HUNTER sharp shooter Daniel Repacholi has given students at Charlton Christian College an insight into the mindset that has taken him to three Olympic Games.
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Repacholi, of Nukalba, took time out from his hectic preparations for his fourth and final Olympics in Rio in August to reveal what’s involved in the elite level of the sport, and to offer inspirational tips for students to apply to all aspects of their lives.
The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal winner said while talent, drive and determination were handy starting points for any high achiever, having a positive mental approach linked to explicit goal setting was critical in all levels of sport and, indeed, in all of life’s endeavours.
“If you think you’re gonna lose, you’ve already lost,” he told students.
“If you have a bad thought that comes into your head while you’re competing, if you don’t think that’s gonna be the right shot, you’re finished. You’ve lost already.
“It’s the same with anything you do in life. If you doubt yourself, you’re probably not going to do it.”
Repacholi said he set goals for every stage of his career but, interestingly, never had making an Australian Olympic team as a goal.
He said that was because the Australian team was named between three and six months before the Olympics, and that short lead time would never have allowed him to adopt an Olympic mindset.
“You need to be able to think you can win [at the Olympics] from two years out,” he said.
“A lot of people I have competed with from Australia and around the world, their goal is just to make the team. They think they want to win afterwards, but it’s too hard to change your mind in that little amount of time.”
Repacholi said competing in the 50m pistol event involved shooting at a bullseye “the size of the top of a Red Bull can”, while in the 10m air pistol event the target was “the size of a little fingernail”.
He urged the students not to fear failure in their lives.
“Failure is not a bad thing. Failure just shows you what you need to do to achieve,” he said.
He read a quote from his idol, Michael Jordan, explaining how the basketball star’s missed shots and “failures” were what had made him great.
Repacholi was invited to address the school through his connection with rising pistol shooter and year 11 student, Isaac Fleury, 16, whom the Olympian now mentors at Cessnock Pistol Club.
“Isaac has very good focus, good control and he wants to learn,” Repacholi said.
A truck driver in a Hunter mine, Repacholi works 40 hours a week, and estimated that pursuing his sport had cost him close to $1 million.
