003: I’ve created a Pistol Group Analysis chart. While similar to the Pistol Shot Error Analysis Document, this document (found in Documents (PDF) section) focusses on groups of shots as opposed to single shots.

February 24th, 2003: I’ve added a few events to the TargetShooting Canada Postal Match. They are as follows:

• 10m Air Pistol Standard (Rapid) 40 Shots
• 10m Air Pistol Five Target (Rapid) 40 Shots
• 20YD Prone Sporting Rifle – 60 Shots

A few people were shooting these, so I decided to add the items on the Postal Match Entry Form. Let me know if there are any other standard events which you’d like to see added.

February 18th, 2003: I ran a poll a short while ago, and asked if people were using shot plans. Unfortunately, 44% responded saying that they didn’t know what a shot plan was. Well, have no fear. I’ve written a brief introduction to shot plans, entitled Developing A Shot Plan, which describes the benefits and process for creating one. It is found within the Training section. I’ll probably be doing some work on Match Plans next.

February 3rd, 2003: I came across the JROTC Textbook online, which has a chapter devoted to rifle marksmanship. It covers topics from the history of marksmanship to the three rifle positions to competitions. The JROTC Marksmanship Chapter can be found in the Technical – Manuals sub-section, along with several other manuals.

January 30th, 2003: I’ve made a few changes, most of which are cosmetic. The one of interest is the Firearm Glossary. It’s in part from the Canadian Firearms Centre and will eventually have more terms added to it as time passes. Part of becoming an expert is learning to speak the language and know the related terms. I hope that you this helps you on your way.

January 28th, 2003: We have a large match coming up, so I thought that I’d get the “Finals” commands set up in MP3 format. These are the commands for 10m and 50m pistol finals. They can also be used for air rifle. I hope that the file comes in handy. This file will be found in the Match Finals Training subsection, which is beneath the Technical – Pistol section.

January 4th, 2003: Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2002 was a good year for everyone, with goals met and made. If you haven’t made a New Year’s Resolution yet, then you may want to consider focusing on your shooting diary. If you look at the Technical Training – Shooting Diary section, you’ll find information on what to put into your shooting diary, how to use it, plus a sample page (in Adobe PDF format.) A shooting diary really is the one piece of equipment which you cannot afford to be without. Make and keep a resolution to keep it up to date.

December 5th, 2002: I’ve added two more booklets to the Document Section, one for new shooters, and another for people who want to become range officers. Produced by the New Zealand Pistol Association, there is the Introduction to Pistol Shooting and the Club Level Range Officer Manual. Both are quite well produced and should be of benefit to you and your club.

November 25th, 2002:The Ontario Pistol Team held a training camp over the weekend of Nov. 23/24th, with their new coach, Richard Horne. One of his handouts detailed a plan which was successful for him when he was an international shooting athlete.This Strength Training Plan can be found in the Documents section. More info will be made available, as I transcribe them.

November 17th, 2002: I’ve found a couple of documents that may be of interest to anybody who works with juniors, coaching them in air pistol. The first is Pennsylvania 4-H Shooting Sports Guide (24 pages) and the second is the accompanying Leader’s Guide. The booklets explain firearm safety, basic terminology, parts of the air pistol, and even has a crossword/word search. It is a very good text which I think would be a great addition to any junior air pistol program. These are located in the Documents Section, along with several other files.

Additionally, I’ve created an MP3 file (10sec_rapid.mp3) which is a 10 second Rapid Fire aide. It gives the standard “Attention” command and a start tone. On each subsequent tone, you (dry) fire a shot. It works along the same principle as a metronome for a pianist, helping you develop rhythm. This file, along with instructions on it’s use, can be found in the Standard Pistol Match Exercises section, under the “Rapid Fire Firing Procedure” subsection.

November 12th, 2002: I’ve compiled some photos, results, a reports from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. Contributors include Rob Stubbs, Graham Skelly and Mo Johnson. I still need to add some better captions and properly identify all of the athletes. BUT, better to put it up now than never.

November 1st, 2002: Keith Stieb and I have been talking about working on a central location for For Sale/Want Ads. He posted one through the Saskatchewan Handgun Association website, and invited me to link to it. Well, I really did mean to do it several months ago, but I’ve been SWAMPED!!!! Ok, so it took me less than 5 minutes, but that’s besides the point.

The link (SHA For Sale & Want Ads) is available at the bottom of the navbar to the left, as well as this SHA For Sale & Want Ads link. If everyone puts it to use, then we will have a great success. If not, don’t blame us for trying. Thanks go out to Keith of the SHA for putting this together.

