6/10/2009
Drills are the best way to improve individual skills. First off, there is no such thing as a wrong drill. If you know you are weak in a particular skill, make up your own drill to start practicing it. For example if you are slow getting your gun up off the break, put a cone at the other end of the field and just stand by the gate whipping your gun up over and over and shoot at the cone. Remember drills are only effective when repeated.
Here are some basic drills to improve your fundamental skills, these can all be done by yourself.
Stance Practice
This is a very simple drill that can do wonders for your accuracy. Place a target 30-40 feet away from you out in the open. Stand out in the open and practice shooting the cone in different stances, 2-3 shots each time. This can be done alone or with a team. When done with a team have one member of the team call out which stance to shoot from. The 6 stances we use for this drill on Sin-dicate are: Left Standing, Right Standing, Left Squat, Right Squat, Left Kneel, Right Kneel. Keep repeating this drill until you're hopper is empty. When your hopper is getting low you will be amazed at your accuracy difference from the beginning of the drill.
Target Snapshooting
Setup a cone or other target about 20-30 yards away from your bunker, preferably a tall bunker. Pop in and out of the bunker and shoot only one ball at the cone. After you shoot one ball go back in. Pop out in different locations: standing positions, squating positions, and kneeling position. Remember to come out on the left side and right side. Start at slow to get your accuracy down and slowly build your speed. Eventually you should be quick enough that you are back in your bunker before your shot hits the target. When you can consistently hit the target. Move it back so it is 40-50 yards away. Repeat until the target is all the way across the field.
Target Running and Gunning
Running and Gunning is a very difficult skill to master. This drill can significantly help your accuracy and speed. Setup a series of targets behind bunkers on on end of the field. Place some near the sidelines, some in the middle and some in the back. Now run down the sideline and shoot all the targets on the field. When your reach the end of the field walk back to the start to catch your breath and do it again. Repeat this drill at least 10 times. Remember to move the targets around so you run with your gun in both hands. This is also a great Stamina exercise.
Here are some basic drills to improve your fundamental skills, these can all be done by yourself.
Stance Practice
This is a very simple drill that can do wonders for your accuracy. Place a target 30-40 feet away from you out in the open. Stand out in the open and practice shooting the cone in different stances, 2-3 shots each time. This can be done alone or with a team. When done with a team have one member of the team call out which stance to shoot from. The 6 stances we use for this drill on Sin-dicate are: Left Standing, Right Standing, Left Squat, Right Squat, Left Kneel, Right Kneel. Keep repeating this drill until you're hopper is empty. When your hopper is getting low you will be amazed at your accuracy difference from the beginning of the drill.
Target Snapshooting
Setup a cone or other target about 20-30 yards away from your bunker, preferably a tall bunker. Pop in and out of the bunker and shoot only one ball at the cone. After you shoot one ball go back in. Pop out in different locations: standing positions, squating positions, and kneeling position. Remember to come out on the left side and right side. Start at slow to get your accuracy down and slowly build your speed. Eventually you should be quick enough that you are back in your bunker before your shot hits the target. When you can consistently hit the target. Move it back so it is 40-50 yards away. Repeat until the target is all the way across the field.
Target Running and Gunning
Running and Gunning is a very difficult skill to master. This drill can significantly help your accuracy and speed. Setup a series of targets behind bunkers on on end of the field. Place some near the sidelines, some in the middle and some in the back. Now run down the sideline and shoot all the targets on the field. When your reach the end of the field walk back to the start to catch your breath and do it again. Repeat this drill at least 10 times. Remember to move the targets around so you run with your gun in both hands. This is also a great Stamina exercise.
6/10/2009
In the last blog I discussed how to join a team. Today I will talk to you about creating your own team.
First a warning, running a team is not for the faint of heart. You need to commit yourself 100% to running the team, because as the captain if you are not committed 100%, your players won't either.
Most teams start out with a small group of friends who play paintball together. If you don't have friends you regularly play with start socializing with players you see regularly at the field. Chances are if you see them every weekend they are interested in taking their game to the next level. Once you have your core group together, generally at least 3 players, you need to decide as a group your commitment level. Are you going to practice every weekend and work towards winning no matter what? Or are you going to take a more relaxed approach and focus purely on having fun, win or lose? This answer will be heavily dependent on your players' financial situations. There is no right or wrong answer, it is simply deciding how you would like to run your team. Once you have answered this question decide how often your team wants to practice (or should practice) and at which field. Create a regular schedule for your team, for example every Sunday at Santa Clara Paintball. Remember, as captain you will always be dealing with players missing practice and making up excuses for not showing up. This is the nature of any organization.
The next step is to decide what events you want to play. If you have little or no tournament experience my advice is to start at a local level. Look for tournament series run by fields in your area. Most of these events will be in the $300-$500 range for registration and are normally field paint only. These are the tournaments a new team should be playing because they are tailored specifically for new teams.
Now that you have the basics down everyone will be asking the same question: "What do I do to win?"
If there was an easy answer to this question everyone would do it. Every team has different practice strategies and no answer is right or wrong. There are two main modes of practicing: drills and scrimmages. Drills are a great way to improve individual and team skills; however, weekend after weekend of drills can become monotonous and cause player to burn-out very quickly. Scrimmages are a great way to bring all your skills together and really practice your overall teamwork. Most teams mix both modes in their practice schedule.
