Some Days

This is gonna have to be short-and maybe bittersweet. It's easy from the outside looking in to romanticize the pro paintball player (and teams.) In the sense that those are the guys who get the majority of the attention and have the highest profile in the sport it's true. But if HK has taught the army of agglets anything it's that the paintball lifestyle is accessible to anyone who embraces it. And some days the pro paintball grind is just that, a grind. The team is in Sacramento for the weekend practicing the Ironmen. For most of us Friday began in the middle of the night Thursday. Our flight out of Tampa scheduled to depart at 6:30 am. Some guys stayed up all night. Some of us got a few hours sleep; 3 or 4 was the norm. Early morning is one of the two busiest times of day at Tampa's airport. I was the last one into and out of security arriving at the gate with 15 or 20 minutes to spare. It was 2 hours on a full flight to Houston followed by a ninety minute layover. Then 4 hours to Sacramento. Collect the rental cars after picking up our bags; hotel to check in, Subway for lunch and to the field. Capiltol Edge to practice the Ironmen for the rest of the day. Only to discover delivery of our paint was delayed by a snowstorm to the north. Arrange to make enough paint for Friday appear anyway. At which point it's been a fifteen hour day already. Except J-Rab missed his connecting flight when his flight out of D.C. was delayed with icy wings. For him the majority of the day was spent in airports waiting. He arrived Friday night around 8:30 pm. Some days. Saturday is the all day grind and Sunday it will be get in one last morning of practice prior to Galveston leaving the field around 1 pm. In order to get everyone home in time for work Monday morning our return flights have 2 or 3 scheduled stops and we'll hit the tarmac in Tampa just before 7 am. Assuming everything goes as planned.

Baca's Mailbag, Dec 23

What do you think Division 1 teams can and need to do in order to better themselves to make the jump to Pro? Besides the experience, what do Pro teams have that a successful D1/ Semipro team doesn't have and how can we best prepare ourselves for what's to come.

Players capable of competing on the Pro level. Of course part of that capability is born of experience--but not all of it.
Then there's the interesting qualifier; "successful" D1/Semipro teams. But what constitutes successful in this context? The big unknown for any team making the jump is whether the team belongs or doesn't. Let's look for a moment at the last two PSP am teams to make the jump; Vicious & CEP. Vicious via D1 and a Semi-pro season and CEP from D1. Vicious finished 10 of 12 teams in their first season and 8 out of 10 in their second with one Sunday appearance. Fortunately that Sunday came at Cup and provides a lift going into next season. CEP finished 10 of 10. Would it surprise you to know that Vicious has only won 2 PSP events since 2007? And that CEP won only one of 8 D1 events and one of those D1 seasons also saw the PSP offer a Semipro division. I mention the history of the latest two additions to the PSP Pro division because almost everyone would have said they were successful programs prior to making the move. (I am not, btw, saying neither Vicious or CEP can compete at the pro level but I also don't doubt for a second it's proved much more difficult than either team expected.) The (apparently) soon to be Pro Upton 187 has been more successful winning their final three D2 events and the final two D1 events this past season. That's 5 wins in the last 8 events. Now that is a successful team. Will it translate into pro success? Depends on what "success" means, doesn't it? Just being able to call yourself a pro player or have PBN turn you green is not success. Joining the club isn't success--it is the ultimate challenge in competitive paintball--embrace it.
Realistically--for pretty much everybody--early on success is survival. Success is staying engaged, staying positive, fighting the good fight. Recognizing there is a steep learning curve. One positive way to do this is to have clearly articulated goals. Focus on those goals and focus on learning the necessary lessons the competition will try to teach.
As a practical matter there are perhaps a few proactive things to be done. Play pro teams. (Easier said than done, I know.) (Keeping in mind that practice isn't competition. You only succeed in practice if you learn something and improve.) Organize your pit. Do it the same way every time with everyone having a known role to perform as required. (The less the team has to think about things other than playing the better.) The same applies to any and all team-related roles. It promotes order and frees the players up to focus on playing. At the beginning of each season the team should set goals, by practice, by event and for the season. Adjust upward as needed. Make every practice count. Practice needs to focus on making each and every player better, every time. (The critical question is how, I know.) One way is to tape practice and matches for later evaluation. Ideally, here's where a captain or coach can make a significant difference, particularly one who has been there and done that. It's mighty hard to know what you're missing when you don't know you're missing it. It is also difficult for most teams to internally evaluate one another and the team's deficiencies--much less have a good idea how to fix identified problems. And most players, however motivated, need someone to help draw the best out of them. And of course Race 2-7 is a more tactical and strategic variant than they will be used to as well.
At the end of the day there remain no guarantees. No sure fire answers. No roadmap to certain success. The best you can do is do your best.

Baca's Mailbag, December 19

For 2012 we will be playing D2 Xball nationally and I feel like all of our gun fighting skills individually are there, but just as a team I'm worried about the overall game plan execution. What are the best ways to lay out a game plan? How to make sure everyone sticks to their objective for that point? AND at what point do you have to change the game plan when it's not working? When you're down 0-3?

A good off season question. One I could (sadly) spend hours and pages answering but for now let's cover the rudiments and follow-up in comments or with another question--or ten. The two core points are simple; the game plan begins with (but extends beyond) the breakout and the players must know their role despite the constantly shifting game play. You have the weekend prior to the event to decide what your breakouts will be and the different ways you will sequence the runs during the breakout. (See below.) And to run those breakouts and run options until your squad is comfortable with the basic breakouts. That's the easy part.
When we talk about roles we're talking both fundamentals of playing the game--What is the wire lead's primary responsibility?--and if you're the third live player between two wire players what's your job in closing out a point? What do you do and why do you do it? And we're talking positional responsibility. What is the job of the snake side insert? When and how does the Home shooter decide to make a move? Too often what happens is teams run their breakout and just let the rest of the point happen. It is important in practice to play various mid- and end-game scenarios as teaching opportunities and in the process use those opportunities to also define what the role is of a each player in various positions on the field. Finally, despite  what seems to be the conventional (uninformed) wisdom it's very important that players communicate on field in order to cooperate and coordinate their actions.
You don't change the plan. You come prepared with a number of breakouts and alternative ways of reaching your desired primaries. You practice them in advance. Your alternatives are designed to keep your opponent guessing--and shooting the wrong lanes at the wrong times--and as pre-arranged responses to certain predicted situations. If we can't get into the snake OTB this alternative will accomplish our requirement with only minimal delay. For example, when you struggle to get your player into the snake OTB add a Home edger who delays his primary run; or trail a corner runner who is gunning back into the Home zone; or send the corner runner first and trail the snake runner who is gunning the Home zone; or delay the snake runner until other guns are in position to counter the lane shooter(s) and slingshot the snake runner once your countering lanes are up, etc. The basic goal doesn't change or even the number of players committed to the effort--just the way you accomplish the task OTB or soon thereafter. But if you haven't practiced these options you cannot expect to execute them in a match.
The basic in-match adjustments are principally changing shooting lanes OTB and responding as needed to inside/out play. Lane adjustments can be anything from edging, to doubling lanes with delaying secondary shooters, changing the zones runners are shooting back into, etc. The reason you change shooting lanes is as a direct counter to effective laning by your opponent, to increase the effectiveness of your laning or to facilitate making your primaries. Knowing when to make adjustments depends on recognizing your opponent's tactics and communicating with your players. Inside/out play refers to the tactical option of either aggressively getting wide and on the wire OTB or keeping extra shooters inside to add lanes OTB and take primaries on the delay or else play short primaries looking to make limited, progressive bumps to the wire(s). The issue is effectiveness. For example, if your opponent is playing inside OTB and consistently eliminating one or more of your players an immediate adjustment may be required. Conversely if you're playing short and your opponent is getting wide and taking the play away from you, again an inside/out adjustment may be necessary. The standard inside/out adjustment is to match your opponent. Alternatively simple lane changes may suffice. Knowing your team and experience will tell you what you need to know. Expect a learning curve and incorporate adjustments into your practice.

Baca's Mailbag, Dec 12

The question(s) that follow are very common. I have heard them repeated for as long as I've been involved in this game and there was a time when I asked most of them. I don't have definitive answers. The best I can do is some observations based on too many years experience. I invite the rest of you slackers to include your take on these questions in the comments.

