My Paint Guy, who has yet to be mistaken, has an interesting take on the 50 cal rollout that I figured I’d pass along, not because I’m buying it 100% but because he has yet to take a wrong step. Hard to argue with getting it right.
Anyway, he’s all for the 50 cal small ball because he is convinced it will work with the current level of technology and that all the potential pitfalls can (or have been) overcome. And the resulting cost reductions at the manufacturing end will make paintball much more affordable across the board. This, it seems to me, remains an open question but we’ll see.
Of more interest (to me) he also thinks the Pro teams will be outfitted to compete using the small ball next season as a high profile way of introducing the new gear and paintball to the tourney marketplace. It makes enough sense that it could happen and given that the latest rumors keep projecting a small ball introduction at World Cup it fits the logistics as well. Again, we’ll see.
I still have a few questions about small ball, mostly related to performance; marking consistency, breaking consistency and, in particular, velocity. I don’t doubt the first two can be accomplished but I’m reserving judgment until I see the small ball in action. Velocity is another issue entirely however. In the background there has been speculation about some of the performance claims (more accurate, longer range, etc.) and just how that can be accomplished–or even if it can. The keys seem to be the weight of the small ball and velocity. If the small ball requires greater velocity in order for its dynamic characteristics to match the 68 cal ball or to exceed the 68 cal ball that could have a significant effect on the tourney game. Right now we are competing on a field where the dimensions, bunkers and equipment create a balance between the valued core elements of the game. A velocity change could (and if sufficiently different, would) alter the current game dynamics. Think movement and what will happen if the paintball is moving, say, 350 fps instead of 295 fps. (This isn’t a game breaker of course but if the potential impact of things like higher velocity aren’t considered in advance and accounted for the result could be unintended harm just when everything looked to be turning around.)
I also have some questions about how the ‘09 off season is going to change the Pro landscape, again, and small ball could have a big impact on that, too. Last off season saw another reduction in paint sponsorships and a scramble amongst the teams for the limited resources. Until the small ball rumor hit there was every reason to expect more of the same but a move to small ball might keep more teams in the game. (If there is a commensurate retail price reduction resulting from the projected manufacturing savings.) Or maybe not. More on this angle in the future.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
PSP Chicago: Thoughts & Observations
Wednesday: Gots to get you one of them Pro Paintball T-shirts. Enter a contest. Beg if you have to. They are hot and very cool. I’m just saying and it isn’t because I’ve got mine. Thanks, Guys. It was hotter than Hades’ greenhouse today. The cooler temperatures promised for later in the week will bring us closer to Death Valley-like days. (Okay, maybe not quite that bad but ballpark.) When the crew arrived last Tuesday the venue had a small lake where the Pro field used to be. So that was at least partly responsible for the venue this year. It’s 2 rows of three fields with access to the fields from the middle of the Pro row. The Pro field is the center field and everyone who parks across the street passes the vendors to get to the fields access point or to the Pro field bleachers. Beyond that are few more vendors and registration and refreshments. No final word on the Doritos logo dealio yet. So far most of the games I saw today were marked by the lack of discipline on display. Which was matched, fortunately, by a decent level of aggression. The result was often entertaining if not first rate paintball.
Thursday: the promised relief from the sweltering heat failed to appear today. Maybe tomorrow. As a consequence--at least on the Pro field--Commissioner Mineo is giving the refs extra breaks which has extended the schedule a bit. If the weather remains this brutal I would expect him to continue spelling the refs with extra rest even on webcast Saturday. The Pro teams began play today and the scores were more consistently lop-sided than I’ve ever seen before. At a guess I suspect it’s a result largely of limited practice for some of the teams mixed with the peculiarities of this design--and a continuation (for some) of yesterday’s lack of discipline. [I’ll talk about that more next week when VFTD recaps the event.]
There’s more on the webcast front, too. You may remember VFTD suggested one way of getting more of the D-wire action might be to put cameras in protected brackets on the penalty boxes to give mid-field and D-wire shots. (I was mostly just throwing it out there while trying to abide by the 180 degree rule. [It’s a film maker’s thing.]) Turns out the webcast will have those shots and more. (And bigger and better besides.) Patrick "Monkey With a Gun" Spohrer--and webcast mastermind--was kind enough to credit VFTD with the idea but the truth is the crane mounted remote control cameras at each end of the field are way beyond our idea and should provide tremendous shots of the game play. (And be the kind of shots that will let viewers see the points unfold and allow you to follow the hows and whys along with the action.) The only question I have now is can I Tivo the webcast so I get to watch, too?
Thursday: the promised relief from the sweltering heat failed to appear today. Maybe tomorrow. As a consequence--at least on the Pro field--Commissioner Mineo is giving the refs extra breaks which has extended the schedule a bit. If the weather remains this brutal I would expect him to continue spelling the refs with extra rest even on webcast Saturday. The Pro teams began play today and the scores were more consistently lop-sided than I’ve ever seen before. At a guess I suspect it’s a result largely of limited practice for some of the teams mixed with the peculiarities of this design--and a continuation (for some) of yesterday’s lack of discipline. [I’ll talk about that more next week when VFTD recaps the event.]