Now that you've got the basics, get out there and start practicing!
Jeremy
Have an idea for a blog? Curious about something paintball related? Submit your Blog ideas here
First a warning, running a team is not for the faint of heart. You need to commit yourself 100% to running the team, because as the captain if you are not committed 100%, your players won't either.
Most teams start out with a small group of friends who play paintball together. If you don't have friends you regularly play with start socializing with players you see regularly at the field. Chances are if you see them every weekend they are interested in taking their game to the next level. Once you have your core group together, generally at least 3 players, you need to decide as a group your commitment level. Are you going to practice every weekend and work towards winning no matter what? Or are you going to take a more relaxed approach and focus purely on having fun, win or lose? This answer will be heavily dependent on your players' financial situations. There is no right or wrong answer, it is simply deciding how you would like to run your team. Once you have answered this question decide how often your team wants to practice (or should practice) and at which field. Create a regular schedule for your team, for example every Sunday at Santa Clara Paintball. Remember, as captain you will always be dealing with players missing practice and making up excuses for not showing up. This is the nature of any organization.
The next step is to decide what events you want to play. If you have little or no tournament experience my advice is to start at a local level. Look for tournament series run by fields in your area. Most of these events will be in the $300-$500 range for registration and are normally field paint only. These are the tournaments a new team should be playing because they are tailored specifically for new teams.
Now that you have the basics down everyone will be asking the same question: "What do I do to win?"
If there was an easy answer to this question everyone would do it. Every team has different practice strategies and no answer is right or wrong. There are two main modes of practicing: drills and scrimmages. Drills are a great way to improve individual and team skills; however, weekend after weekend of drills can become monotonous and cause player to burn-out very quickly. Scrimmages are a great way to bring all your skills together and really practice your overall teamwork. Most teams mix both modes in their practice schedule.
Now that you've got the basics, get out there and start practicing!
Jeremy
Have an idea for a blog? Curious about something paintball related? Submit your Blog ideas here
6/10/2009
Recently I've had a few players come into the store asking about how they can get into the tournament team. Many ask the same question word-for-word: "How do I get on a team?". There are several routes that you can take to get yourself into tournament paintball.
The first route, which is also quite common for players who have already been on teams, is to post information about yourself on community message boards. The most common paintball message boards are PbNation and SacPaintball. PbNation is a national level paintball message board and SacPaintball is a Northern California based message board. These websites have areas both for you to post your information and for teams to post information about players they are looking for. Although it is easier and faster to post your info. and let the team find you, it is less effective, take the extra effort and find a team that is looking for a player that matches your qualifications. As with any internet communication, avoid posting information that is too personal, such as address, phone number, etc. Most teams looking for new players like to see information such as Name, Age, Years Playing, Tournament Experience (if any), and your current equipment. Also, if you have played any tournaments a team is going to want to know your classification, do your research and find out what divisions you can and cannot play.
The second route for finding a team can take a bit longer but you will probably end up with a better, more stable team. Go out to your local (or not so local) fields and start playing with the most advanced players you can find, many times these players are members of teams who are out for the day to have fun. If there are teams out at your field practicing, walk right up to them and express your interest to join their team, try to get into their practice with them. Often times teams will say they aren't looking for players or that you will have to play as an alternate, but remember you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, especially with teams that are already established.
The first route, which is also quite common for players who have already been on teams, is to post information about yourself on community message boards. The most common paintball message boards are PbNation and SacPaintball. PbNation is a national level paintball message board and SacPaintball is a Northern California based message board. These websites have areas both for you to post your information and for teams to post information about players they are looking for. Although it is easier and faster to post your info. and let the team find you, it is less effective, take the extra effort and find a team that is looking for a player that matches your qualifications. As with any internet communication, avoid posting information that is too personal, such as address, phone number, etc. Most teams looking for new players like to see information such as Name, Age, Years Playing, Tournament Experience (if any), and your current equipment. Also, if you have played any tournaments a team is going to want to know your classification, do your research and find out what divisions you can and cannot play.
The second route for finding a team can take a bit longer but you will probably end up with a better, more stable team. Go out to your local (or not so local) fields and start playing with the most advanced players you can find, many times these players are members of teams who are out for the day to have fun. If there are teams out at your field practicing, walk right up to them and express your interest to join their team, try to get into their practice with them. Often times teams will say they aren't looking for players or that you will have to play as an alternate, but remember you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, especially with teams that are already established.
Above all, when you are new to a team you are in a trial period. Show the team that you are self-motivated. I have had many players try out for Sin-dicate over the years, the ones that join the team are the ones who come out onto the field on their own and ask me when the next practice is. Players that require hand-holding and constant instruction are the ones who don't get a call back. Most team Captains will take the attitude: "If you aren't motivated to play for this team I'm not going to force you."
The 3rd and final route for joining a team is to start your own......which I will discuss in my next blog.
Good Luck Finding a Team!
Jeremy
Have an idea for a blog? Curious about something paintball related? Submit your Blog ideas here
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