(A) Ok, What type of back round do most of the pro players or regular tourney player have ??? (B) How do you afford it? is a question I am asked many times over the couse of a season? (C) I see a lot of the newer players having a tough time, when they look at the commitment needed to play on a regular basis. Our team is made up of a mix of people, ages and incomes and we are in a rual area.. (D) We have to buget and save to do what we do. We have no team sponsors and by no means do I think we have money to throw around.. We didnt go to a couple of major event due to the cost of traveling (air fare) How how do most players afford to play ...? (E) Do sponsors make up some of the difference, has it really become a rich man's sport? (F) What your feeling on the paintball landscape and the cost of playing competitive ball?


I'm going to respond to the questions in the order they come up and in order to keep things as clear as possible I've divided the query into sections.
(A)--from an economic perspective there is no type. I joke occasionally about the lack of diverse sports interest and background among tourney players but I doubt it's much different from the generalized norm. I just find it a bit curious since most competitive people are competitive about almost everything, and as kids, tend to try more things--or did a hundred years ago when I was a kid.
(B)--the usual way most players do. By prioritizing their spending in such a way that they can keep playing paintball. Figure out what you can afford and then spend more--is the way it frequently ends up. I'm not even sure it's all that much different, cost-wise, than it used to be. (But I do think there are a couple of contributing factors that are different today than in the past.) Back in the day we shot less paint but it cost a lot more. The last IAO I played Hellfire was $105 bucks a case of 2000 (including tax.) High end guns weren't much cheaper and national events were a larger time commitment, more days off school or work. A serious tourney jones has never been cheap. The biggest difference today is practice costs.
(C)--Nothing new here either although I do think it's tougher to get started in tourney paintball than it once was. My first team had players with money but no time and players with time but no money. Some were super gung ho, others a lot less so. Our biggest issue was getting enough time & money & commitment together for actual events. We were a decent practice team and a lousy competition team.
(D)--Again, not uncommon. So does most everybody else involved in the tourney side of the game. What often happens is one or two guys end up taking on extra financial burdens (to be paid back later) which almost inevitably turn into (more) problems later. Two things are required of a serious team; strong leadership and a plan. And once the plan is agreed to everyone needs to hold up their end--or they get replaced. More problems arise here in that lots of times the team is a mix of friends and ages and resources and that has always been and remains a recipe for frustration more often than not. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, everybody understands the difficulties but if the team is actually going to function there has to be a bottom line commitment from everyone actively involved. The big difference is today the level of commitment is higher lower down the divisional ladder than it once was, or so it seems to me. 
(E)--Sponsors make up some of the difference for very few teams any more. And the lion's share of what remains of real sponsorship, not discount product deals, is product. For example, Team A gets X number of guns from sponsor Q. The guns are for the team with the understanding the extra guns are sold to help fund the team. There are a relative handful of teams that do better than that.
(F)--In many respects very little has changed. Serious competition isn't cheap, it requires some level of commitment. A commitment in time & money. It is what it is. Beyond that I have one serious concern and I think there are a couple of factors in play today that are significantly different from times past.
My fear is decisions about the game's future direction will be based too much on the current rough economic times. Somewhere there's a boundary between keeping the sport alive and killing it in an effort to get more peeps to play.
Having said all that I also think there are things that make it more difficult to compete than in times past: fewer fields dedicated to supporting local team(s); a broadly younger demographic; what practice has become. The first one seems pretty straighforward. Toss into the mix the larger number of younger players and you've got kids without direction and fewer leaders. Fewer leaders and fewer homes that welcome competitive players and teams makes it more difficult to build teams. And somewhere during the last decade the romance of the grind has token hold of all divisions of competition. Which isn't a bad thing but it has upped the ante to competing in virtually every division of play. Kick in scrimming on the event layout and the game--for too many--becomes about reps, practice points played and nearly endless cases of paint shot--and we're talking about so-called introductory levels of play. The entry bar has been raised too high and it's going to be nigh on impossible to lower it. 

Baca's Mailbag, Dec 9

I can see the bottom of the mail bag from here, slackers. Just saying. Personally, I'm looking forward to my blogging vacation.

"My team is looking to make the jump from Race 2-2 to D3 Race 2-4. We have been successful in the past despite being somewhat isolated with little to no access to other better teams for practice and training. My concerns are twofold; How is xball lite different, if it is, and is there anything other than what we're doing we can do to continue to get better considering our situation?" (Official VFTD paraphrase offered for clarity and succinctness.)

First, the tone of the question(s) expressed some hesitation about making the move to D3 xball lite. The move, compulsory or otherwise, needs to be reframed as a positive challenge, a good thing for the team. (Because it is.) On the other hand it's also a good thing to be as prepared as possible.
The steepest learning curve immediately is the turnaround on points. Your players need to be physically prepared and as a team you need to be properly organized to deal with the changes the quick turnarounds cause. Depending on how many players are on the team you will need to take into account; line up changes, in match tactical adjustments, basic logistical necessities. Your basic logistical necessities are potted paint, aired up working markers, assigned roles, unmarked players--all the usual basics. When you walk off the field and know you don't play again for between 10 minutes and an hour or whatever all those things are easily dealt with. When you're playing again in two minutes you have to have a plan--and everybody needs to know how they fit in the plan. Even if you will staff assistance it is worth talking through the process as a group and practicing getting ready within the turnaround time limit.
Depending on the size of your roster you may also need to prepare for shifting line-ups, different groups of five going out to play each point. Anything less than two complete lines means some number of players will be playing back-to-backs and will require priority coming off the field for things like air, getting cleaned up (paint free), etc. Even if shifting line-ups isn't new make sure you know how it's going to work within the limited time frame of the xball (Race 2) turnaround. It's between points, 2 players are going back-to-back and the pit is full of people trying to get ready and get on the field. The last thing you need is to know in advance how your team will determine what your next point is going to be. Do your players decide? Does a coach call prearranged plays? However the team functions you will need to make sure your routine for that too fits within your turnaround time. It may seem rather daunting at first but if you walk through it, get everybody on the same page and practice getting everything done within the time limit you'll be well ahead of the game. Keep in mind your first practical event experience may still be kinda chaotic because the one thing you can't prepare for is the real deal--but your advance prep will make the transition much easier.
(Based on the elements of practice you mentioned) the team should add laning OTB and Running & Gunning drills to your current regimen. (There are half a dozen or more posts in the archives covering those topics in how-to formats. Search stuff like laning, OTB, practice, playing the game, running & gunning and so on.) Otherwise the drills and mismatches (snap-shooting, 1on1's, 2on1's, 3on2's, etc.) and so on continue to be a solid base. With little or no local challenges to help keep the team sharp your group attitude and focus becomes critical to future success--which is one reason the move up to a new national level challenge is positive motivation. The other thing you need to focus on when it comes to your regular (routine) practice is execution. Practice can't degenerate into simply going through the motions, it needs to be about perfecting, always getting better.
Finally I would suggest, if it's at all possible, to arrange a special weekend practice trip--not unlike going to an event--to test your progress and scrimmage with better players and teams. Or, alternatively planning well in advance to schedule competing at a regional event where better than home grown competition will exist. Regardless, treat your first event or two in the new format as learning experiences and set your goals accordingly.
Good luck. 

World Cup Practice, part 4

This is it, slackers. A December freebie--and the final installment discussing our WC practice weekend on the event layout. (Yes, I could go on almost forever but I'm stopping with this installment. If you have additional questions feel free to ask or post them up in comments.) It's also now December--and that means Mailbag Month is here. (This is your final reminder that all posts in December, except breaking news of real import--and there's an official one coming!--will be answering questions or responding to mailbag or Facebook comments. And if those run out or don't exist in sufficient numbers to fill December then I'm on vacation! Just saying.)
Recap: So far we've covered a general assessment of the value of the most common primary bunkers; how we will attack & defend the snake and what it will take to play effectively on the D-wire. This time I want to round things out by talking a bit more about actually playing the snake, some alternative options, why the center of this layout wasn't utilised more actively and whatever other bits & pieces come to mind. A veritable post-Thanksgiving cornucopia of game play scraps and leftovers.

