The Monday Poll in Review

Before I get started with the review I want to remind you slackers that you're not helping your cause--whatever it is--when you choose not to vote in The Monday Poll. The more peeps who vote the more impact the results have. Does The Monday Poll change outcomes? That's probably expecting too much but it can influence the thinking of those making decisions. And it requires so little from you that it seems like a no-brainer to me. Anyway ...
Last week's The Monday Poll wanted to know what you thought of the PSP's RaceTo MAXX scheduling formula. In reviewing the options it seems in retrospect I was less balanced and more negative in providing optional answers. So much for unbiased but I still think the results are interesting. Of the 5 choices provided only one was "positive" and even that one was less than a real endorsement. On the other hand it's a tough call for anyone who hasn't actually played MAXX or something similar. So, in part the results are less hard opinions than a reflection of what y'all are thinking given what you know about MAXX and the results at MAO. And on that score I think the results speak mostly to the voters uncertainty.
20% flatly preferred regular RaceTo format. That means only one in five opted for what they know over a change that didn't work as planned--at least initially--the first time out.
5% thought continuing to push MAXX would drive teams out of the PSP. All things considered that's almost nobody but may be an unspoken acknowledgement that there's really no where else to go for serious national level competition.
20% think MAXX is the future and hope the league gets it right in the future. I don't know if that's fatalism at work or a head nod to reality as the voters see it. Maybe a bit of both. (If it's any consolation should MAXX return every effort will be made to get it as close to perfect as possible as there continues to be an ongoing effort to evaluate and fix what failed to work as intended at MAO. The league is prepared to hire more staff and spend more money if that's what's needed.)
20% say they might not play if MAXX is their only option. In this category that's a fairly significant number--if it proved to be accurate. I understand the sentiment but I doubt the likelihood in part because of the sample size and in part because it's easy to level the threat but a lot harder to follow through if you are like most of us and hooked on this stupid game.
And finally 35% think MAXX is worth pursuing and putting up with if it allows more teams to participate in PSP events. That's a pretty significant number too, seems to me. It's a borderline endorsement from fully one third of the voters.
So what did we learn? Depends on how broadly you wish to define "learn" I suppose. In truth probably nothing other than confirming what we might have guessed in the first place. The jury is still out with the voters split over MAXX but considering how inauspicious a debut MAXX made it's receiving more (grudging?) support than I would have guessed likely.

Bitburg and Beyond

Millennium Bitburg is a wrap. Impact wins again. The rest of the top 8, more or less, from Puget trade spots like a game of musical chairs and Art Chaos is left scratching their heads once again with another mid-pack finish. After two events the North American teams are still leading the CPL pack with the rest of the competitive teams so close in series ranking to be almost indistinguishable from one another. Then there's the 8-10 slots with teams like Ton Tons and Art Chaos who expect to be higher up the rankings--which is still possible--but only just. They are followed by the non-contenders who at this stage are really working to stay in the CPL.
Yesterday local police confiscated some player guns outside the Bitburg venue that didn't have the required F stamps and there was a rumor the police would return today. So far VFTD hasn't received any info regarding a follow-up or the results of yesterday's grab. German law classifies airguns as firearms and requires the F stamp to show the markers are legal in Germany. So no stamp no marker for you. The unspoken reality is that any marker used in competition in Germany is illegal by German law F stamp or not because they exceed the ROF restrictions. This complication is nothing new but having the popo show up at the venue is. Word yesterday was that the MS was trying to get the markers back but police procedure is to destroy confiscated illegal firearms--including paintball markers.
Of greater interest (to me anyway) is the lesson being illustrated this season by Impact and Art Chaos. (It is a lesson that everyone will claim to already know but one that almost no one ever acts on in reality.) Art Chaos entered the season with a reunited Russian roster of past Russian Legion superstars along with some additional top Russian talent and other hand-picked top players. The expectations were sky high. How could they not be? Practically an All-Star roster, experienced and winning coach and tradition--How could they possibly fail? Compare that to an Impact roster rebuilt in the off-season after the loss of 3 top tier players with admittedly other established pro players but players with less experience and less successful resumes. By normal reckoning, straight talent for talent, Impact shouldn't be as good as they are--at least not until the new players improved and proved themselves.
So what's happened? Art Chaos is struggling for respectability and in the meantime everyone is bewildered by their performances and clueless to explain their results. Impact, in an experimental and rebuilding year, struggled the first day in Dallas and since then has turned it around completely and is vying for titles at every event since Dallas. And they're doing it with ostensibly an inferior roster to the ones they've had in recent years when victories eluded them.
Are the old players overrated? Are the new kids better than expected? The answer to both is probably not. So what is making the difference? Why is Chaos struggling and why is Impact successful?