There’s more on the webcast front, too. You may remember VFTD suggested one way of getting more of the D-wire action might be to put cameras in protected brackets on the penalty boxes to give mid-field and D-wire shots. (I was mostly just throwing it out there while trying to abide by the 180 degree rule. [It’s a film maker’s thing.]) Turns out the webcast will have those shots and more. (And bigger and better besides.) Patrick "Monkey With a Gun" Spohrer--and webcast mastermind--was kind enough to credit VFTD with the idea but the truth is the crane mounted remote control cameras at each end of the field are way beyond our idea and should provide tremendous shots of the game play. (And be the kind of shots that will let viewers see the points unfold and allow you to follow the hows and whys along with the action.) The only question I have now is can I Tivo the webcast so I get to watch, too?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Major League Paintball Held Hostage: Weekly Update
PSP staff were putting the finishing touches on field setup and the like today. Despite the brutal heat back home Chicagoland isn't a pleasant alternative. In fact, it's unpleasantly familiar--but that's too close to whining for comfort so I'll knock it off. They have moved things around quite a bit this year--or so it seemed in wandering around looking for our field. None of the area close to the houses at the back of the property is in use this year (I've heard it's been raining a lot lately and that it's kinda swampy over there but I didn't check.) Anyway, for regular reports and probably some pics check with our friends over at ProPaintball for the daily gossip and on scene info.
Final team totals for the Chicago Open are 195 paid (not including the Young Guns) so the numbers are actually down slightly over what it looked like last week. Must have been a few dropouts because I know there were also a few late registrations and payments.. Those numbers put the drop from last year at something above 15%.
On second thought I may take a closer look around the venue for signs of economizing. Also, there will be some new camera angles on the webcast as they were setting up to be able to shoot some closer action shots that should provide visible streams of paint and sight lines between opposing players, particularly on the snake side. (That isn't the word from Pat or Matty, just my interpretation of what will be in some of the shots given the new camera positions.) One other thing you'll see is the Doritos logo and trademark on the dorito bunkers on the Pro field. I don't know if we're seeing the first sign of an outside industry sponsor or if the league is using the Doritos tie-in to help sell the concept. I'll ask and let y'all know.
Over in the USPL (soon to be the NPPL) numbers for the West Coast Open remain sluggish with total registrations at 67 teams and just above half paid and ready to play. Even though I couldn't access DC Challenge registration thru the USPL website you can check it out (or register) thru APPA directly. DC has 70 teams registered for the end of August event. I know Camille and the gang are working hard but the USPL (NPPL) seems to still be in the same wait and see with fingers crossed position we've seen for a while now.
The Millennium Kids recently announced on their website that rosters for the open event in Paris would be unrestricted so I'm assuming anybody and everybody can beef up their team if they'd like to compete for the Cup without it impacting the regular series rosters or event results. By my count the MS still has 13 slots available in the open but they say it's only 11. That means at least 12 and perhaps 14 D2 teams have registered (though only 12 are listed on the website.) D3 (M5) registration is up to 27 and the MS announced they will playing Race 2-2 (if I read it correctly.)
If you Google 'Grand Tour' without including the modifier "paintball" you will get pages and pages of Grand Tours that aren't THE Grand Tour. That's probably unfair but I think I'd have a hard time justifying including the Grand Tour in the weekly update if they didn't have a Pro division. In fact I'm sure I wouldn't give it a second thought. The Lviv event took place last weekend and if you go to their site there are links to pictures. But no link to pblivescores even though that's where the scores and results can be seen.
Lastly I'd like to take a moment to recommend you check out the comments to the post, There Was No Paintball Bust, and read Houdini's second comment in particular. The whole major league paintball held hostage angle is (usually) at least partly tongue-in-cheek [meaning kinda unserious] but Houdini has a take from personal experience that I think is interesting, valid and worth paying heed to. So check it out.
Final team totals for the Chicago Open are 195 paid (not including the Young Guns) so the numbers are actually down slightly over what it looked like last week. Must have been a few dropouts because I know there were also a few late registrations and payments.. Those numbers put the drop from last year at something above 15%.
On second thought I may take a closer look around the venue for signs of economizing. Also, there will be some new camera angles on the webcast as they were setting up to be able to shoot some closer action shots that should provide visible streams of paint and sight lines between opposing players, particularly on the snake side. (That isn't the word from Pat or Matty, just my interpretation of what will be in some of the shots given the new camera positions.) One other thing you'll see is the Doritos logo and trademark on the dorito bunkers on the Pro field. I don't know if we're seeing the first sign of an outside industry sponsor or if the league is using the Doritos tie-in to help sell the concept. I'll ask and let y'all know.
Over in the USPL (soon to be the NPPL) numbers for the West Coast Open remain sluggish with total registrations at 67 teams and just above half paid and ready to play. Even though I couldn't access DC Challenge registration thru the USPL website you can check it out (or register) thru APPA directly. DC has 70 teams registered for the end of August event. I know Camille and the gang are working hard but the USPL (NPPL) seems to still be in the same wait and see with fingers crossed position we've seen for a while now.
The Millennium Kids recently announced on their website that rosters for the open event in Paris would be unrestricted so I'm assuming anybody and everybody can beef up their team if they'd like to compete for the Cup without it impacting the regular series rosters or event results. By my count the MS still has 13 slots available in the open but they say it's only 11. That means at least 12 and perhaps 14 D2 teams have registered (though only 12 are listed on the website.) D3 (M5) registration is up to 27 and the MS announced they will playing Race 2-2 (if I read it correctly.)
If you Google 'Grand Tour' without including the modifier "paintball" you will get pages and pages of Grand Tours that aren't THE Grand Tour. That's probably unfair but I think I'd have a hard time justifying including the Grand Tour in the weekly update if they didn't have a Pro division. In fact I'm sure I wouldn't give it a second thought. The Lviv event took place last weekend and if you go to their site there are links to pictures. But no link to pblivescores even though that's where the scores and results can be seen.