How a team play(ed) this (or any other snake) is oftentimes one of the features that separate the men from the boys. On the diagram you will note that the first four knuckles (or shooting stations) are numbered appropriately. As we've already discussed the mid-field MT is likely to be played as a secondary Home bunker and used primarily to deny and/or control the snake. Now, taking a closer look at what the various knuckles offer, why, if you have worked hard to get into the snake and there is a crossfield MT gun--do you stop at the first knuckle and try to play it? The goal of gaining the snake isn't in order to contest other players in superior positions shooting down on top of you while you crawl on your belly. I know, I know, you already know this but a quick review of your's (and most everybody else's) practical experience will demonstrate that you may know dat but you don't play dat.
Ideally the object of working into the snake is to get in position to kill peeps who have no place to hide. In addition the secondary object is to apply pressure to your opponent; pressure that either pins them in their spots or forces them to react. Remember proximity tension? It applies in spades in the snake.
In practice our field was set-up in such a way that the midfield MT did not have a clean gap to shoot between snake 1 and snake 2. On the Pro field at Cup there was a gap. Did it make a difference? Yes but only a minor one. A competent snake player was not delayed for any length of time by the MT and if you watch some of the Pro field matches the thing to look for is players making the strong move right to snake 4 as rapidly and directly as possible. Playing the snake is not a leisurely sight-seeing proposition moving from one knuckle to the next--it's about taking aggressive action that quickly eliminates your opponent(s) or forces your them into a defensive posture. Even if the snake player doesn't get any fast kills the action frequently frees up other players to make moves and take greater control of the field.
One other generalized comment with regards to proximity tension. (Okay, two.) One, if you watch how players respond to proximity tension you will learn a lot about how they play the game under stress. Two, it is always better to give than receive (and I'm not talking about gifts at Christmas.) I'm talking about bunkering your opponent when the opportunity presents itself--and/or proactively making your own opportunities. The benefits are practical and psychological, as one springs from the other. It is offense and not defense, it is active, not reactive. It imposes your will on your opponent. The core move is a momentum builder (or changer) and it simultaneously encourages teammates to act while discouraging opponents resulting as often as not in a net gain in field position with the added bonus of demoralizing the opponent.
At this point it's fair to say we were committed to attacking the wires. We had decided how we would go about doing that and what options and contingencies we could call upon when circumstances required. Our attack may appear simple but it wasn't. But what other options exist? It is always necessary to evaluate the whole field even if you don't plan on using all of it because you also must be prepared for what your opponent might do. (A great example of this is the most recent NCPA final featuring, if I recall correctly, Long Beach State & Tennessee. Losing the match trying to play Long Beach straight up Tennessee altered their attack. Instead of competing for the snake they played to hold the snake and attack using an interior D-side lane. [I kept waiting to see somebody try it all day.] The change in tactics took Long Beach by surprise and they never came up with a workable counter which allowed Tennessee to run off a few points in a row and take the championship. Whether Tennessee was saving that tactic or fell into it doesn't matter. What matters is that Long Beach wasn't prepared to respond to it. Watch the video some time. It's pretty remarkable. Which is why I remarked on it.)
After the fact it's clear that the center of the field wasn't much utilised except in closing points out but I want to take a quick look at why it wasn't. (Lots of teams, when they have nothing else or as a bold change, will send player(s) up the center OTB.) There were a couple of reasons not to attack using this layout's X OTB. On the diagram at either side of the X you will note on the D-side a critical blind zone in pink and on the snake side two lanes in purple. Each side of the X presents a player with variations on the same problem. On the D-side both the wire MT and corner TCK can't be seen. What is the X-side player to do? If there's an opponent wide in either the MT or TCK do you play them to deny the D1 or close the angle? Inside the MR and the midfield MT both have line-of-sight angles and the X-side can be run down from Home. A similar scenario exists on the snake side as the X-side player there needs to either attack insert Temple or corner SD (and TCK) or defend access to the snake--but can't do both--and is also susceptible to being bunkered or countered by the feed TCK. In neither case does going X-side OTB offer a high likelihood of quick kills and/or disruption of the opponent's breakout.
But that doesn't (didn't) mean the middle zone of the field didn't play. On the D-side using the midfield MT as a D-side play (instead of the crossfield) offers a strong change of pace option to either attack Home, a crossfield TCK laner or breakdown snake side players in their primaries early in a point by bumping the Can as part of a move to the wire from the inside out. It also a good running path if your opponent is already strong on the wire. Even better when playing snake side as the strong side--odd gun is committed snake side--is the rotation upfield into the Can (see dashed line). It can be an OTB option but is better as a contingency. By that I mean if you lane the wide runner OTB--then you take the Can to cut off follow-up rotations to the wire and eventually turn the gun inside in the transition from mid-game to close out.
Beyond that there's the routine stuff of walking and re-walking the positions. Testing bounce shots. Talking through options and sequences with your teammates. And on and on. The process is as comprehensive or as simple as you choose to make it.

2011 World Cup Practice, part 3

It's back! (World Cup practice posts, d'oh.) Despite a lack of popular demand. (This one's for you, Devon.) (Okay, not really just for you but it does prove I almost keep up to date with VFTD's Facebook page.)

To quickly recap parts 1 & 2 practice is for developing players and the skills required to be successful in actual tournaments. Versatility is a key training goal. Not only does the proper sort of training make players stronger where they were weak but it instills confidence in the individual and in the group as a unit. It is self-reinforcing and allows the coach or captain to go from strength to strength. I have watched all the PSP uploaded videos of our matches a number of times. My objective is to look for things I didn't see during the actual match--because during the match I'm watching our opponents, not my guys--so that I can perhaps pick up on things we need to work on. And trust me, I always find fault somewhere. (And sometimes it's even me.)

No player will do anything in a match that he hasn't done or won't do in practice. Read that over again and let it sink in. (Now read it again.) Whatever limitations your players show in practice you can safely expect 10-20% less from them in a real match. (One where the score goes up on the big board.) (And, yes, there are of course exceptions but as a general rule players tend to back off a little, or a lot, from practice to the real deal.) As a consequence the only place players really learn to expand their game is in practice. (To know something intellectually doesn't automatically translate into action.) And once a player has a couple of years of competition under their belt it often requires that you intentionally push them places they otherwise wouldn't go. (Players tend to settle, get comfortable in specific roles, want to do the things they already do well, etc.)

One caveat. Last time (practice part 2) I mentioned moving players around and the fact we made that call while also prepping the event layout the weekend before Cup. I want to caution lower division teams with less experienced players about doing the same. Developing versatility is a process and should be worked on primarily in practices that aren't layout prep. The reason for this is confidence and team cohesion. With a young, building team and/or inexperienced players last minute changes of that nature can (and usually do) play havoc with player and team self-confidence. (There's lots of stress, mixed in with the excitement, for developing young teams contemplating a big event. Following routines and focusing on the positive as your lead-in is normally the best approach.)

Back the Cup layout.

Part 2 left off with a description of the back and forth process involved in determining how we would play with respect to a single prop; the D-side MT. Part 3 will dissect playing the D-wire and the various control options. Beginning with the Home shooter the diagram illustrates 4 lanes. Lane 1 is an occasional lane best used after edging the MT consistently and changing the opponent's path. Lanes 2 & 3 are the primary OTB lanes. Lane 4 may or may not be available depending on the actual physical field set-up but it's a tight lane and less effective than 3. The first half of Saturday we shot Lane 2. I wanted to be able to get paint on any D-side runner, including dropping short into the MR, but we could not put a consistent lane up in that close to the breakout. So we moved to Lane 3--and began putting paint on their runners consistently. (Once the opponent is forced to take the MR on the breakout more often than not playing the dead zones--blue dots--becomes an effective option to either lane the MR and/or attack the Home shooter before they can get out.) (Home shooter can also be the dead zone shooter.) The only effective D-wire control bunkers are in Orange and Purple. (The Violet option of playing the MT D-side offered only marginal utility and even less than it appears on the diagram due to the narrow laning window.) (Green can only cover very limited lanes and cannot be relied on to control movement.) The cross field Orange is one of those situations that require a constant paint stream, more or less, and actually only pins the opponent in D1. As a consequence we used this option randomly--unless we were under heavy D-side pressure (which as a practical matter didn't happen)--to slow upfield D-wire progress and force the opposition to always be aware of the possibility. In concert with Orange we used Purple (MR) for layers of contain. Given that the the MR has a positional disadvantage versus the D1, corner TCK and wire-side MT the object is not to gunfight edges, it's to inhibit (deny) movement.