As you've likely heard by now the APL cancelled Chicago. (Are you following VFTD on Facebook?) They had a good excuse whether it was true or not hardly matters. what mattered was that nobody was signing up and paying entries. For all you (I'm guessing 5 or 6) lamenting the likely passing of the APL and the loss of another outlet "for growing paintball" take heart. What happened when the NPPL died? Well, first we had a couple of zombie NPPLs and then the APL but that's not the point. The point is there will always be a replacement if even one person thinks an opportunity to get into the tournament business exists. And if you were to list all the tourney series that have ceased operations you will almost certainly be able to name a series that popped up or expanded or whatever to take the "lost" series place. It is the nature of things--even in paintball.

Some Random Thoughts

The APL cancelled the Chicago event claiming their was a problem with local authorities not granting permission to use a parking area to set up the tournament fields. Or field. Or whatever. Further the league is taking a hiatus from operation to evaluate whether or not it's worthwhile trying to continue with the league. And as we all know 'hiatus' is Latin for "has assumed room temperature" or "taking a dirt nap" which makes the likely outcome pretty apparent to anyone who hasn't assumed room temperature. At this point the only real question is do the teams committed to the APL call it quits or put on their big boy pants and attempt some serious competition. Time will tell.
The APL news could leave open a slot for "the other would be national paintball league" which might be good news for the XPL, the self-proclaimed "xball" league coming in 2015. The XPL has a Facebook page and a website but is still thin on real information. Of course it's only May of 2014 so they've got some time to figure the rest out but considering the track record of recent new leagues if I was running a team I'd want to know more before I gave it any serious consideration. Stuff like event structure (beyond halves and 15 bps) and likely venues. How many events in a season? Where are the refs coming from? Who is in charge? Maybe have an actual rulebook that outlines all this basic stuff so I can see some real thought and effort have gone into the process. Am I against another competitive league? Heck, no, but I am skeptical. Turns out running a national series is a wee bit tougher than the average monkey seems to think it is. (For some more XPL info check out the interview at Social.)
Millennium Bitburg begins tomorrow. Follow the action for free by going here. You may want to monitor sound levels--or that may just be me. (A little Bear goes a long way. That relentless good cheer and energy are damned annoying after a while ) For those curious about MAXX and how the Europeeps do it watching some of the tourney action will let you see how relatively seamlessly it works once everyone knows the program. (Excepting the business of keeping track of which teams are playing for on site spectators.) Personally, I always felt like switching teams took the steam out of the suspense and tension out of a tight match--but that may just be me--as always your mileage may vary.
The word seems to be that Chicago will be MAXX free but all that really means is if you intend to compete at the Midwest event you'd best get signed up and paid up as early as possible because there won't be extra fields or any unexpected surprises and given the turnout for Dallas and MAO odds are Chicago will fill up fast. Or you could, you know, take your time and assume the league will find a way to get you in at the last minute. Your call.

The Monday Poll

The Monday Poll makes a triumphant return to VFTD! This week it's all about RaceTo MAXX. Should it stay or should it go? Will it impact your decision to compete in the PSP? I'm not thrilled with the category but I think there are lots of varying opinions out there and I'm curious. Besides, it it wasn't MAXX VFTD could'a asked who will win CPL in Bitburg--like the North American audience could care less or whether any team will show up for Chicago APL that isn't affiliated with Camp Pendleton Paintball Park. (Okay, that's maybe a tiny exaggeration but it's still funny 'cus you know it's nearly true.)
When you vote choose wisely 'cus you only get to pick one answer. You are however allowed to vent to your heart's content in the comments so if you have a take on this whole MAXX business and voting didn't satisfy your desire to express yourself don't hold back. Let's hear the good the bad and the ugly.
And for our European friends feel free to venture your opinion on how Art Chaos will do in Bitburg. Do they get their act together or does some unwanted chaos continue to disrupt their performance?
Vote early vote often.

Paintball's Traveling Circus

Next week at this time the Millennium kids will be in Bitburg on the second leg of their 2014 series. Bitburg will have the usual competition plus another edition of one-on-one's and the Euro Women's Championships. Based on the teams listed Bitburg is down from the Mediterranean Cup numbers slightly and it's too early to determine whether it's a trend or not although the year-to-year numbers are down some as well. In recent years the MS has scoured Euroland for filler teams to take the place of attrition losses and there are few if any untapped regions left to pull teams from. And the stronger the national leagues get the less the incentive to compete in the Millennium. Clearly the Euro-wide challenge posed by the MS still appeals to a lot of teams but viable and growing alternatives exist.
(Unlike in the U.S. where local and regional series are unable to accommodate D3 and above teams for the most part thus pushing them into the PSP. This is almost certainly [an unintended?] function of the universal classification system.)
Once again the snake wire will be along the pit side with the D-wire facing the spectators. I didn't notice any particular difference it made at Puget-sur-Argens but I am curious what those actually watching on site thought. Did you like it? Hate it? Didn't care? Didn't notice? As to the webcast I expect once again to Shelley doing her best to offer some cogent info while Rene and Bear fight over the microphone and I turn down the sound. (It is otherwise quite good as are some of the guest announcers.)
Bitburg will also be all-grass. Does that have an impact on the teams at all compared to turf fields?