Lastly I'd like to take a moment to recommend you check out the comments to the post, There Was No Paintball Bust, and read Houdini's second comment in particular. The whole major league paintball held hostage angle is (usually) at least partly tongue-in-cheek [meaning kinda unserious] but Houdini has a take from personal experience that I think is interesting, valid and worth paying heed to. So check it out.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Monday Poll
This week's Monday Poll is predicated on the idea that paintball must consolidate to survive, no more paintball diversity. (I'm not advocating any such thing except for purposes of the poll--just in case you were wondering.) So the question is: If there can only be one version of paintball, which one would you choose? It doesn't matter what criteria you use either. Pick the one you'd most like to play or the one you think would be best for the game or whatever. Given that VFTD is a blog about competitive paintball I'm assuming a built in bias towards competitive but it should still be interesting to see how the numbers turn out. Get to picking & clicking.
The Monday Poll Review
Last week's Monday Poll was on the likely impact of the 50 caliber paintball. The results were largely mixed and/or negative with around 25% thinking it could be a positive in part of the paintball marketplace while at the same time nearly 65% thought it would either come and go or cost the average baller money with a minority percentage in that group (11%) concerned it would ruin paintball altogether. And the most positive option; save paintball, only received 7% of the votes.
The Monday Poll Review
Last week's Monday Poll was on the likely impact of the 50 caliber paintball. The results were largely mixed and/or negative with around 25% thinking it could be a positive in part of the paintball marketplace while at the same time nearly 65% thought it would either come and go or cost the average baller money with a minority percentage in that group (11%) concerned it would ruin paintball altogether. And the most positive option; save paintball, only received 7% of the votes.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
This Week at VFTD: Sunday Special
Stuff is starting to pile up. 'Paintball Diversity' is mostly done. As is another post called, 'Paintball by the Numbers.' Thing is I've been a little busy and what with the Chicago Open this week that ain't gonna change for a few days at least. Do you see where this is going?
Monday--I will manage to post The Monday Poll & The Poll Review.
Tuesday--assuming our hotel has wifi I'll even get this week's edition of Major League Paintball Held Hostage posted.
Rest O' The Week--is strictly up in the air. I'd like to begin to catch up but realistically it's gonna be catch as catch can. I'll probably post something on the event, too. And after the event I thought I might post up a diagram of all our OTB lanes.
There you have it. Less than perfect but, hey, better than nothing. Most of time. And a real bargain at the price.
Oh, and if you're in Chi-town don't hesitate to say hey. "Hey."
Monday--I will manage to post The Monday Poll & The Poll Review.
Tuesday--assuming our hotel has wifi I'll even get this week's edition of Major League Paintball Held Hostage posted.
Rest O' The Week--is strictly up in the air. I'd like to begin to catch up but realistically it's gonna be catch as catch can. I'll probably post something on the event, too. And after the event I thought I might post up a diagram of all our OTB lanes.
There you have it. Less than perfect but, hey, better than nothing. Most of time. And a real bargain at the price.
Oh, and if you're in Chi-town don't hesitate to say hey. "Hey."
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Burning Question
Did the PSP cancel All-Star Sunday on account of paint? Or maybe a better question would be--Why did the PSP cancel the All-Star activities without bothering to tell anyone?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Enlistment for the Week
The latest numbers tell me there are lots of new visitors to our happy little blog --VFTD broke the 60+ country barrier last week--and it's been a while since we had a new recruit so I'd like to take a moment to explain the Deadbox Puppet Army for the uninitiated. The DPA is intended--given my warped sense of humor--to be an ironic poke at paintball's penchant for generating lookalike armies and the impulse for everybody to be individuals in large groups. (Can you say, agg?) If you were hoping to park your brain at the door and march in lockstep with your fellow puppets I'm afraid you will be disappointed. There won't be any of that here. We are all just simple victims of paintball, friends with a shared insanity--no strings attached.
Of course there is also the double super secret VFTD plan to conquer the paintball world relying on fifth columnist DPA members to soften up the enemy--and sell T-shirts. So join today. (I'm sure I'll get around to those T-shirts in no time at all. Oh, and I'm working on a secret handshake too. Hey, nobody ever said world domination was easy.)
A special VFTD thanks and welcome to our latest member, Demented Demon, for joining this week and proving beyond a shadow of doubt that the "follower" gadget still works. I was beginning to wonder. And for giving me an excuse to post all this DPA stuff. Again.
Stay thirsty, my friends
Of course there is also the double super secret VFTD plan to conquer the paintball world relying on fifth columnist DPA members to soften up the enemy--and sell T-shirts. So join today. (I'm sure I'll get around to those T-shirts in no time at all. Oh, and I'm working on a secret handshake too. Hey, nobody ever said world domination was easy.)
A special VFTD thanks and welcome to our latest member, Demented Demon, for joining this week and proving beyond a shadow of doubt that the "follower" gadget still works. I was beginning to wonder. And for giving me an excuse to post all this DPA stuff. Again.
Stay thirsty, my friends
Thursday, June 18, 2009
There Was No Paintball Bust
Okay, that's not completely correct if you wish to say that the fall off in sales (& apparently participation) from the boom years constitutes a bust. What this is really about is offering an alternative theory for the present state of paintball generally. And it's not going to be a paintball based theory, it's going to be an economics based theory. I intend to keep things simple. (So don't hesitate to ask questions, disagree or whatever.)