Okay, given that post breakout movement on the D-wire has the potential to overwhelm efforts to deny movement control guns aren't enough. (And are, of course, also fundamentally defense-oriented requiring a transition from defense to offense.) The other factor at play is what I call proximity tension. Proximity tension is what happens when opposing players get close to each other. Too close and you risk getting bunkered. Too far and you may give up additional spots but in any case proximity tension means that the first team to get upfield position tends, simply by already being in a spot, to inhibit their opponents up wire movement.

Early on Saturday Dynasty took aggressive advantage of pushing the D-wire when we couldn't contain the wire lead with our lanes OTB. Once we began shooting an effective lane, Lane 3, it forced Dynasty to mix up their D-side breakouts. (Dynasty hadn't done much better with their contain and the result was a lot of back and forth bunkering action.) Overall the edge went to Dynasty as their support/insert players were more aggressive. (Remember they were also doing a very effective job early of getting into the snake adding heavy snake cross field pressure at the same time.)

Another important element is running lanes and the critical distinction is spacing at the intersection of the shooting and running lanes. The MR placement tends to force a flat run early regardless of primary bunker. Since the primary lanes OTB are on both sides of the MR the goal is to get as much separation between the two running lanes as possible in order to force your opponent to have to pick which lane they will shoot OTB. On this layout then a tight run around the MR into the wire side MT (diving it even!) is a necessary option along with a baseline run to the corner. (A lot of teams simply ran deep all the time and that is not going to work consistently against a good laning team.) 

Given that consistent and effective contain was really mostly a delaying tactic our goal became to get on the wire quickly and up the wire even faster. Once the objective is clear the issue then becomes execution. Can the players consistently do what is required to achieve your goal(s)? If yes, you're good to go. If no, then you need to reconsider your options because it does no good to ask players to do something they simply can't so in that sense we return to training for versatility in order to open up the available options for competing on any type of layout.

Next time--putting it altogether. 

2011 World Cup practice, part 2

Yesterday was the set-up. Today we begin to dig into the details. But before I get into specifics I want to suggest some Big Picture ways of thinking about the practice process whether we're talking drills, intra-team scrims or full blown match sims against real competition. It is not about winning. Points, matches, the day or internet bragging claims. Nobody gets the trophy for practice. It's about becoming better players and a better, more fully prepared team. It's about taking every opportunity to improve; to learn. In this instance it's about learning the specific field inside and out, individually and corporately, and matching our talents to the demands of the field. In this process you are testing various options; everything from breakout runs--do we run & gun or just run?--breakout action combinations (paths, sequences, delays, spacing)--lanes OTB--and counters to your opponents actions--and adjustments to his counters of your efforts. There are too many important things to accomplish to worry about "winning." (There is one important caveat to the "winning" practice isn't important conversation. And that is dependent on the personalities on a given team. If a team has very limited competitive experience or tends to lack confidence as a group or perhaps wilts a little under pressure a team's leadership needs to be aware of those tendencies and act accordingly. It may be necessary in those sorts of circumstances to tread more carefully but even then the time has to come where the team either steps up to the challenge or they don't.)
Also, a quick note regarding individual players. Versatility & competence. The more options you as a player can perform at a high level the more utility you have to your team. Do you not worry too much in practice about your laning ability 'cus that's not what you do? Are you exclusively a snake player? Or a doritos player? If your skill set is limited what happens when a player comes along who does your job better than you do? Here's a football analogy for you: Think running backs in the NFL. Do you know what the number one deficiency is that keeps skilled runners off the field? It's the ability to block and pick up blitzes. But what's that got to do with running the ball like Barry Sanders? Nothing but it's still part of a running backs job description in the NFL. Running backs who want to be in the game for more plays learn to block. If you want to be more valuable to your team and get as many reps on the field as possible the more things you do well the better.
One of the things we do in practice is move players around. In practice there are no snake players or dorito players or Home shooters, wire leads or inserts. Are some guys better at some aspects of the game? Sure, but everybody is capable of playing pretty much everywhere and fulfilling all the roles required and the better they are at more parts of the game the more they are relied on and the more different situations they can be counted on to play effectively. On the Cup field we made a number of positional changes from our norm. Ramzi was returning from an injury and in practice was struggling a little bit to find his rhythm playing the snake. Instead of having no options I moved him to insert and moved Holliday over from the D-wire to snake lead. I could do that because Ramzi is a very good lane shooter and support player when called on and Holliday was (and is) a great snake player before we moved him to the D-side. And we didn't leave a deficiency on the D-wire because Jake has improved so much this year I was totally comfortable with him as a D-wire lead along with Chad. On Friday we were without Bryan Smith so Timmy & Jason did some double duty playing both sides of the field. No problem. On Saturday and Sunday with Bryan in the line-up Timmy played exclusively on the D-side even though he almost always plays the snake side (because he too is an excellent snake player.) This time we needed him on the D-side and it wasn't an issue. Plug & play. But it wasn't (isn't) enough for one or two guys to be versatile. Numerous members of the team needed to be able to fill changing or different roles effectively in order for me to be able to make those changes.
Back to the Cup field--and the forward MT most everyone was playing on the cross to try and control snake entry and movement. Given my pre-practice evaluation we began Saturday's scrimmage both playing the MT and looking for ways to deny the MT to Dynasty. I didn't like taking it off the top (as I thought it mitigated the effectiveness of our OTB lanes) so we mostly moved into it on a delayed basis. Either immediately after laning from Home OTB or later in the point depending on Dynasty's ability to get into the snake. Over the course of the two days of practice it remained an option but we used it less and less. Instead we chose to counter from the dorito wire or from within the snake itself. It was possible for D-side players to stay alive even with a snake player in the midfield snake segment so we didn't worry about it to the point of consistently committing a player to try and stop the snake.

Coming to that conclusion involved the full two days however. Early we tried pinching the MT runner OTB with a D-side Home shooter and edger--which was frequently effective but allowed a free run wide. Later, after Dynasty started using the snake corner to harass the MT we slowed our Temple insert runner in the zone between the TCK and the Temple (snake-side) where he could lane the player moving into the MT who was, initially, still focused on shooting the head of the snake. Later they countered by shooting a primary lane inside the Temple to hopefully get a runner and counter our ability to kill that guy early. At which point we ran the corner and up or straight into the snake because on the break the MT was no longer defending the snake, he was defending himself. And when we had little success early denying Dynasty the snake we started playing the dead zone behind the Can (snake-side) and doubling up our lanes OTB. Dynasty tried to counter with edgers and running & gunning wide. The edgers weren't very effective so we settled on shooting the lane inside the Temple to catch either a snake or corner runner. And we tended to stay at Home early if the opponent hadn't got into the snake because both the snake corner and insert Temple could harass the MT player's edge but couldn't shoot at a tucked in Home player. (OTB Home was susceptible on the D-side so when teams would pack Home in hopes of getting up extra lanes and then breaking to short primaries we edged them from the D-side mostly or ran & gunned both corners.)

The point is we're (so far) only talking about one key prop and the process through practice of determining the best ways to play it and counter it and if either team had been more focused on "winning" practice we would have learned less, experimented less and ultimately been less prepared for the real tournament.

More next time.