October 16th, 2002: The postal match needed some re-vamping and as such, I’ve created a Postal Match Entry Form. You’ll be able to enter the data for your postal scores from this one stop form. Once you hit the SEND button, I will receive an email in a nice easy to read format.

October 3rd, 2002: I’ve been working on my annual plan over the last few weeks, and one component that was missing was physical training, especially in the area of aerobic endurance. As such, I started to look into what I needed to do to improve my fitness. I decided upon running. I’ve incorporated a Beginner’s Plan for Running and Walking. You’ll find it within the Physical Training section. It’s a work in progress; but, the main body is there.

August 13th, 2002: The award banquet photos from the 2002 Canadian National Pistol Championships are finally up. Follow the link to the Nationals pictures. From there, you’ll find links to Shooting photos and also the Awards Banquet. If you received an award at the banquet, you’ll find your picture there.

August 5th, 2002: I’ve started putting up some of the information from the 2002 Canadian National Pistol Championships. Follow the link from the Picture Gallery. So far, I have posted all of the shooting related photos. The awards banquet still has to be re-sized and optimized. They should be done within the week. Enjoy them!

July 16th, 2002:We made it: TargetShooting Canada is now officially 1 Year old! If you’re one of the 240 people who visited my site in its first month of July 2001, I hope that you’ve approved of all the changes that have taken place. If you’re among the other 23,284 who’ve come by since, thank you very much for dropping by.

As you may well guess, I’m kinda proud of TargetShooting Canada. This is a non-commercial hobby site that cost a bit in cash (well, maybe a tad more than a bit) and lots of time (understatement *s*). The hard part has been deciding what would be appropriate content. My belief was that if it interested me, then probably it would interest other shooters. Then came the content research and development: reading, courses, coaching, getting coached, asking questions, and then writing, re-writing and then re-writing some more. Luckily, there are a lot of good people and material out there, so being persistent and creative carried me through.

Next came the technical issues: how to get a site set-up, dealing with webhosts, web design, working out what I want and what I can do in HTML. Lotsa fun. I work with computers for a living and I spend way too much time on the internet. None-the-less, this project was a technical eye-opener. Luckily, Avianna is an engineer and a web developer. She would come in, answer questions and make suggestions every time I hit a roadblock. Yes, the site is mine, but Avie has definitely made critical contributions. She deserves a good amount of praise. And of course, let me say a special thank you for the monthly postal match run by J.P. Paloux: your enthusiasm and hard work is appreciated.

So, from TargetShooting Canada’s first year, here’s some stats of what we’ve done:

Key Website Statistics	Totals To Date Since July 2001
Hits for Home Page	31,056
Hits for Entire Site	613,332
Number of Page Views (Impressions)	194,406
Unique Users (number of different computers visiting TSC)	23,484
Unique Users Visited 2+ Times	4,264
Average Session (Visit) Length	6 minutes and 43 seconds

 

Top 5 Files Downloaded	Total Downloads To Date Since July 2001
Pistol Shot Error Analysis Document	2,769
Bassham Seminar Notes: “Mastering the Mental Game” Seminar	2,731
Essentials of Pistol Sighting	2,214
Men’s Air Pistol Event and Training Overview	2,157
Shooter Fault Terms and Definitions	1,848

So, let’s see what we can do over the next year. Feel free to contribute, as many of you already do. Send in ideas for sections/articles and weekly polls. Post questions and replies in the message board. Send in pictures of yourselves enjoying our sport. Let’s put the space to good use. Until then, good shooting, everyone.

July 12th, 2002: Well, in 4 days TargetShooting Canada hits it’s First Anniversary! I’ll be uploading some stats on what has taken place on the site over the last year. Additionally, I’ve added a Weekly Poll on the home page. Its setup to allow one vote per computer attaching to the site (uses cookies – sorry.) You can participate in the surveys, plus view the current and past results. Contact me if you have any poll ideas.

July 2nd, 2002: Avie and I competed at the Ontario Provincial Handgun Championships this weekend. It was held in London, Ontario at the Crumlin Sportsmen’s Association. The facilities are great and the people holding the match are friendly and helpful. I couldn’t have had a better time. Additionally, I received some photos from Thomas Yeung from the RA Gun Club in Ottawa. You will find both sets of pictures on these events in the Picture Gallery.