By the way, this isn't the scheduled post. That post, Paintball Diversity, will be up tomorrow and will bump 'Return of the Pro Loser' to Saturday or into next week (again). (For you newer readers you're beginning to see how this scheduling business works out, aren't you? Trust me, this is as good as it's gonna get so consider the schedule one for likely posts. (The intersection of the best of intentions and reality.)
Conventional wisdom has been that the "bust" following the paintball boom was caused by paintball-related forces that can be corrected. Unstated is the presumption (hope) that fixing the causes of the bust will restore the boom. Hence we're now talking about the price of paintballs and blaming the ROF for all our ills. (It's not often you get to use "hence" in a sentence and I couldn't resist.) What if we've been focused on the wrong part of the boom bust cycle? What if the boom was "unnatural" and the bust is actually a return to something more like normal or at least predictive? After all, the bust mentality is mostly an industry perspective that has trickled down into the tourney world because of reduced sponsorship allotments. (I'm not suggesting some industry types aren't struggling. Only that their struggles are not the direct result of fewer players playing paintball.)
My working theory is this: The whole period of significant paintball expansion (rec, scenario & tournament) roughly corresponded to an economic period of artificial economies inflated with cheap dollars and cheap debt which, in essence, created an unintended bubble in the paintball industry and as the big bubbles burst and impacted the wider economy the same happened to paintball. If so, we can't rationally expect to predict any future result based on past outcomes because they were the product of a distorted market. [And the potential discrepancy between tourney and rec participation against scenario type participation in this environment is likely explained by the relative infrequency of scenario events and the known quantity factor of most of the participants. (They know what a big game is like and they already are motivated to play paintball within that context.) Whereas the tourney and team costs outstrip the others by a wide margin and rec play (and first time play) has a high initial cost against uncertain motivation. It's easier for ballers to justify the occasional discretionary expense of scenario play than it is to commit to the longer term cost of being on a team and training and competing. Or against a rec player's ambivalence measured against a traditionally steeper per time of participation cost. At any rate that's not really the point. Just an alternative explanation that fits the alternative theory.]
Here's how it played out: The bubbles, first in tech, then in real estate mitigated the impact of two minor recessionary cycles thru the late 90's and into the early 00's but in doing so monetary policy flooded the marketplace with cheap dollars and cheap dollars encourage immediate consumption (instead of savings) and that wave was followed by (and overlapped) a wave of cheap debt which also encourages consumption. So paintballers did what everyone else was doing, they consumed.
What you ended up with isn't an artificial rise in the popularity of paintball but an artificial rise in the accessibility of paintball. More peeps who wanted to were able to or chose to finance that desire (at least in part) on cheap available debt. And that artificial rise in accessibility caused an unrealistic (and unsustainable) level of expectation in the industry that made the bust worse in terms of overproduction in the short term and unsupportable production capacity and unresolved inefficiencies. The result has been dangerous debt loads for some, cut backs in employees, consolidations, scaling back and assorted other measures designed to realign with the current market realities.
Curiously enough, if that happens to be true, largely true, substantially true or even partly true a workable small ball (the 50 caliber solution) might, in fact, actually do (largely, substantially, partly) what its prospective makers claim it will do in terms of transforming the marketplace. Who'da thunk it?
By the way, this isn't the scheduled post. That post, Paintball Diversity, will be up tomorrow and will bump 'Return of the Pro Loser' to Saturday or into next week (again). (For you newer readers you're beginning to see how this scheduling business works out, aren't you? Trust me, this is as good as it's gonna get so consider the schedule one for likely posts. (The intersection of the best of intentions and reality.)
Conventional wisdom has been that the "bust" following the paintball boom was caused by paintball-related forces that can be corrected. Unstated is the presumption (hope) that fixing the causes of the bust will restore the boom. Hence we're now talking about the price of paintballs and blaming the ROF for all our ills. (It's not often you get to use "hence" in a sentence and I couldn't resist.) What if we've been focused on the wrong part of the boom bust cycle? What if the boom was "unnatural" and the bust is actually a return to something more like normal or at least predictive? After all, the bust mentality is mostly an industry perspective that has trickled down into the tourney world because of reduced sponsorship allotments. (I'm not suggesting some industry types aren't struggling. Only that their struggles are not the direct result of fewer players playing paintball.)
My working theory is this: The whole period of significant paintball expansion (rec, scenario & tournament) roughly corresponded to an economic period of artificial economies inflated with cheap dollars and cheap debt which, in essence, created an unintended bubble in the paintball industry and as the big bubbles burst and impacted the wider economy the same happened to paintball. If so, we can't rationally expect to predict any future result based on past outcomes because they were the product of a distorted market. [And the potential discrepancy between tourney and rec participation against scenario type participation in this environment is likely explained by the relative infrequency of scenario events and the known quantity factor of most of the participants. (They know what a big game is like and they already are motivated to play paintball within that context.) Whereas the tourney and team costs outstrip the others by a wide margin and rec play (and first time play) has a high initial cost against uncertain motivation. It's easier for ballers to justify the occasional discretionary expense of scenario play than it is to commit to the longer term cost of being on a team and training and competing. Or against a rec player's ambivalence measured against a traditionally steeper per time of participation cost. At any rate that's not really the point. Just an alternative explanation that fits the alternative theory.]