2011 World Cup Practice, part 1

We actually went three weekends in a row leading up to Cup but this series of posts is going to focus on the weekend with Dynasty when we had the event layout to scrimmage on. In the two preceding weekends I designed specific layouts for us to play intended to help us focus on certain elements of the game. I made the wires difficult to play, with unusual and smaller props, and set-up a number of edges that required routine gunfighting for control and making moves. The fields also, under ideal circumstances, allowed big moves--and one of the two layouts had a snake broken up with MR bunkers and gaps--so I got lucky guessing that one. The object was to force the team into repetitive actions during the play of the points that reinforced (and sharpened) both the individual and unit skills necessary for success. I tend to prefer duplicating game conditions as much as possible over most sorts of drills. (Certain drills however remain necessary and when doing those we also try to make the action, however limited, consistent with the way we play the game during a match.)
The final weekend's prep began for me when the field layout was released on Wednesday. (If you didn't play Cup it would probably be helpful to print out a copy of the layout to see the props, angles, etc. being discussed. I'll post one up in the next post as well.) I reviewed it cursorily on Wednesday and Thursday to get familiar with it without drawing any conclusions. On Friday I began breaking it down in earnest. My routine, which is just my routine and possesses no magic formula or secret, starts with lines of sight (and used to include taking measurements. The measurements were a guide to distances from likely guns in relation to gaps players move through. I don't do that anymore because I've been doing this so long I don't need to.) With the lines of sight a picture begins to develop of your lane options OTB and which bunkers offer which shots and vice versa--who can shoot you and from where. At this stage it's all a rough projection that needs to be confirmed on any given actual field since conditions are always somewhat different for a variety of reasons. With experience a sense of how the layout will play begins to form. (Also, with experience--or Warpig's 3D field simulator--it's possible to also consider how the different elevations in play will effect situations on the field. By elevation, I mostly mean player position; standing, kneeling, crawling. Tight in a prop or able to play more loosely. Elevation affects gun angles and vision. What you can see and what you can shoot at.)
My initial evaluation was that the field encouraged defensive play from the midfield MT and the snake insert TCK on the cross particularly given the fact Home was a Pin. Those uses were all the more likely because of the limited ability to attempt to control movements from other positions on the field. On the snake side the TCK, insert Temple and corner SD were all poor options for controlling rotations into the snake. Only the forward Can provided the open angles and field of vision and it was a high risk primary. Even Home was less than ideal given it's bunker size and the number of positions that could bring paint to bear. On the D-wire the midfield MT had very poor visibility to the D-side and the length of the wire was sufficiently aligned that controlling movement up the wire from the wire was basically impossible. That left the insert MR and the two upfield Cans, one on each side of the field. The Cans were high risk and the MR put the player trying to control wire movement at a disadvantage vis-a-vis pretty much everyone on that side of the field. The issue for both the MT & the TCK on the cross was distance from the zones covered and inability to see players making aggressive inside-out runs until it was too late necessitating a constant stream of paint to hope to be successful in consistently denying rotations up the D-wire or into the snake.
The other "problem" I had with that was playing defense OTB tends to make your team reactive instead of proactive. You are waiting for some condition to be met or the other team to do something before taking the initiative and/or playing offense. Frankly I think that's a bad idea all the way around.

Tomorrow. (Next time.) How early points played reflected expectations (or defied them) and how each team adjusted to changing attacks.

World Cup Layout 2011: Coming Attractions

With the Cup field I think we can safely say the PSP's "rules" experiment to entice bigger, older, slower players back into competitive paintball is over. A Pin as the Home prop? And a Tall Cake and a Mini Race are the two closest props to Home. If the league is hoping for faster points on this layout the Masters division may oblige. Beyond that completely gratuitous criticism this is an interesting and tactically complex field that I expect to see most teams defend and attack poorly. And by poorly I mean I expect most divisional teams to simply be unaware of the potential of this layout and to play it mostly as a straightforward xball field. (I watched some play this weekend that was not exactly inspirational.) In a lot of respects this is unfortunate particularly for teams that don't discover some characteristic or other of the layout until another team utilises it during a match that counts. It's hard to fix problems on the fly you hadn't encountered before.
In the past I've broken down aspects of various layouts for the educational value and as examples of different ways of thinking about playing different layouts. What I'm going to do with the Cup layout is go thru our practice process from this past weekend's scrimmaging with Dynasty. I am going to do it in enough detail that it will probably cover at least 3 or 4 posts. This will be a substantial expansion over the relatively simple field breakdowns that I hope will offer some new ideas and insights into the process of using practice & scrimmaging more productively.
I'll begin the series next Monday. (Not tomorrow. The following Monday--after Cup.) In the meantime if any of y'all have any specific questions drop me a line and I'll answer them before Cup--if I can. And if I can't post them and I'll try to respond by email.

You Call That A Grind?

We played simulated matches today on the Chicago layout. Yesterday we ran breakouts and full points. Two days, one weekend and that's it until we play Shock on Friday afternoon. The old grind isn't what it once was. Oh, I know, a few teams will get in some extra scrimmage time during the week--and the Legion coaches are probably busy trying to figure out how their players can achieve positive visualizations in their sleep--if they don't already do that. Of course that isn't the only paintball we played to get ready but it was the most valuable time spent. If only we had layouts to play that really took advantage of the limited preparation time by offering unique characteristics that different teams might try to exploit in different ways. That might produce some pretty exciting paintball. That's not going to happen (much) in Chicago.

The virtue of the Chitown layout is in its lack of unique qualities. It made it easier to prep as we've all seen versions of this before. It also means there are some worthwhile general lessons to be learned from a field like Chicago. Consequently, after the event I'll try to spend some time revisiting the layout and discussing the keys to play & some of the trade-offs that will have been well illustrated during the tournament.

In some general PSP info it looks like the final number is 155 teams (although the optional registration during the event is being held open for a couple of Tactical Race 2-2 teams.) Last year's total was 154 but last year saw 93 xball teams compared to 80 this year with the difference made up in added Race 2-2 teams. During the registration period there were plenty of teams to get within sniffing distance at least of the old Chicago 200 team standard but apparently being registered for Chicago for three months was their competition.

A Bar Too High

The fate of UK competitive paintball is being discussed over at P8ntballer--and it's of some interest--given nothing much is happening. (Although I'm beginning to seriously wonder what's become of the NPPL's attempt to engage ESPN & the next ESPN3 broadcast. I've heard a rumor or two but nothing of consequence and, as it's said, the hour approaches.) It's no doubt of considerably more interest to some of the UK kids, as well it should be. But here's the part I'm intrigued by; the path competitive paintball has followed in different countries. The UK is dominated by rental sites that cater--to the near exclusion of everything else (walk-ons, team practices, etc.)--to rental players and groups only. As a result players who became more involved and bought their own gear etc. were limited in the available outlets of play and (so it seems to me anyway) largely turned to tournament play. Or perhaps more of a Tournament Lite. Some teams, but not a lot, took it more seriously than others and trained and improved and worked their way up but many more didn't. When xball came along (including Euroland's bastard child, Xball Lite) the paradigm began to shift. With competitive paintball being transformed into sport so too the participants needed to be turned into athletes and competitors. That shift has had its effect around the paintball world. In the UK it has left competitive paintball in a shambles because a significant portion of their tourney base were really displaced recreational players. There are some who hope to turn that around but have yet to forge a viable plan for doing so.
Meanwhile, in places like Germany (where the development of paintball was almost the reverse of the UK in that tourney & team play has spawned recreational and training facilities) paintball is growing or at least solidly entrenched. The largest national league, the DPL, has around 300 teams competing around the country. What did they do to make that happen?
A few years ago Scandinavian (and particularly Swedish) tourney ball was very strong. It may well be it still is--I just don't know. But again, there's the same question of how did they organize successfully? Did the Germans follow their lead or did each follow a unique path?
There are other examples as well--and I'm very interested in the answers--because I'm inclined to think a significant factor in the decline of competitive paintball in the U.S. (at least in terms of the number of teams participating) shares some commonalities with the UK situation.

[Mix in the fact that PBIndustry policy frequently treated point of contact stores and fields like Sherman's Army marching through Georgia and we're well on our way towards a recipe for disaster.]

A bar too high. (I've mentioned this concept before so if you remember it, good for you and if not, it's new all over again.) The drive to legitimize competitive paintball as sport forced a lot of changes, first on the Pro teams--as did the routines & training of the Russian Legion. The effort to compete with the Russians forced the Pro teams to become more professional in their approach with fitness, drills, training & player development, etc. The whole attitude of the competitive side of paintball was transformed by both the conception of competitive paintball as sport and by the consequent demands it placed on teams. It raised the bar on what was required to be competitive. More money. More time. Greater commitment.
And it trickled down.
In magazine articles about the pro players and teams. In the How-To articles. In the nature of the xball format itself. In the shifting demographic skewing always younger. In the fever swamp created by the mirage of TV.

While I am foursquare behind the conception of competitive paintball as legit sport and have nothing but respect & admiration for the players and teams, regardless of current level or achievement, who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices in order to strive to be the best--it has created a gulf between the average rec baller and tournament paintball. It has raised the bar to entry so high it is driving potential players away. The transition used to be easier, smoother, less demanding. Out at our home field most every weekend you will find D5 & D4 teams grinding away. (Which, after a fashion, is pretty awesome.) They're doing drills, breakouts and scrimmaging. They are working, not playing. And where does that leave the kid or father and son who have been playing recreationally for a while and are curious about the tournament experience?

