After a poor end, one of the ways elite archers respond is to look for the fix on their own, without going to the coach
2 studies · 12 archers measured
The summary today
The description comes from a single French study from 2001, which followed one coach and four national team archers through two competitions with video and interviews. After a disappointing end one of the typical sequences is self-reliant: they walk back from the target disappointed and then, to recover their shooting, they try to relax, go over the whole shot or part of it in their mind, and talk to themselves. After a good end, by contrast, they change nothing, collect their arrows with satisfaction and stay with their shooting strategy whatever the score. The same study also finds the other route, though, because in two typical sequences the archer goes to the coach, both when the coach has seen the drop too and when he has not, and checks his own reading against the coach's. As early as 1998 the Italian Olympians described strategies after a mistake that were all handled alone, from erasing it to going back to the routine, but the questions about mistakes never touched on the coach. Searching alone is therefore one of the responses, not the rule, and four archers described without measurements cannot say how often it happens or whether it helps the next end.
Also phrased as: "self-correction in competition"; "what to do after a bad end"; "archer self-reliance in competition"; "archer and coach during competition"; "recovering the shot after a poor end"
In practice
Archers are taught that in the break between ends they need to be able to correct themselves, because in competition the coach cannot fix every arrow, and that someone who runs to the coach after every bad end is not yet self-reliant.
Evidence
-
1998
Context Archers Published later
Among the 8 archers of the Italian Olympic team for Atlanta 1996, interviewed about what they do in competition, the reaction to a mistake splits into three routes, all handled alone: going back to correct execution without correcting anything, erasing the mistake and starting again from the routine, analysing the shot so as not to repeat it. One archer chooses the route by how serious the problem is: if it is small he puts his attention on it, if there are many things to fix he erases everything and starts again. The questions about mistakes do not ask about the coach and deal with the mistake, not with the poor end.
Mental Preparation Strategies of Olympic Archers During Competition: an exploratory investigation · Claudio Robazza, Laura Bortoli
-
2001
For Archers Published later
4 elite French national team archers observed at two competitions, with video and self-confrontation interviews straight afterwards: one of the typical sequences is the individual search for a solution after disappointing results, in which the archer walks back from the target disappointed and then tries to relax, imagines the whole shot or part of it, and talks to himself.
Coach-Athlete Interaction during Elite Archery Competitions: An Application of Methodological Frameworks Used in Ergonomics Research to Sport Psychology · Fabienne d'Arripe-Longueville, Jacques Saury, Jean Fournier, Marc Durand
-
2001
Context Archers Published later
After a good end the sequence is different: the archer collects his arrows with satisfaction and works to stay with his shooting strategy, whatever the score.
Coach-Athlete Interaction during Elite Archery Competitions: An Application of Methodological Frameworks Used in Ergonomics Research to Sport Psychology · Fabienne d'Arripe-Longueville, Jacques Saury, Jean Fournier, Marc Durand
-
2001
Context Archers Published later
In the same study two of the four typical sequences go the other way: after a drop the archer seeks out the coach, both when the coach has seen it and when he has not, asks what is not working and checks his own reading against the coach's. The authors describe the archers' behaviour as a mix of self-reliance and help-seeking.
Coach-Athlete Interaction during Elite Archery Competitions: An Application of Methodological Frameworks Used in Ergonomics Research to Sport Psychology · Fabienne d'Arripe-Longueville, Jacques Saury, Jean Fournier, Marc Durand
Status history
- 1998 Not studied Interviews with the eight members of the Italian Olympic team for Atlanta 1996 describe what they do after a mistake: some simply go back to correct execution, some erase the mistake and start again from the routine, some analyse the shot so as not to repeat it, and one chooses between these routes according to how serious the problem is. These are all strategies handled alone, but the questions about mistakes do not concern the coach and deal with the mistake rather than the poor end: it is useful background, not an answer, and the question stays open.
- 2001 Reported A qualitative study of four French national team archers, followed with their coach through two competitions, reconstructs what happens between one end and the next. After a disappointing result one of the typical sequences is the individual search for a solution, which involves trying to relax, going over the whole shot or part of it in the mind and talking to oneself; after a good end nothing changes. In other sequences, though, the same archers go to the coach. Four archers, description rather than measurement: reported.
Related
Related articles
- The archery coach: how much they matter and what they do on the shooting lineWhat the studies say about archer and coach, and how they communicate in competition: when to step in, when to keep quiet and how much gestures count.
- Repeatability and consistency: measuring the steadiness of your shotHow repeatable an archer's shot is: what studies say about level, good and bad days, arrows outside the 10, and how to measure consistency on the range.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). After a poor end, one of the ways elite archers respond is to look for the fix on their own, without going to the coach (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/self-regulation-after-poor-end
@misc{campagna2026_autoregolazionedoposeriescadente,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {After a poor end, one of the ways elite archers respond is to look for the fix on their own, without going to the coach},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/self-regulation-after-poor-end},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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