Here's how it played out: The bubbles, first in tech, then in real estate mitigated the impact of two minor recessionary cycles thru the late 90's and into the early 00's but in doing so monetary policy flooded the marketplace with cheap dollars and cheap dollars encourage immediate consumption (instead of savings) and that wave was followed by (and overlapped) a wave of cheap debt which also encourages consumption. So paintballers did what everyone else was doing, they consumed.
What you ended up with isn't an artificial rise in the popularity of paintball but an artificial rise in the accessibility of paintball. More peeps who wanted to were able to or chose to finance that desire (at least in part) on cheap available debt. And that artificial rise in accessibility caused an unrealistic (and unsustainable) level of expectation in the industry that made the bust worse in terms of overproduction in the short term and unsupportable production capacity and unresolved inefficiencies. The result has been dangerous debt loads for some, cut backs in employees, consolidations, scaling back and assorted other measures designed to realign with the current market realities.
Curiously enough, if that happens to be true, largely true, substantially true or even partly true a workable small ball (the 50 caliber solution) might, in fact, actually do (largely, substantially, partly) what its prospective makers claim it will do in terms of transforming the marketplace. Who'da thunk it?
Mr. Curious
After his last appearance at VFTD Mr. Curious submerged himself in the effort to translate Pushkin into Hindi (I don't think that's working out too well) but in taking a recent break he finds himself, once again, curious about competitive paintball.
Mostly he's wondering wassup with some USPL teams flirting with Xball? Mutiny playing Chicago. Arsenal in the AXBL. Explicit practicing xball. Just something to do or something else?
Mostly he's wondering wassup with some USPL teams flirting with Xball? Mutiny playing Chicago. Arsenal in the AXBL. Explicit practicing xball. Just something to do or something else?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Xball: Gunning & Running Drills 1
Listen up, Buttercup. I've decided to break the drills into two groups; individual and/or pair and team. This week is the individual drills. It's best to work with a friend (I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here) so there's somebody around to motivate you and keep you honest because we both know you're a slacker.
Here’s the deal. There is no magic formula. These drills will get you started but you only get out of ‘em what you put into ‘em. The focus this time is on bunker runs, suppression fire OTB and using edge control to initiate movement.
1) Let’s start with a simple warm-up. You’re gonna need some simple targets–a few empty plastic gallon (or however many liters you Eurokids use) jugs and assorted length 1-inch PVC pipes will work. Easy version first. Put one of your targets behind a bunker. Any bunker. Put yourself behind another bunker and on a go command make a bunker run. Don’t run wide. Run at the bunker, moron!
Did you miss? ‘Fess up. You missed. Do it again. You stumbled. Again. Don’t slow down. Again. You run like a drunken hippopotamus. That big old jug ain’t so big after all, is it? Do it from the right. Do it from the left. Do it over and over. Tuck in your elbow. Now do it some more. Keep your barrel tip up. Run at the target bunker and have your drill partner tell you which side to run past at the last moment in order to force you to switch hands sometimes. Hate it yet? You’re just getting started.
2) Time to add a bit of difficulty. Place at least three targets behind bunkers at different elevations arranged so that you can run a path between them. That’s right, make your run at multiple targets and switch hands as you go. Boy, do you look like a dork. Try it again. Think you’re getting the hang of it?
Have your workout partner set up the targets for you so that you don’t know exactly where they are behind the chosen bunkers. Seem too simple? Then you’re gonna feel pretty inept when you either miss ‘em or have to stop running in order to hit them, aren’t you? Are you deaf or just stupid? You don’t get to quit until you get it right. Better try Reball next time cause you’re gonna go broke using paint at this rate.
(And for you slow learners it’s acceptable to go slow at first if you need to in order to be accurate. You could be as fast as the Flash but if you can’t hit squat you’re still a loser. Go as fast as you can without sacrificing accuracy.)
3) Now that you’ve warmed up a bit and got the blood circulating let’s pick up the pace. Take your targets and place them behind bunkers at the opposite end of the field. At breakout distances. On the go call break out and run and gun yourself into your chosen primary. Pick different primaries that require different routes as you repeat the drill. And pick different target lanes. Keep mixing it up. Are you starting with your gun down and back? Why not? Are the refs gonna let you do it differently from everybody else? Is that it? No? Then make sure you go thru the correct motions in every detail as you repeat the drill.
I’m getting tired of repeating myself. From the left. From the right. If you aren’t hitting the targets or at least putting your paint on the right lane you are wasting my time and yours. Is the player looking to lane your ass into the deadbox gonna come off his edge if your paint isn’t on target? So do it again. I said run and gun. Not walk and shoot. Pick up the pace. Which one is your off hand? Run the drill from your off hand side 3 times for every 2 times you run it from your dominant hand side. No more excuses. Run it again.
4) I’m gonna cut you a bit of slack. You and your training partner begin in the starting boxes at opposite ends of the field. On the go call one of you will be the sweet-spotter and the other will run and gun. (If you've been paying attention you've seen a version of this before. That's because I love this drill. And you will do it until you love it too.) Take turns. The object is to suppress the sweet-spotter in order to make your primary. Run left. Run right. Again. Again. I know you’re getting fatigued. Focus. These are the situations where you begin to make real, enduring progress. If you can perform when you’re mentally and physically tired you just might make a real baller after all.
If you don’t have a whole or complete field available, improvise. Make adjustments. Do I have to tie your shoelaces and wipe your nose for you, too?