Next time I'll talk about the two tracks.

Baca's Mailbag: Lessons from Galveston?

Don wants to know--at least he wanted to know last week--if the Galveston pro game videos might be useful as film study for either the pro teams or divisional teams. (At the time he asked I hadn't watched any of the videos. I have now seen a fairly large representative sample.) The answer is an equivocating maybe. More definitively, and equally disappointing, there really isn't enough of the right kind of material to serve as useful film study.

But before I get into the details I have a request: Hey, Matty, how 'bout mixing up your booth partners in order to get reps from all the teams involved? There's nothing wrong with Matty & His All-Star Friends but maybe a little love for the rest of us? (Assuming the league is going to continue with the event videos.) I know, it's out there ... but it might work. Just saying.

The matches, or as I prefer to call them, the kinetic motive activities too often focused on elements of the action, even on the breakouts where a single team was featured or the split screen and camera angles couldn't keep all ten players in sight. The elevated camera view that encompassed most of the field was the most useful angle for film study. With film study I'm focusing on one of two s. Either I'm confirming my guys were attempting the play called and analyzing their execution and following thru to success or failure or I'm observing an opponent for patterns that may occur over the length of a match or things like tendencies exhibited by specific players. The patterns reflect either intentional or unintentional actions or routines that may be predicted beyond the patterns that are a nearly universal element of playing the format. For example, you don't need film study to know that if an opponent loses a corner player they are likely to try and re-fill the spot quickly. But film study (or live study for that matter) can tell you that #34 always goes to a particular prop OTB or that Team X shows a strong tendency to fill a particular prop on the delay or as a secondary move. Unfortunately, the way the match videos are edited they don't provide enough consistent info to make those sorts of determinations.

What the Galveston videos may provide is some how-to (or even some how-not-to) info for developing players on playing specific positions on the field. There is quite a lot of snake play in the videos as well as lots of shots of individuals playing particular props that might be useful to some players.

For any teams interested in film study let me suggest you focus the majority of your efforts on filming and analyzing your own team first. Knowledge of an opponent may provide useful information but the advantages gained are seldom the difference between winning and losing--though they can be. Breaking your own team down will deliver larger rewards, faster. The first priority is a team's ability to go out and execute their game plan. And while it's nearly impossible in practice to keep track of every detail and every player the capability of going back and reviewing film over and over can reveal weaknesses and mistakes that are easily missed otherwise but just as easily addressed when you become aware of them.

Baca's Mailbag

Today's mailbag question comes from a player/coach who has a lot on his plate--around 40 total players competing in a number of different divisions. They routinely practice 3 times a week though not everyone manages every practice. It also sounds like they focus a lot of their efforts around mastering gun skills. (Which isn't a bad thing.) The questions asked amounted to curiosity regarding how a pro team practices and a query for ideas on ways to mix things up and keep them fresh. I can't tell you how pro teams practice but I can tell you how my team practices. And I will include in this post as many links as I can find to past posts discussing specific practice-related routines.
Over the past three seasons our practices have changed from one year to the next. Partly because of ongoing player development and partly because of changes in the format--particularly this year. (This is also an issue with a large club-like group with skills and experience spanning beginners to upper division play.) What the majority needed then isn't what they need now. At first we needed to integrate our incoming experienced players with the core roster of inexperienced players while continuing to develop the inexperienced players. Our drills & practices focused on the critical skills, team building, learning to play together and at the same time individual time to focus on the differing weaknesses within the team. With a smaller group that isn't hard to do in practice--but it's impossible if there isn't an overarching vision or goal for the team. Players can be taught the fundamentals and they can be taught various roles that are part of the game but they can't be taught to be part of a team if that team doesn't have real direction, and it can't, unless there is a singular goal or vision. That goal or vision isn't only about what the team wants to achieve it is also, more importantly, about how the team will achieve it. (More in a minute. Or three.)
This year we are focusing on preparing for the format change--and continuing to inch closer to our vision. Our drill keys are laning off the break, running & gunning & edge control. (And again.) We are preparing for the new length PSP field & how the new layouts are likely to play--not by adjusting our style--but by doing the things we do well, better, faster and with even greater precision than in the past. At the same time it isn't all dull drills. Our practices tend to be progressive in that we go from the basic or simple and add degrees of complexity, building on the fundamental(s) we began the day with. By the end of a practice we have (hopefully) worked our fundamentals from drill to scrimmage in ways that reinforce the skill while placing it within the context of the play of the game.

Let me recommend a couple of things to teams large and small. A lot of teams struggle, not because they aren't competent or committed players, but because they don't really know what kind of team they are or want to be. They haven't evaluated their strengths and weaknesses and acted as a unified group. If you are working with a large or multi-team group the first thing that needs to be done is to understand what each team currently is and then make decisions about what sort of team the members want it to be or what sort of team best suits the players' skills & temperament. Everything else will flow from those decisions.
Let me also suggest the large group scenario may decide it's necessary to reduce the total number of practices in order to more effectively focus on the unique needs of the different teams and developmental level of such a large group of players.

Here's a number of different past posts on drills & practice routines. Laning OTB. Laning OTB 2. Gunning & Running. More Gunning & Running. Gunfighting. Not as many as I thought there'd be. Don't know how many I may have missed but there should be a few useful ideas in the batch.
Didn't care for that answer? Did it leave more questions than it responded to? You know where to find me.

If You Can Dodge a Wrench

You can dodge a (paint)ball. Okay, probably not. But if you can't dodge a wrench you got no chance with a paintball. Start slow, build confidence and hope to avoid brain damage in the meantime. (Although, odds are you have a player or three whose game might improve with a little brain damage. Not that I'm advocating anything intentional, you understand.) Damage began the 2011 season this past weekend by collecting some of our sweet sponsorship swag while we spent a couple of days getting acclimated to playing again. It's time to outline your goals, set a tone and begin to lay the foundation for the year. It's an exciting position to be in but it's also more than a little nerve-wracking. No matter how hard you try to maintain control things change as a matter of course and no matter what you did last year that's relegated to the past. From today on it's about moving forward, honoring the commitment to the team, working hard, having fun and striving to improve as players and as a team.
Last year during the season we picked up two young players (15 & 17) due to injuries to some regulars. They both made solid contributions and both are back this year. As are last season's injured players. Unfortunately during the off season Alex (Spence) was diagnosed with leukemia and has been hospitalized since early December. (Alex finally got to go home today.) Paintball slips down the list of priorities under such circumstances but Alex's illness is a stark, harsh reminder that everyday is a blessing and the opportunity to do the things we love can't ever be taken for granted. The whole Damage family looks forward to the day Alex can rejoin his teammates on the field.
Each year of competition is unique but remains tied to the past even as it becomes a bridge to the future. In the world of competition if you aren't moving forward you're losing ground, stagnating at best. Which is why it's important to not only establish standards, demand excellence but also set goals. Even a series of goals. The scope of the goal isn't all that important. The important part is that everyone shares the same goal and works together to attain that goal. Last season we both exceeded our goals and failed to reach them all. Our goals used to begin with Sundays. Playing Sunday is the first step towards excellence. Reaching the podium. Winning events. Now every match is a Sunday match. And every event is about winning. With each event there is only one goal, one satisfactory result; to win. The season goal is to defend both our PSP 2010 series title (and win WC doing it) and 2010 NPPL series title.
I recently heard from the kids at Social Paintball--the video guys--who expressed an interest in following the team over the course of the coming season. The plan is to produce 5 (or 6?) videos over the course of the season. The first will cover the lead up to the first event while the others center around specific events in both leagues. The team is very appreciative of Social's offer and interest and we're looking forward to see the result. Israel (Lagares) was out over the past weekend collecting footage from our first practice. Thanks, Israel & Social.
New rules in the PSP means, in part, finding new ways to prepare. Which is a good thing. Many of the things we have done in the past we will continue to do. Other, new routines will be added to the mix. The focus of practice will change to some degree. What came before is no longer good enough. We need to improve. As good as the players are, they need to get better. And as well as we've played as team there is plenty of room to improve. We spent our first weekend on a special field I designed to begin the process. Our pace was relaxed but the paintball, drills included, was unforgiving. It was good to see. We'll continue to ramp it up as we prepare for the coming season.
There are great players and some excellent teams competing at the pro level. It is no guarantee of success. Great players and excellent teams are the price of admission if you want to be taken seriously. Winning is born of determination, a refusal to lose, the will to fight and faith in your brothers. It can't be taught because it comes from within. What I think you can do is create an environment conducive to drawing out whatever resources a player has within and it begins with competition, with the struggle to earn an opportunity to play. We have a full roster. We may add more in order to find out who wants it most.