June 25th, 2002: Finally, I put some of the photos from my shooting trip to the 2002 Swiss Open in the Picture Gallery, held in Pfäffikon, Switzerland. I took several pictures of the ranges and electronic targets, in addition to some of the sights. There is even a picture with 3 Swiss yodellers sitting behind a mound of Toblerone: it doesn’t get more Swiss than that! I hope that you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed the match.

June 17th, 2002: Today, the members of the 2002 Canadian National Women’s Hockey Team were reunited for the first time since winning in Salt Lake City four months ago. I was there with my camera and a pen for autographs.

June 16th, 2002: Moving and working have been taking up way too much of my time over the last couple of months. I’ve been to my first international competition as well. Consequently, the site has been a little slow. I hope that you’ll bear with me, as I try to get caught up. Finally, I’ve added a picture of JP to the TargetShooting Canada’s Postal Match page. I hope to have May’s numbers up before the end of the week. Also, I should have some other pictures sent to me. So, with luck, you’ll see some changes in the next couple of days.

April 13th, 2002: I’ve tried to do some organizing of the Navigation Bar off to the left. As a result, there are less initial choices, especially for links. When you get to the Links Page, you’ll see the changes reflected there as well. Additionally, I’ve consolidated the pictures. Instead of digging through the site for something visual, go to the Picture Gallery. I hope to make the site easier to move around.

March 28th, 2002: I’ve organised JP’s TargetShooting Canada’s Postal Match scores and given them a home. you’ll find information on how to join in and get a look at who’s participating. Its not the biggest, so there is room for everyone, and for all ISSF disciplines (rifle, shotgun and pistol.)

March 27th, 2002:Finally, an update (over 3 weeks!!!!) I’ve added some material to the Coaching section. Specifically, I’ve added an overview of Don Williams’ Shooting Resource Library and the International Shooting Coaches Association. If you’re looking for a greater understanding of the sport, whether for yourself or as a coach, then this information is for you.

March 4th, 2002: Lots of information to report!

• First, I’ve switched webhosting companies. I was with CVO.ca, but their support was less than adequate, so I switched. I get infinitely better service, more monthly bandwidth and more storage space. I’m very happy. Unfortunately, this transition took TargetShooting Canada offline for a weekend. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope that you find the transition worthwhile.
• I’ve updated the Shooting Equipment section. In there, you’ll find photographs and a brief introduction to Visiting Gun Check, as well as tips on how to make it easier for you.
• This website is getting popular! Last month (February 2002) this site jumped in activity. We had 95,726 hits (up 56%), 18436 pages served (up 65%), plus 3669 unique visitors (up 18%) from all over the world. Collectively, the site has been visited by well over 10,000 different people since we opened up in July 2001. I guess that something is working here. I hope that you keep finding TargetShooting Canada useful, and continue to add to and share the knowledge we collectively possess.

February 24th, 2002: Something that I have been meaning to get online was the Stretching module, of the Physical Training Section. This is a vital component for your health and well being, in addition to improving your shooting technique. Do yourself a huge favour and check it out.

At the same time, I’d like to thank ExRx.net, an online fitness resource operated by James Griffing, M.S., B.S. He was gracious enough to allow me to use his graphics and stretching explanations/descriptions. Furthermore, he has for sale a wealth of materials (books, videos, consultation, etc.) available for those interested in fitness. Visit his site today.

February 18th, 2002: The Crosmans are over and Louis Anderson has provided the official results. Visit the Crosman Grand Prix page for photos, scores and more! Updates will be taking place throughout the evening.

February 15th, 2002:The Crosmans are on! Visit the Crosman Grand Prix page for photo updates and commentaries! I’ve also added some info on Canadian Coaches in the Canadian Shooters section: check it out! (Not remotely complete, but its a start.)

February 11th, 2002: Well, its been a maintenance kind of week. I’ve had a few background issues that probably nobody noticed, but I’ve hated. They’re all cleaned up now, and Avianna improved the Matches Section I swear that I asked her to add only one button, so I could do some more work on it. Sort of like asking someone to show you how to hammer a nail. Well, she built me a great patio instead. Now you can search by shooting discipline. I’ve also added more matches to the list. Anything that’s target shooting or bullseye related, let me know and we’ll get it online.

January 31st, 2002: With the expert help of Avianna, TargetShooting Canada has a new database-driven match schedule, located within the Matches Section. As matches expire, they will no longer be visible. In the next couple of weeks, you’ll have the added functionality of searching the schedule based on various criteria. If you’d like to have your matches included in this database, email me at webmaster@targetshooting.ca and I will respond.