5) Okay, almost finished. For this one you and your training partner choose mirror bunkers that are insert bunkers that lead to other, wider field positions. Begin blind behind your bunker and on the go call the object is to gain edge control over your opponent and run and gun yourself into your next bunker as you rotate out to a wire. By now you should know the drill. (Yes, that’s a joke. Feel free to take a second to laugh.) Do it from the left and the right. Start in a standing position. Begin from a kneeling posture. With this one you either get the job done or you don’t. There is no "I tried." Either you succeed or you fail. Regardless you’re getting a taste of what is required when the paint is flying for real.
Now hit the showers. You stink.
Here’s the deal. There is no magic formula. These drills will get you started but you only get out of ‘em what you put into ‘em. The focus this time is on bunker runs, suppression fire OTB and using edge control to initiate movement.
1) Let’s start with a simple warm-up. You’re gonna need some simple targets–a few empty plastic gallon (or however many liters you Eurokids use) jugs and assorted length 1-inch PVC pipes will work. Easy version first. Put one of your targets behind a bunker. Any bunker. Put yourself behind another bunker and on a go command make a bunker run. Don’t run wide. Run at the bunker, moron!
Did you miss? ‘Fess up. You missed. Do it again. You stumbled. Again. Don’t slow down. Again. You run like a drunken hippopotamus. That big old jug ain’t so big after all, is it? Do it from the right. Do it from the left. Do it over and over. Tuck in your elbow. Now do it some more. Keep your barrel tip up. Run at the target bunker and have your drill partner tell you which side to run past at the last moment in order to force you to switch hands sometimes. Hate it yet? You’re just getting started.
2) Time to add a bit of difficulty. Place at least three targets behind bunkers at different elevations arranged so that you can run a path between them. That’s right, make your run at multiple targets and switch hands as you go. Boy, do you look like a dork. Try it again. Think you’re getting the hang of it?
Have your workout partner set up the targets for you so that you don’t know exactly where they are behind the chosen bunkers. Seem too simple? Then you’re gonna feel pretty inept when you either miss ‘em or have to stop running in order to hit them, aren’t you? Are you deaf or just stupid? You don’t get to quit until you get it right. Better try Reball next time cause you’re gonna go broke using paint at this rate.
(And for you slow learners it’s acceptable to go slow at first if you need to in order to be accurate. You could be as fast as the Flash but if you can’t hit squat you’re still a loser. Go as fast as you can without sacrificing accuracy.)
3) Now that you’ve warmed up a bit and got the blood circulating let’s pick up the pace. Take your targets and place them behind bunkers at the opposite end of the field. At breakout distances. On the go call break out and run and gun yourself into your chosen primary. Pick different primaries that require different routes as you repeat the drill. And pick different target lanes. Keep mixing it up. Are you starting with your gun down and back? Why not? Are the refs gonna let you do it differently from everybody else? Is that it? No? Then make sure you go thru the correct motions in every detail as you repeat the drill.
I’m getting tired of repeating myself. From the left. From the right. If you aren’t hitting the targets or at least putting your paint on the right lane you are wasting my time and yours. Is the player looking to lane your ass into the deadbox gonna come off his edge if your paint isn’t on target? So do it again. I said run and gun. Not walk and shoot. Pick up the pace. Which one is your off hand? Run the drill from your off hand side 3 times for every 2 times you run it from your dominant hand side. No more excuses. Run it again.
4) I’m gonna cut you a bit of slack. You and your training partner begin in the starting boxes at opposite ends of the field. On the go call one of you will be the sweet-spotter and the other will run and gun. (If you've been paying attention you've seen a version of this before. That's because I love this drill. And you will do it until you love it too.) Take turns. The object is to suppress the sweet-spotter in order to make your primary. Run left. Run right. Again. Again. I know you’re getting fatigued. Focus. These are the situations where you begin to make real, enduring progress. If you can perform when you’re mentally and physically tired you just might make a real baller after all.
If you don’t have a whole or complete field available, improvise. Make adjustments. Do I have to tie your shoelaces and wipe your nose for you, too?
5) Okay, almost finished. For this one you and your training partner choose mirror bunkers that are insert bunkers that lead to other, wider field positions. Begin blind behind your bunker and on the go call the object is to gain edge control over your opponent and run and gun yourself into your next bunker as you rotate out to a wire. By now you should know the drill. (Yes, that’s a joke. Feel free to take a second to laugh.) Do it from the left and the right. Start in a standing position. Begin from a kneeling posture. With this one you either get the job done or you don’t. There is no "I tried." Either you succeed or you fail. Regardless you’re getting a taste of what is required when the paint is flying for real.
Now hit the showers. You stink.
The UK Experiment
One of the claims for the 50 cal paintball is that the availability of lower priced paint will help reinvigorate paintball. Another claim, unrelated to the small ball, is that the problem with paintball is too much paint in the air propelled by guns with ridiculous rates of fire. Can both of those things be true? And if they aren't both correct, then what? Does small ball actually make things worse? Or is all that ROF hand-wringing nonsense?
There is little doubt that cheaper to the consumer paint would be great for the existing competitive paintball crowd. But then the question arises–again–of why has there been a recent drop off in new tournament-oriented players entering the game? If this is a real phenomenon has it occurred because paint cost too much or for some other reason? Clearly there is a line of thinking that associates high ROF and volume of paint with a decline in participation but is it the cost or the resulting sort of game you get with high ROF that's the problem? Or, is something else at the root of this problem?