Mailbag: Gunfighting Drills

The question, what to do to improve gunfighting skills, is the first mailbag question to come through Facebook. (Thanks!) Since gunfighting is a core element of the modern competitive game I thought the answers might prove useful to a wider audience.
Before you start to moan about more drills this isn't going to be about drills. At least not like you probably think about drills. Well, maybe the one. The thing is I don't like drills either. Sure, there's a few that are absolutely necessary. The problem with ordinary drills though is that they are too often disconnected from the play of the game. It's like working out in the gym with nothing but isolation movements when what you really need--particularly if you're training to augment athletic performance--is complex movements that train your muscles to work in harmony. The same is true of the best paintball drills.

One last thing before you get started. Many players will naturally attempt to find a way around doing what they are supposed to and/or argue/complain about the goal of any drill. My favorite way of keeping everyone on point is to divide the team into groups that will stay together for all the drills. The reason is that it's important to provide immediate consequences for failure. Failure to complete a drill successfully results in running a half lap or full lap of the field. This creates an incentive and reminds the team that failure in competition also has an immediate consequence.

These are team drills (unless you're on a 3-man squad.) The minimum requirement is 6 players. The drills suggested here are given in the order they should be done in as the progression goes from simple to complex.
Begin with a one on one drill. (Yes, this one is pretty much a drill-type drill.) Ideally on a full size field even though you will only use one half (snake side or D-side) at a time. It's simple; two players begin at Home and on a signal break to a nearby bunker which is mirrored by the other player. The object is to take control of the edge, push your opponent off his edge and make the bump to the next bunker (leading to the wire) alive. (The bump should be accomplished gun up and maintaining edge control.)

Follow the first drill up with a two on two variation. The object remains the same but with two players at each end the task becomes more complicated but at the same time there are also more solutions. On the break beginning the drill one player (at each end) moves to the primary, the other remains at Home. Now the first goal is to get a player to the next bunker but it doesn't have to be the player in the primary. Besides increasing the movement options the drill adds an extra move, too. (On most xball type layouts that next move would be into the snake however the field can be set-up as desired.) The drill doesn't end successfully until two bumps are accomplished by a live player. [After the first bump if a player chooses to make a move to the corner that doesn't count as the second bump but is allowed.]

The last drill in this sequence is a half field 3 on 3 race. On either side of the field it's some version of a race to the fifty depending on the layout. Remember, the object is the race. You can either let the players play or restrict them to making their bumps the same way they did in the earlier drills--or a combination of both. Either way the basics of edge control and coordinated movement are in play and the fact it's a race with a specific goal pushes the action.

If you have the time and resources these should be repeated on the opposite side of the field and have the players switch ends of the field so everyone plays with both hands on both sides of the field. (Or, next time you do this group of drills you make sure it's different for everyone from the last time.)

Finally, one very positive way to let the players have some fun (and improve in the process) is to set-up a compact field approx. 80-100 feet long and 50 feet wide. Play it as a 3-on-3 and if you have enough players or want to share some practice with another team you can play a mini round robin-type tourney. The value in this is the dimensions. As long as it doesn't have too many props it keeps the action fast and very close. It forces players to make fast decisions and develop fast reflexes--or else. At the same time it replicates most gunfighting relationships that come into play in regular competition but is also very unforgiving of poor technique, slow and sloppy play. Want to hone your gun skills razor sharp? This is the one to separate the men from the boys (or girls.)

Where Did Everybody Go?

Picking up on the themes of The Monday Poll I want to dig a little deeper in response to Mark's Monday Poll comment. His concern relates to field operators who rely, to one degree or another, on tourney teams practicing. It's a legit question. Unfortunately I don't think there is a definitive answer. But there are some things we can take a look at that might be helpful.
Is the current relationship between (mostly) the PSP--there aren't enough NPPL fields out there to matter--and the local practice field(s) a positive one? Yes and no. Is dependency on an outside agent that has its own agenda a good place to be? More teams are more likely to schedule practices proximate to when events will be held but in some respects the PSP hold practice fields hostage to their schedule right now. There was a time when fields were only released 3 weeks prior to an event and the result was the majority of competing teams fit all their practice into that 3 week period. Because all they were doing was scrimmaging the layout. When given the opportunity to prepare for a specific layout anything else is pointless. Even with layouts released within a week or so of the prior event the schedule of events still impacts local practice habits. The longer the time between events the more practice sessions will tend to be distributed closer to the event. This is a result of two factors; a team wants to be most prepared just before the event and because of some limitation on how often a team can afford to practice.
Does maintaining the status quo do anything other than to assure that everybody eventually goes down together? Or pass off responsibility for what happens next to an agency that has its own survival to think about? On the other hand we already know what happens when teams don't have the next event's layout, they practice anyway. And how they practice is up to them.

In order to free up local practice fields one needs to disassociate practice from specific events as much as possible and reduce the cost of practice. And if practice can be conducted at a lower cost it should yield two positive outcomes; dedicated teams on a budget should be able to practice more often and players and prospective teams will be more likely to reform old teams and/or start new ones because the bar to competing has been lowered.

In the last two or three years lots of theories have been offered for the decline in competitive paintball participation. Everything from blazing gats killing newbies to the economy stupid. And each theory has its own proponents because most of them sound reasonable in one way or another and each of them connect with our assorted biases. And chances are many of them have some degree of validity but sorting out the percentages is a near impossibility. Instead I want to show y'all some numbers and let you make of them what you will--and I'll tell you tomorrow what I make of them.
All these numbers are World Cup numbers in the Xball Era. The most teams ever at WC was in 2002, the last year before xball became a regular option, with well over 400 teams. 2005 was the first year xball was the stand alone headliner at Cup with only 77 xball teams & 247 5-man teams. 2006 saw 131 xball teams & 235 5-man teams participate. 2007 was the peak for xball teams at 160 with a 10% drop in 5-man teams to 212. 2008 had 138 xball teams & 195 5-man teams. 2009 saw xball decline to its second lowest stand alone total of 125 along with still shrinking 5-man total of 183. 2010 had 134 xball teams while 5-man fell off the table dropping to 118. Make of them what you will.

To put all this into a different context here's an alternative option. Given that the PSP has not hesitated in the past to change the format in an attempt to preserve (and/or grow) participation what if they followed the Amodea Plan of slightly enlarging the field and adding a couple of larger bunkers in the back to make it easier for the older more financially stable player to compete along with all the broke ass bunker monkeys. (I'm putting this out there because John suggested it in an X3 editorial a few months ago and because I disagreed with it at the time.) Is another format change either less threatening or more likely to succeed than simply no longer releasing the event layout in advance? And if it is how does it impact cost of participation? Or maybe you'd like to see both?