The site has been doing very well. I have to admit that seeing the number of visitors growing daily feels pretty good. Here’s some monthly numbers (a continuation from Sept.30) on the site usage, and a running total:

	Oct. 2001	Nov. 2001	Dec. 2001	Jan. 2002	Totals To Date Since July 2001
Hits for Home Page	1890	2061	1516	2396	10,796
Hits for Entire Site	40,613	47,688	30,938	46,375	211,860
Unique Users	1998	2285	2217	3118	9713
Unique Users Visited 2+ Times	442	464	408	581	1803

January 25th, 2002: The Canadian Shooters section has been updated. I was wondering which Canadians have won Olympic and Paralympic medals, and who was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. I did a bit of preliminary research and this is what I’ve come up with. I hope that you find the information interesting and inspiring.

January 21st, 2002: I participated at the 2002 Can-Am Polar Bear Invitational Shooting Competition & NRA-Beeman Grand Prix on the weekend, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It’s a well-run competition for disabled shooters. I had a great time, the coordinators were friendly and organized and the competition was fierce. I took some photos, which I’ve hastily posted here. Take a quick look.

Sorry for the lack of updates! Lately, I’ve been focusing a lot of attention on my annual training plan: researching, reading and writing. In the course of my travels, I came upon some good material from other Internet locations. I’ve posted several of these in the new Technical – Manuals sub-section, underneath Training. Also, I have some downloadable targets in the All PDF Documents section. I hope that they are of some use.

January 16th, 2002: Sorry for the lack of updates! Lately, I’ve been focusing a lot of attention on my annual training plan: researching, reading and writing. In the course of my travels, I came upon some good material from other Internet locations. I’ve posted several of these in the new Technical – Manuals sub-section, underneath Training. Also, I have some downloadable targets in the All PDF Documents section. I hope that they are of some use.

November 20th, 2001: Promise met! I’ve completed the Basic components within the Technical – Pistol section. There are now a series of short articles on Stance, Position, Grip, Sighting, Minimum Arc of Movement, Raising the Pistol, Breath Control, Trigger Control and Follow Through. These articles should get you pointed in the right direction (pun intended.) Let me know if I’m missing anything important.

November 19th, 2001: I’ve been updating the Technical – Pistol section with articles on Breath Control and Minimum Arc of Movement. There will be more info in the next few days, I promise!

As well, I’ve added more Postal Matches, in the Matches section. Follow the link to the Postals. Of special note are the additions of various Shooting Federation of Canada postal matches, which will count towards your national competitive classifications. They are a great way to develop some match experience and turn a practice session into a competitive exercise!

November 7th, 2001: The information on the 2002 Crosman Airgun Grand Prix has arrived. This year will be its 20th Anniversary and it promises to be something special. As such, I want to make sure that everyone gets to know about it. It is one of the premier airgun events in North America, with around 300 international competitors attending from around the world. You will see competitors for Air Pistol and Air Rifle (Able-bodied and Disabled), as well as Tetrathlon and Pentathlon. The competition runs from February 15th – 17th, 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is sanctioned by the Shooting Federation of Canada. Booking the best times can be fierce, so now’s the time to act!

 

November 4th, 2001: The Technical – Rifle section is now online. Currently, it has some of the basic aspects of rifle shooting (i.e. use of the sling, keys to good position building, etc.) In-depth specifics on prone, kneeling and standing positions are on the way.

October 20th, 2001: I’ve added a Technical – Shotgun section as part of splitting off the various broad disciplines (rifle, pistol, shotgun.) As such, I’ve included a couple of beginner/introductory articles on trapshooting. Remember to look in the Olympic Shooting section if you’re not sure what a particular shooting discipline is.

October 18th, 2001: I’ve added a Firearm Safety section in the Basic Technical Training section. As everyone must know, our sport begins and ends with safety. Always keep this in mind. Furthermore, I’ve added information on developing your Stance and Position for pistol shooting. These are in the Technical Training section.