Over in the UK there is a fairly strict dividing line separating the kind(s) of paintball available by site. The largest face of paintball is recreational rental play with most of the players being first timers and the once or twice a year sort. Many of the fields that cater to that customer do not want even regular rec players. At one time it was widely accepted (among the tourney types) that such practices were severely inhibiting the development of the tourney scene by having a huge disconnect between entry level paintball and tournament style paintball. If the majority of the occasional players don't even know tourney ball existed they weren't likely to seek it out, much less play. In the U.S. there appears, at least on a regional basis, to be a lot more interaction between the levels and types of players as lots of fields offer both woods and airball and welcome the regular repeat customer. And yet, if the claims of decline are correct (and they seem to be) we're both experiencing similar results. (Of related interest is the fact that many of the UK sites targeting new and very occasional players have consistently done very good business so there was little or no reason for them to change. Draw your own conclusion. Everybody's doing it.)
Maybe it is both high ROF and cost with each "cause" affecting a different part of the market. And both discouraging some percentage of potential tourney players from getting more involved. I don't know but it doesn't seem unreasonable. Of course, if true, does the small ball help more than it hurts? (Pun intended.) Right now there are a lot more questions than there are answers and that isn't going to change anytime soon. (It's hard to come up with definitive answers when everyone is mostly guessing at both the problems and the causes. The tourney concerns are partly raw numbers and partly anecdotal and the declining playership claim is based almost exclusively on product sales figures which do not necessarily equate to player numbers.) It would seem that we're going to get small ball regardless. (Unless all the claims being made for it turn out to be bogus.) Small ball probably isn't the answer but it could be an answer.
There is little doubt that cheaper to the consumer paint would be great for the existing competitive paintball crowd. But then the question arises–again–of why has there been a recent drop off in new tournament-oriented players entering the game? If this is a real phenomenon has it occurred because paint cost too much or for some other reason? Clearly there is a line of thinking that associates high ROF and volume of paint with a decline in participation but is it the cost or the resulting sort of game you get with high ROF that's the problem? Or, is something else at the root of this problem?
Over in the UK there is a fairly strict dividing line separating the kind(s) of paintball available by site. The largest face of paintball is recreational rental play with most of the players being first timers and the once or twice a year sort. Many of the fields that cater to that customer do not want even regular rec players. At one time it was widely accepted (among the tourney types) that such practices were severely inhibiting the development of the tourney scene by having a huge disconnect between entry level paintball and tournament style paintball. If the majority of the occasional players don't even know tourney ball existed they weren't likely to seek it out, much less play. In the U.S. there appears, at least on a regional basis, to be a lot more interaction between the levels and types of players as lots of fields offer both woods and airball and welcome the regular repeat customer. And yet, if the claims of decline are correct (and they seem to be) we're both experiencing similar results. (Of related interest is the fact that many of the UK sites targeting new and very occasional players have consistently done very good business so there was little or no reason for them to change. Draw your own conclusion. Everybody's doing it.)
Maybe it is both high ROF and cost with each "cause" affecting a different part of the market. And both discouraging some percentage of potential tourney players from getting more involved. I don't know but it doesn't seem unreasonable. Of course, if true, does the small ball help more than it hurts? (Pun intended.) Right now there are a lot more questions than there are answers and that isn't going to change anytime soon. (It's hard to come up with definitive answers when everyone is mostly guessing at both the problems and the causes. The tourney concerns are partly raw numbers and partly anecdotal and the declining playership claim is based almost exclusively on product sales figures which do not necessarily equate to player numbers.) It would seem that we're going to get small ball regardless. (Unless all the claims being made for it turn out to be bogus.) Small ball probably isn't the answer but it could be an answer.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Baca's Blog
Okay, I finally got the regular Monday post up at the Big Bullet. Yes, it's late. Yes, I'm a lazy slacker--just like you. This week's post is called, 'Bowling League Paintball.' Check it out. It's probably a crazy idea but, hey, what could it hurt?
This will also be the last weekly Baca's Blog posting. From now on, for the foreseeable future, Baca's Blog will be going bi-monthly. Mostly because I'm having a hard time keeping up.
This will also be the last weekly Baca's Blog posting. From now on, for the foreseeable future, Baca's Blog will be going bi-monthly. Mostly because I'm having a hard time keeping up.
Major League Paintball Held Hostage: Weekly Update
We have some interesting numbers this week though, as always, I'll leave it up to you to decide what they may mean. (Well, that's a bald-faced lie, isn't it? I don't always leave it up to you at all. But it sounded good.)
With PSP's Chicago Open about 10 days away official registration closed yesterday. Final registration numbers including the Young Guns (Play-for-free) totalled 230 teams. A solid number. Paid teams total 213 although it's probably a more accurate assessment to drop the Young Guns off both for a 216 - 199 comparison since the Young Guns are only paying for their PSP IDs. I expect a few more teams to end up on the final tally sheet so will guess actual paid participation will be around 205 - 210 which will amount to about a 15% drop from last year. If you look at the raw numbers the big drops seem to be in D2X & D3X but interestingly if you total participation from Pro thru D2 last year and this year the total difference is only 3 teams. (Which may or may not say something about how the classification rules have been working but puts the real problem area on a steep decline in D3X participation.
On the plus side the PSP's website remains the VFTD official major league website that blows the most!
USPL numbers continue to slowly tick up for the mid-July West Coast Open with total registration currently at 65 teams including the Pros and total paid registrations at 20 not including the Pros. Realistically, without a bunch of registrations coming after the Chicago event it looks like the USPL is in a battle for 7-man supremacy within the regional context of Cali and the left coast more than it is struggling to establish a national presence. Though perhaps one thing at a time.