Pre-Cup Grind

Cup starts Thursday. Teams are getting practice sessions in up to the last minute. This past weekend was our last practice(s) prior to the event but we've been working on the layout since September. The Russians arrived last week and spent last Thursday and Friday grinding--as evidenced by the small mountain of crushed, empty paint boxes--beside our field when we arrived Saturday morning. Also in town early were--and still are--Infamous and Impact. Our home field, Central Florida Paintball, in north Lakeland is about twenty minutes from Fantasy of Flight, the World Cup venue. We just found out what the draw is going to be. Infamous and Impact are in the same prelim bracket while the Legion and us are in the other one. On its face how could you beat a weekend's grind of the top 4 teams in the PSP going into Cup? (Mass amnesia works for me but that's not an option.) It sounds great but there some downsides. What I'm looking for is the intensity and competition only available from other pro teams. We want to build confidence within the team and, more importantly, execute against some of the best teams in the world. What I'm looking to avoid is divulging any tendencies or patterns. With the Russians it's a little game we play on a regular basis. (The Legion's staff is so extensive and competent that they capable of turning every scrap of info you give them to their advantage.) For us at this stage it's about the mental game and I learn more about my guys watching their execution these last couple of days than I am concerned about results or tactical maneuvering anyway. All the tactical cleverness doesn't mean anything anyway without effective execution. There's a lot to be said for the we-don't-care-what-you-know-about-us attitude that is focused on executing the game plan so flawlessly and with supreme determination that in essence you are daring your opponent to stop you. At the same time there's no point needlessly helping that opponent in advance.
While we expect the Russians to come to Florida to practice for Cup we also knew going in that they often have some quirky--from our perspective--practice habits. Oftentimes they won't want to go more than 20-25 points a day. As a consequence Joey (our manager) also spoke to Infamous & Impact figuring if either of them wanted to (and were able) to come early we could accommodate the numbers and be sure we got the reps we wanted. When everybody showed up ... well, the downside was suddenly apparent. As was the fact that all of the teams were dinged up a little. Matt Blonski is likely down for the Legion. Marcello and Zack saw limited action for Infamous. For us CJ will end up missing the whole season and Ramzi will miss Cup. Alex is going to play but may need surgery in the off season. On the plus side Keith [Brown--of 'The new black kid on Damage' thread at PBN] showed no signs of being intimidated by some of pro paintball's heavy hitters. (Whether that's youth or foolishness it's what I was looking for.)
Saturday morning began with word we might not see the Russians as they'd used up their paint on Thursday and Friday and a fresh delivery was unlikely before mid-afternoon. Whatever the reason they didn't show up 'til later in the day. The coaches watched the scrimmage and the players did a light warm-up and ran around a bit. The rest of us pounded out points from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in cycles of six. We began facing Infamous for 6 points then switched ends of the field as Impact came on for 6 more points with us. After that cycle Impact stayed on the field, we left and Infamous came back on. Once begun it gave each team 12 points on and 6 points off. And round and round we went. As the day carried on the time between points started to drag a little as the Florida weather took its toll. (Despite the fact it was the nicest Fall-like weekend of the year with a high in the mid-80s.)
Sunday morning the Legion were on site bright & early looking to get started with us first thing. The morning temp in the upper 60s. Unfortunately the paint that had been perfect the day before was exceedingly fragile in the cooler morning air. We tried a couple of points of blowing up paint in our guns but called a halt after that in order to "cook" the paint for a few minutes in the sun. By the time the paint had warmed up Impact & Infamous were on site and getting ready to play. The Russians chose not to play Infamous or Impact instead waiting a turn in the scrimmage rotation to play us. With that completed they were done--some of the guys had talked about getting tickets to go see the Buccaneers play the Saints in Tampa--so we carried on as we had on Saturday though we called it quits earlier on Sunday.
My understanding is that all 3 teams (excluding us) were going to work some extra days during the week as well, today and tomorrow as I recall. I sometimes keep scores in practice but seldom if ever tell the kids the results. Mostly because no good can come of it. Nobody wins at practice. And if you think you did it's a set-up for future failure when the points and matches really matter. And if you think you "lost" but don't know the exact numbers all you're left with is a feeling that you need to work harder--which isn't a bad thing. I know the "scores" from the weekend but I didn't tell my guys and I'm not telling you either. It would be misleading. Starting Friday, for the Pros, is the 2010 World Cup. Whatever happened this last week of preparation everyone will be ready.

Trench Warfare: Pre-Chicago PSP

It's Sunday. (Father's Day, as it turns out.) Day 2 of a weekend scrimmage with the Red Legion in preparation for the PSP Chicago event coming the weekend of 24 - 27. The action on the field is a continuation and extension of the points played on Saturday. Overnight both teams reviewed their own efforts and those of their opponent. Part of the calculation today is to confirm effective tactics. To test final adjustments. To pare away all the choices, options, actions that don't quite get the job done. Eventually it comes down to who executes more effectively. Sure, you can win a point or two (or lose a point or two) with your breakout choices but this is an unforgiving field that only respects power paintball even though it will tolerate alternative choices. The Legion's biggest change over Saturday is their D-side breakouts, their experimentation at locking down the snake wire and the coaches encouragement that they play more aggressively, faster, faster, faster in the early phases of the mid-game. It's brutal, and to my mind, beautiful paintball with each point a slugfest of attempted knockout shots. (That doesn't mean there isn't any subtlety at play. Far from it. It's only that we're both looking for tiny advantages in the small distinctions that might provide the slimmest advantages. It doesn't change the basic nature of the paintball being played.)
I'm less focused on what the Legion is doing (I'm satisfied with our counters and more importantly our basic scheme) and more intent on our frame of mind as a team and I am pushing the guys harder than usual, being less understanding and more demanding. I also have in mind ways to follow-up on lessons learned this weekend as we meet to prepare for matches and do our usual post-match assessments and talk thru the next opponent.
I am concerned about one aspect of the field layout. The enormous wide open lanes on both sides of the field. A clumsy 8 year old who doesn't know one end of a paintball gun from the other can shoot these lanes and when teams are on and the paint is good--unlike practice--some teams will be very surprised at their sudden inability to do much of anything on this field.
We have to be prepared to play a game we don't want to and we have to be committed to making it work. At least one match somewhere over the course of the event will require us to grind out an ugly win and that is the match I have tried to prepare us for this weekend.

I'm going to try and post regularly throughout the event on the process and matches as they unfold and follow-up next week by breaking down the field and how we played it.

In the trenches: Pre-Chicago PSP

It's been a long week. I was on the road most of the week which made posting difficult--(that's an apology for those of you jones-ing for more posts)--and my flight home last night was delayed. I didn't get home 'til after midnight. This morning we had practice scheduled to begin at 9am with the Red Legion. (My drive is around an hour.) Lately, afternoon temperatures have been running in the high 90s.

The PSP released Pro game schedules yesterday (or maybe the day before.) (See how out of touch I've been?) With the collapse of the semi-pro bracket and subsequent inclusion of Entourage & Aftermath the Pro bracket is up to 12 teams for Chicago. And we get 4 prelim games (again!) after getting only 3 in Phoenix. Thanks, PSP. (Though I gotta admit I find it a bit perverse to be grateful to get back what was arbitrarily taken away--but even so.) However--there's always an however, isn't there?--as a result it turns out we play the Legion in the prelims so it made for an interesting day of practice what with each team getting our last pre-event reps in and at the same time not wanting to give away too much.

We've got a ten player roster but CJ tore up an ACL prior to Phoenix. (He might be ready by World Cup.) And Jason Edwards, who injured some ribs working out this past week, is unable to practice and his availability for Chicago is uncertain. He'll be there and he will want to play but given the doctor's report I'm pessimistic. And Carthy missed practice today for a wedding so we ran with seven. That meant guys had to play out of position some points with everybody playing back-to-backs or three in a row. But it was a good thing. When a match is tight and the points are going back and forth and there is little discernible difference between the competing teams--it doesn't come down to tactics, famous names, popularity or past successes--it comes down to who wants it more, who can will themselves to compete despite the fatigue, pressure and expectations, who can execute.

The Legion coaches usually aren't too concerned about "giving away the game plan." They are interested in their players executing the game plan and you can see the fine-tuning as they make adjustments as the points unfold. The other thing they do is chart their opponents looking for patterns they can use in game-planning. Mostly they want to determine the lanes they will shoot for a given opponent and otherwise they are confident if they can get a good "read" that will help them OTB and prepare their players pre-match for tendencies to consider as the points play out they can (and will) out execute everyone. And history has demonstrated it's hard to argue with the way they do things.

I confess I'm not adverse to trying to make things a bit more difficult to discern. In this situation I have a variety of things I'm trying to accomplish and limiting what the Legion can feel confident about when it comes to what to expect from us is one of them. I'm also interested at this stage in our mental preparation more than I am in our execution but it's always valuable to prepare against the best. (With the shake-up in Florida paintball we've been scrimmaging TK--a very solid team--but it was easy to see in the first few points against the Legion this morning that we needed to dial up our intensity and it could have been a rude awakening to show up in Chicago only to realize we weren't where we needed to be.)

If any of y'all find this kinda stuff interesting drop a comment or ask a question and I'll post on tomorrow's practice as well.