October 3rd, 2001: Well, we finally did it! The last major component of my original design, an On-line Message Board is now up and running. Many thanks for the patient assistance of my girlfriend, Avianna, who did the initial configuration (she’s the brains of the outfit, and I lift the heavy stuff *s*) and tutored me in PERL, so I could customize it. Ok, so I did everything else in the site! Now, this is what I need from you, the users’ of this website:

• The message board doesn’t have a name – send in your suggestions!
• The board doesn’t have any content. Write in about:
  • Coaching tips
  • Training exercises
  • Club and match announcements
  • Questions
  • Answers
  • Anything to do with competitive and recreational precision/bullseye/Olympic shooting
• Keep the conversation open and civil, but off the topic of politics. There is such a strong push to get shooters active politically, that people are getting driven away from the fun and enjoyment of shooting. As such, keep it related to “sport”. There are lots of other places on-line for political discourse.

September 30th, 2001: I officially opened this site on July 15th, but nobody really dropped by until about July 27th, 2001. I had hoped that a few people would drop by and give the site a good look. As it turns out, the site has turned out to be alot more popular than I had guessed. Just under 2300 different people have visited TargetShooting Canada from all over the world. I’m pleased to have received emails from across Canada, as well as from as far away as India (hi, Sat)! Virtually every continent is represented (I’m still waiting for Antartica.) Here’s some numbers on the site:

	July 2001	August 2001	Sept. 2001	Totals To Date Since July 2001
Hits for Home Page	218	1061	1552	2832
Hits for Entire Site	3211	15653	25921	44789
Unique Users	240	1053	1384	2294
Unique Users Visited 2+ Times	39	275	357	581

Despite what some special interest groups may wish, there is a viable and legitimate worldwide community of shooters. We are enthusiasts and competitors proud of our sport and genuinely interested in improving our own abilities and the abilities of those we mentor and coach. The point of this entry is to say thank you to everyone who has dropped by. I hope to keep improving and expanding the site to keep your interest alive. If I’m missing something, let me know and I’ll try to fill that gap. What I don’t know (big list), I’ll try to find an answer.

This weekend, I attended a pistol coaching course hosted by the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, and taught by Bobby Ng, the former Ontario Provincial Team Coach. He did a great job and I learned a lot. My thanks go out to him and to the other coaches who attended: it was a great experience. My notes will be online soon!

September 28th, 2001: I’ve updated my notes on Mental Training. There was material listed before, but this section has been expanded to reflect the new info (components of a mental training plan, time to learn basic mental skills, etc.). This will be expanded further over the next week, and then the material on developing annual training plans (physical and mental) will be presented. This is the time of the year for planning, so stay tuned!

September 23rd, 2001: I just came back from the first weekend of a two weekend coaching theory course, run by the National Coaching Certification Program. I was fortunate to spent two days with 19 other coaches from various disciplines (figure skating, boxing, baseball, basketball, swimming, skiing and snowboarding), working on designing annual training plans, focussing on the overall design plus specifically on mental training. I can’t describe how great it was having so many questions answered and being given so many tools. The experience was great. In two weeks, I’ll be learning more on analysis of skills, error detection, etc., plus more physical training info. Over the next month or two, I’ll put my notes on line.

If you recognize that this is what you need to grow as either an athlete or a coach, then I strongly recommend that you take these courses (Coaching Theory Levels 1, 2 and 3 are available to the general public without too many restrictions.) It is available in most cities throughout Canada. If you’re not in Canada or you’re in a remote area, the courses are available through the mail. Currently, the correspondence course is being delivered throughout the world! Go to my Coaching section and follow the directions to the the Coaching Association of Canada’s website. From there look for info on the National Coaching Certification Program. It is well worth the time and energy.

September 19th, 2001: I’ve finished the makeover, plus fixed a few “features” of the site. I hope you like the look. I’d also like to thank Glenn Mariash for some photos of parathletes. You can check out his website and gallery at http://www.geocities.com/shooter_1000

September 17th, 2001: I’ve tried to add some style to the site over the past day or two. There will be different images coming in. The ones that I’ve put in are pretty much being used as placeholders in my layout. Regardless, I hope you like the look.

September 15th, 2001: I’ve added to the Technical Training section, specifically including information on Gripping the Pistol and Raising the Pistol in Timed and Rapidfire events. Let me know what you think.

September 15th, 2001: Hi folks. Sorry for the lack of updates over the past few days. As with the rest of the world, I’ve been watching the devastation down in the States. I work for a large bank/brokerage firm in Canada that has 2000 employees located across the street from ground zero in New York, at One World Financial Center. All of our colleagues got out okay, but I know of one person who looked up to see the wreakage from the second jet drop from the sky towards her. Her office building won’t be habitable for about 6 months, and how many are actually willing to return remains to be seen. My heartfelt condolences go out to the victims, their families and all those touched by the hand of terrorism. Freedom will prevail and our society will carry on.

