Michelle Smith

I represent England and Great Britain in the sport of Target Rifle Shooting.  I shoot Prone, Three Positional and Air Rifle disciplines.

What’s great about my Sport:

The sport of Target Rifle Shooting requires concentration, patience and determination.  Good eye sight helps as well! I train in the gym to build up strength in my core stability and improve my cardio-vascular system as well as working on strength training for areas which can be injured if you aren’t careful.

Regular shooting at competitions is another brilliant perk to my sport.  The comradely is exceptional and all competitions have a great atmosphere of competition and friendship.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Training

Being successful gives me enthusiasm and gives me a really positive out look on life.  I use the SMARTER goal system in all aspects of my training and goal setting.  It stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timely
• Enjoyable
• Recordable

It involves using the above as a guidance for setting my goal for either my training session, or the longer term achievements.  Any goal I set must conform to SMARTER which helps me ensure my goal is meaningful and I’m not just practising (shooting for the sake of shooting, as apposed to training which is shooting to achieve something).  It ensures that my goal is specific to my needs, Its going to get me where I need to go.  It is measurable in the sense that i know when I’ve achieved it, and I can reward myself when I have! It is achievable in that it is not too easy or very hard to achieve which links to be being realistic.  SMARTER ensures I complete it in a reasonable timeframe, so that I don’t get fed up or disheartened. It makes sure I enjoy the challenge (because this is really important too don’t forget!) Lastly I can record what i have done, why I have done it and give me a record of it should I get any more similar issues in the future.  If your goal isn’t SMARTER ask yourself are you training effectively or just practising?  Take a look in my resources area for documents to help your training and goal setting.

To distinguish yourself from your competitors in my sport it is important to ensure you are a team player, congratulate those who do well and support those who don’t.  Give back to the sport but ensure you have done your training first, you do need to look after yourself.

I’ve been unfortunate in the past to have unavoidable accidents which have caused injuries.  Although these are now healed i take extra care and time when working out to ensure these areas receive extra attention as part of a prevention system I have in place.

Encourage people in your sport, no matter where they are in their career.  Even experts can respond well to positive encouragement and its great to tell someone who is just starting out something really great about their efforts.  Don’t aim to win all the time, you will only wear yourself out, but give positive replies to those who question “Why you didn’t win?”.

Training and competing all over the world can open up all kinds of travel opportunities.  I have travelled to India, Germany, South Africa, Croatia and Czech republic to name just a few places.  Check my gallery for images from these amazing places.

If you think this skillful sport might be suited to you take a look on the links page for help on getting in touch with clubs in your area.  Of course you can always contact me and I’ll be happy to help!