Thank You Les

Thank You Les


Les,

Over the past 90 days I'm sure that there were times when you were ready to pull your hair out with me, or with Dave, but you never showed it. I had the ankle, the head, and the gun switch, the first two were unfortunate, but the last I'm sure had you gritting your teeth. I know we've still got a little time to finish up the "Plan B", and this "letter" is a little early, but I wanted to make the effort to let you know how much the teaching you have done has meant to me, how much it is helped, and how much I appreciate it. Some of the lessons you've taught have helped make me a better shooter, and some of 'em have probably helped make me a better person, at least some of the time. If that isn't the mark of a teacher, then I don't know what is. I think that you felt our struggles and took them personally, and I think that you are happy for our successes.

I'm a slow learner, I'm stubborn, and I can be a gigantic pain in the ass. Yesterday at The WIIT was really proof positive that I had learned, worked on, and applied the lessons you taught. It was imperfect, with things to improve, but I never let a mistake bother me until I was done shooting, I never carried frustration to another stage, and I stayed positive all day long. I focused on my front sight, I got my hits. I almost bobbled one reload, but I was smooth. Someone who had not seen me shoot since September mentioned that my reloads were night and day different. That's what you taught.

I don't know that I've ever walked away from a match feeling that the good outweighed the bad, but I did yesterday. I'm happy overall with the way I shot. I know a 2nd place in "C" finish to Terry is not the biggest deal in the world, but it's a massive uptick in progress. I'd spent plenty of time practicing last summer, with no direction, with no real meaningful understanding of how or what to practice. What it amounted to was I was doing something with no ability to measurably improve, I won't say I was entirely wasting my time, but I was certainly not getting much out of it. You gave me direction, and you gave me the tools to improve myself.

We had a talk that a taste of success can be dangerous to some people, that it can make them lax, make them dial things back, with a feeling that they are almost there. Less than 90 days ago I was a "D" class shooter, we had bumps in the road, but I earned my "C" card, and I finished at 55% of the top score, in essence, a higher end C score, about where I should be. When I watched the video of myself, I saw many things that I can do better, that I can clean up, but I never would have known where to look, or how. One of the best decisions I made in the last 30 days was to get back my "hungry" attitude, and be a grinder, not a diva. This last 5-10% we hope to accomplish will be every bit as hard as the first 20-30%. It'll require that same level of work, of commitment, and I'm not dialing it back, I'm dialing it up a little.

Every mistake I think I made yesterday, I think I can find an example where I have done it right in the past. I know I'm capable, it'll just take some time. I know you were opposed to the CZ switch, and I understood your reasoning, to this day, I still have some regret about that. I will say that your teaching, the practice, combined with gear I am supremely confident in, has let me silence "Self B" and just see the front sight. I don't think about reloads or draw's anymore, I just do them. I don't think about a transition, or a cadence, I do what I need to do to get my hits. I can do all of those things better, faster, and more accurately, but I've got the confidence to know that with the tools, the gear, and the mindset, it just requires my effort to learn it. Again, what you did allowed me to build some much needed confidence.

Yesterday, for the first time ever I felt like I saw you frazzled with the way you shot, and I don't know if it was in your head at all, but I was still impressed with the way you seemed to leave it all behind you when you went to the line. Maybe it was, and maybe it was not, but you presented total focus, total calm, and total confidence. Talk about a role model.

Shooting for anyone is an ongoing progression, and maybe even more for someone at my level, but for all my struggles, and your seemingly endless supply of patience, which I'm sure I sorely tested, you have my eternal thanks, and gratitude. Twice in the past week I walked away feeling proud of my progress, I hope you share some of that, and know that you were responsible for it. Thanks go out in lesser doses for both Kozy and Terry, who gave me different points of view, or swift kicks in the ass as needed. Still though, the gift of the fundamental tools. That's you bro.

Words are inadequate to express how grateful I am. No, we are not going to hug. I just hope you know that the time you invested in me, may never be something I can repay in kind (2,000 bullets might be the start) but it was not wasted. I've taken it to heart, and I'm doing my best to apply each and every lesson, Sunday was hopefully a glimpse of it, and the future should be even better.


Thank you,
Luke