In the next few weeks, I’m on several coaching courses and I’ll be putting my notes up online. The material will be revolving around:

Annual training plans Mental training Technical analysis Error detection Physical training	Pistol shooting basics Rifle shooting basics Postal and “live” match schedule compilations Making the site visually more attractive

I hope that people get out and carry on with their lives. If we don’t, then the badguys have won. Good shooting, friends.

September 11th, 2001: Match Schedule Information has been put up. If you have a regional to international match which you’d like to have listed, send me the details.

September 7th, 2001: The Mental Training section now has 6 exercises on Attentional Control. Use these tools to develop your ability to concentrate and focus.

September 5th, 2001: I’ve added some info to the Mental Training section, with 6 exercises on Relaxation. Remember: if you’re tense, you’ll hamper fine motor control and distract yourself from the fun of the match.

September 3rd, 2001: I’ve updated the Training section to include basic information on Physical Training. Current articles include Physical Energy Systems, plus Building Strength and Endurance (Aerobic and Muscular).

August 29th, 2001: A new article on Pistol Sighting is in the Technical Training section. This article should give you an understanding of sight pictures (centre of mass, 6 o’clock and sub-6), what to look at, and how to sight consistently.

August 27th, 2001: The Site Search Engine is now online.

August 26th, 2001: Looks like the two most interesting aspects of this website are training and equipment. I’m expanding both areas over the next short while. In the interim, I’ve added a Vendors section. If you’re looking for something to assist your development, then you can see what these companies have to offer. (Just remember: you can’t buy a gold medal. Only perfect practice makes perfect!)

August 25th, 2001: Well, I redesigned the Training section, so its now broken down to highlight the various sections. BUT of more importance, I’ve added a new training sub-section: a Training Overview for Novice and Intermediate Shooters. The goal of this document is to give new shooters an idea of what international competitors are doing.

August 24th, 2001: Wow, lots of stuff to report:
– Today, the site had its 1000th unique visitor already and we’ve only been online for just under 4 weeks! I’m glad people have found the site and are finding some useful info.
– One of my more technically inclined visitors brought to my attention that some Netscape users may not have been able to download some PDF documents (i.e. Pistol Shot Analysis). I’ve fixed that so if you want to try and download them again, please accept my apologies and try again. (Thanks, Atif, for the heads up!) Go to the All PDF Documents to find them.
– I’ve added a Guestbook. Feel free to add your comments and let me know how the website can be improved.
– I’m writing a few more articles and they should be online in the next day or two. Look for them!

August 15th, 2001: Coaching/Training One Page Resources: one way to introduce a sport is to de-mystify it. Here are the beginnings of a series of one page flyers or handouts. Each covers the basics of one single shooting event, introducing the match specifications (i.e 60 shots in 1 hour and 45 minutes) and equipment specifications (i.e. trigger weight). Additionally, key training elements are introduced for the discipline. You can find these in the new Coaching section.

August 15th, 2001: re-organised home page to give a descriptive overview of the website. (Wow, what an exciting update! You can thank me later.)

August 13th, 2001: I’ve compiled a chart, Shooter Fault Terms and Definitions, which defines and describes common shooter errors. You can find it in the Training section.

August 11th, 2001: I added a page, All PDF Documents, that lists all information documents that I have created and placed throughout the site. As more documents get added, you’ll find links to them here, as well as in the section bodies.

August 9th, 2001: My Drulov DU-10 Condor arrived today from Cibles Canada Targets and I am extremely happy with it. The Drulov is a very modestly priced 5-shot C02 air pistol which is good for rapid fire air pistol matches. I bought it to train for standard pistol and sport matches. (No trips to the range and ammunition is dirt cheap.) Well, after 30 shots, I’m so impressed, I wanted to tell everyone.

August 8th, 2001: Here are my notes from Lanny Bassham’s “Mastering the Mental Game” seminar in in the Training section. Lanny is an Olympic Gold Medalist in Rifle and is a recognized authority in mental management in sport.

July 29th, 2001: I’ve uploaded some shot analysis documents and a blank annual training plan in the Training section, plus some notes on Competitive Training. Also, I’ve added my Bibliography.

July 15th, 2001: Site is launched. At this stage of the game, everything here is new. Look around and tell me what you think. I’ll keep you posted as we grow.

By the way, this is what I’m working on:

1. Getting Involved
2. Shooting Events
3. Training – Mental and Physical
4. Paralympic Shooting
5. Coaching