In ‘The Zone’: How Jesse Clayton’s mental reset sparked a national team breakthrough

Every day – and night – Jesse Clayton looks at ‘The Zone’, probably around 205 times, the average number of times Americans check their phones each day, according to NBC Palm Springs.

The Zone isn’t Clayton’s screensaver or an app, but a diagram from The Roadmap to the Zone, a psychological guide by Michael K. Garza and Robert S. Neff. The book was recommended to him by his coach and two-time Archery World Cup Final Champion Braden Gellenthien, to help sharpen his mental game under pressure.

It’s one of several adjustments the 24-year-old has made over the past year that helped earn him a coveted spot on the USA squad for the upcoming Hyundai World Archery Championships in Gwangju this September. Clayton joins reigning World Cup Champion James Lutz and 2017 World Youth Championships gold medallist Curtis Broadnax in the three-man compound contingent.

“I was so out of my head – and I think that’s the biggest difference in performance,” said Clayton. “Now, with the maturity of my mental game, I’m so much more present and focused. And I’m just being nicer to myself.”

“This is my mental routine,” he explained, showing the diagram on his phone. “This is Braden’s philosophy. This is the first time where I’ve, properly read it and started to go through it.”

“As soon as I started, I’ve just been really wanting to be present. Getting into the zone, it’s like it doesn’t happen unless you’re doing all these things and remaining completely in the moment.”

The Zone hasn’t just sharpened Clayton’s focus – it’s calmed him.

He admitted that in previous years (indoors or outdoors), he would rely on self-deprecation to fuel his performances, almost to the point of fury within.

So much so, that mental burnouts were common entities for him, even as a junior, and he can barely remember the numerous tournaments he’s been in, his anger overwhelming his archery memories.

“I felt like I would fall apart during certain ends and I would just get in my head and get angry. I’d get angry about things, and it would just always make me worse,” Clayton explained. 

“I always thought maybe being angry would make me focused, but it was never that. In previous years, I couldn’t even tell you what I was shooting, how I was feeling. I was so exhausted at the end of tournaments that I’d need hours to wind down.”

Clayton’s detailed reflections truly show just how vital and intricately delicate the depths of an archer’s mind can be in a sport often defined by millimetres.

His teenage years were dominated by archery, and the toll eventually prompted a three-year break from international competition during the COVID-19 pandemic – time he used to reclaim “missed opportunities” from childhood.

That break proved to be the reset he needed – the antidote to Clayton’s struggles. In 2023, he returned to the sport refreshed, and he’s only gained momentum since.

“It can get boring, especially at the high levels, shooting every day, doing the same thing repeatedly. So you have to find your own motivation, and I think that was the hardest part, just trying to find my own personal motivation without someone nagging me to shoot.”

A bowstrings shop owner, Clayton made his Hyundai Archery World Cup debut this past May at Shanghai 2025, where he finished as the USA’s top seed in the compound men’s event, though he didn’t medal. He’s now competing in Madrid at stage four – this time as a confirmed member of the Gwangju squad.

“I always knew I had it in me – but to make the team on my first real try was a surprise,” he said, referencing his win over Pan American Games silver medallist Sawyer Sullivan. “I put in a ton of work in the whole year.”

“This was the first year where I’ve given it 100%. I told myself I was going to shoot six to seven days a week, every single day, shoot a proper number of arrows, work on my form and it’s showed.”

Settled in central Oregon with his partner Faith – his high school sweetheart – and their dog Lenny, the 2017 World Archery Youth Championships silver medallist now enjoys a sense of balance and contentment that carries over onto the shooting line.

He also credits his decision to forgo bow sponsorships as another reason for his improved mindset, prioritising medals at elite competitions instead of commercial pressure.

“Chasing the bag” may have dominated his early motivations, but now it’s all about performance.

And he’s finally able to remember each one – good or bad – to keep getting better.

With natural talent, consistent training and a renewed outlook, Clayton has paired potential with the mindset of a true elite athlete.

The Zone has worked its magic so far. Will it carry him through Madrid and Gwangju?