Photo by Dean Alberga of dutchtarget.com

U.S. archer Reo Wilde (shown here at the Croatia World Cup) shot a perfect score of 120 in the gold medal match to win the FITA Archery World Cup Final on Oct. 22, 2006.

Wilde shared the process behind shooting that perfect score, from the most basic physical motions to the thought process behind them. Much like a magic trick, this process has several separate pieces.

The Foundation
“Well, number one would be to work hard in practice. Number two would probably be to not let failure stop your progression. A step back is not going to hurt you. And probably third, most of all, is enjoy yourself, you know. Enjoy what you’re going to do because it’s gonna take a lot of work and effort.”

The Method
“For me, it’s pretty much, I straddle the line, I walk up and I look at the target, and I try to draw on the target so in case there’s ever an error or something goes wrong, it’s going to go towards the target. That way I have an advantage or a chance.”

The Focus
“My focus isn’t to shoot a perfect score, but to make each shot the best shot I can make. Really it was a lot of focus on each shot. The wind was not too bad, but a little bit that could’ve – I could’ve misjudged it, or done something like that. It was pretty much a trial-by-error and make the best shots I could and hope they landed where they did. [The perfect score] crossed my mind after about nine arrows. I thought, ‘You know what? If I can put three more in the middle, that’s a perfect score and that will be the first one I’ve ever shot in a tournament in a head-to-head match.’”

The Mentality
“In my life I’ve kind of learned that whether I win, lose, or draw, I’m gonna walk off that line and I’ll be the same person I was before I walked on, and that’s the same I want to be when I walk off. So it doesn’t change how I look at how I shoot, I mean, I’m gonna shoot the best arrows I can, and when it’s all said and done, it’s not gonna change me in any way.”

Q&A: Reo Wilde flawless for gold