It seems there's some rumor out there about Chuck H. being on the outs with the USPL. This may simply be a misunderstanding of his changed status with Kingman but in any case it isn't true. Chuck continues to work diligently on behalf of the USPL.
Over in Euroland the MS is gearing up for the Paris Open which will, in fact, be an Open with all the teams from the CPL thru D2 competing for the same tier of unique titles. I wonder if this, rather than the close proximity to Bitberg, is influencing the D2 teams. So far only 5 are registered and it may be they have concerns competing with 3 divisions of more accomplished teams. It would be interesting to poll the D2 teams that have played this year so far and see what they see. (If you're a member of a D2 team please comment on why or why not your team is or isn't playing Paris. Feel free to do so anonymously if you like.) D3 (M5) currently has 17 teams registered for the event which will take place the weekend of July 4.
This coming weekend will see the Lviv Ukraine stop on the Grand Tour and it appears final participation numbers are down over last week's registered team list as the 4 5-man teams registered apparently will not be playing. That leaves 31 teams competing in 3 divisions.
With PSP's Chicago Open about 10 days away official registration closed yesterday. Final registration numbers including the Young Guns (Play-for-free) totalled 230 teams. A solid number. Paid teams total 213 although it's probably a more accurate assessment to drop the Young Guns off both for a 216 - 199 comparison since the Young Guns are only paying for their PSP IDs. I expect a few more teams to end up on the final tally sheet so will guess actual paid participation will be around 205 - 210 which will amount to about a 15% drop from last year. If you look at the raw numbers the big drops seem to be in D2X & D3X but interestingly if you total participation from Pro thru D2 last year and this year the total difference is only 3 teams. (Which may or may not say something about how the classification rules have been working but puts the real problem area on a steep decline in D3X participation.
On the plus side the PSP's website remains the VFTD official major league website that blows the most!
USPL numbers continue to slowly tick up for the mid-July West Coast Open with total registration currently at 65 teams including the Pros and total paid registrations at 20 not including the Pros. Realistically, without a bunch of registrations coming after the Chicago event it looks like the USPL is in a battle for 7-man supremacy within the regional context of Cali and the left coast more than it is struggling to establish a national presence. Though perhaps one thing at a time.
It seems there's some rumor out there about Chuck H. being on the outs with the USPL. This may simply be a misunderstanding of his changed status with Kingman but in any case it isn't true. Chuck continues to work diligently on behalf of the USPL.
Over in Euroland the MS is gearing up for the Paris Open which will, in fact, be an Open with all the teams from the CPL thru D2 competing for the same tier of unique titles. I wonder if this, rather than the close proximity to Bitberg, is influencing the D2 teams. So far only 5 are registered and it may be they have concerns competing with 3 divisions of more accomplished teams. It would be interesting to poll the D2 teams that have played this year so far and see what they see. (If you're a member of a D2 team please comment on why or why not your team is or isn't playing Paris. Feel free to do so anonymously if you like.) D3 (M5) currently has 17 teams registered for the event which will take place the weekend of July 4.
This coming weekend will see the Lviv Ukraine stop on the Grand Tour and it appears final participation numbers are down over last week's registered team list as the 4 5-man teams registered apparently will not be playing. That leaves 31 teams competing in 3 divisions.
Monday, June 15, 2009
This Week at VFTD
Looks like it's shaping up to be a busy week of posting as I've already got a couple of items not listed that are begging to be included. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, here's the official schedule--for what it's worth. (But, hey, I did pretty good last week.)
Monday--This Week at VFTD (d'oh!) Poll Review (of last week's poll), The Monday Poll (Predicting the future of 50 cal paintball), and the usual hype of the latest post at Baca's Blog over at the Big Bullet.
Tuesday--MLP Weekly Update, The UK Experiment (continuing the 50 cal dialogue)
Wednesday--Xball: Playing the Game (more gunning & running)
Thursday--Paintball Diversity
Friday--Return of the Pro Loser
Saturday--a mystery post
Monday--This Week at VFTD (d'oh!) Poll Review (of last week's poll), The Monday Poll (Predicting the future of 50 cal paintball), and the usual hype of the latest post at Baca's Blog over at the Big Bullet.
Tuesday--MLP Weekly Update, The UK Experiment (continuing the 50 cal dialogue)
Wednesday--Xball: Playing the Game (more gunning & running)
Thursday--Paintball Diversity
Friday--Return of the Pro Loser
Saturday--a mystery post
The Monday Poll
Dust off your crystal ball and tell us the future in this week's Monday Poll. Everybody is talking about the coming of small ball, the 50 caliber solution but nobody has even seen it in action yet. Here's your opportunity to predict how it will turn out. But remember, a month ago you didn't even believe it existed.
If you're not sure what answer 3 means the idea is this: If small ball was introduced to the mil-sim market and then to tourney paintball it would create a natural dividing line between competitive paintball and rec paintball perhaps justifying price differences and encouraging local fields to treat the different kinds of players differently.
If you want to add anything to your vote post it up in comments or if you'd like to offer another "answer" comments will work for that, too.
If you're not sure what answer 3 means the idea is this: If small ball was introduced to the mil-sim market and then to tourney paintball it would create a natural dividing line between competitive paintball and rec paintball perhaps justifying price differences and encouraging local fields to treat the different kinds of players differently.
If you want to add anything to your vote post it up in comments or if you'd like to offer another "answer" comments will work for that, too.
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