In two weeks the APL will be in Chicagoland for their second event of the season. At present 23 teams are signed up with only 12 teams paid. (The number paid hasn't changed in recent weeks but may simply mean the rest of those registered decided not to pay until closer to the actual event dates.) Even so, if everyone registered shows up we're still only looking at 23 teams across 6 or 7 divisions of competition and unlike the SoCal event at Camp Pendlteton there are no Dynastys or Heats registered for Chicago. On the plus side everyone podiums (or nearly everyone anyway.) Frankly it's hard to take the APL too seriously--okay, seriously at all--and if the Chicago event doesn't heat up quickly it's hard to see what justification they would have continuing with the series.

In less than a month the next CPS event will take place in Belgium and at last count there were nearly 50 teams signed up including half a dozen pro teams. There is some overlap of teams that also compete in the MS but the CPS also appears to be drawing teams that aren't part of the MS and this season they've chosen to schedule events behind MS events which may have served to lessen the sense of direct competition. The CPS is more laid back, less formal and more like a big party that just happens to have a paintball tournament going on at the same time. For some that's a good thing and for other's perhaps not so much. Regardless the CPS aims to keep the fun in paintball and that can't be a bad thing. The other thing the CPS does is bring PSP-style tournament play to Europe with a PSP field kit and layout offering the RaceTo 4 format--if I recall correctly

And before you know we'll be on to round three of the 2014 season and doing this all over again..

MAO: In The Rearview Mirror

This is gonna be a long one so if you suffer from short attention span deficiency try reading it in sections. It's gonna be long in part because I didn't post anything at all during the event, not even some highlights or quick comments, 'cus I was too damn busy. I know that's a poor excuse for the but-it's-free-crowd but it's still the truth. Anyway, it's all in the rearview mirror now and objects may appear closer than they are so let's engage in a little post-event review.
The Weather & the Venue.
Under normal circumstances OXCC is a comfortable venue tucked away in a bit of rural eastern Maryland although it's not as rural as it might seem on site. During the event the weather was lovely though a tad cool for my taste much of Sunday but not even close to Dallas cold. (Only in tournament paintball do the words "Dallas" and "cold" go together.) It would have been nearly perfect except it rained all day last Wednesday with a lead-in on Tuesday and a parting thunderstorm or two on Thursday that soaked everything. Among other things it left an apparently permanent puddle of mud behind the snake side insert Aztec at the far end of the Champions field. But that was the least of it.
Parking.
It's said that bad things come in threes. If true the PSP can breath a sigh of relief 'cus they got their three outta the way at one event. Fingers crossed. Knock wood. Parking at OXCC for a PSP tournament uses the enormous expanses of grass fronting Old Telegraph and if the ground had been dry instead of recently soaked it would have been fine as it has been fine in the past. Soaked it became a patchwork parking lot with crew guessing where cars could be safely parked and lines of waiting cars snaking away from the field back to the road and beyond. And of course the daily effort to extract the stuck and winch out the careless. Not a game breaker on its own it made the simple act of showing up a struggle of sorts.
The webcast.
I didn't see one minute of the MAO webcast. Normally I get a chance to watch some of it if only after the day's event is over but not this time. I'm told the webcast itself was up to par and that most of the problems and associated frustrations were related to the introduction of pay-per-view. Which proved to be more pay and less view--at least for a while there--along with some delays in refunds, etc. Like most of you I'm not a fan of the last minute change--How's that been working out lately?--or the failure of a product I've paid for to deliver on promises made. Nor am I inclined to make excuses. What I am inclined to do is put the webcast in a different context perhaps. PBA certainly didn't help their cause and they had better make sure Chicago goes off without a hitch as anything less will begin to look like they don't have the competence to pull this off. That said, who criticized the webcast when it was free? (Free to you that is as it's never been free to produce.) Who hated on its mistakes when it was free? Who has come to take for granted its inclusion as part of a PSP event? Everyone was thrilled to have the webcast when it was somebody else's problem to pay for. It would seem those days are over. The question now becomes what are you willing to pay in order to keep the webcast around? (Free or P-P-V the production costs are in the tens of thousands every event.) If the answer is nothing or not much then you won't be shocked when that's eventually the webcast you get.
RaceTo MAXX
Are we having fun yet? While not quite an epic disaster Friday morning's opening rounds of MAXX were a trainwreck. If it could go wrong, it seems, it did go wrong if only briefly but when added all together it made for a chaotic introduction. Fixes were implemented on the fly and by the afternoon the matches were running much more smoothly and that carried over to Saturday which was night and day different from early Friday. Even so it was clear the league was ill-prepared to implement MAXX on such short notice and if Saturday suggests MAXX may have a future in the PSP that may depend on how the teams and players respond than anything else. Even before the event was over discussions were underway on where and how the process needs to be restructured and what needs to be done in order to make sure nothing like Friday morning happens again. Among other things the league needs to educate the teams and players on exactly how the process works and what they can do to avoid unnecessary hassles. Too many teams tended to get caught up in watching the action without realizing they needed to be getting ready for starters. No decision about the future of MAXX has been made yet and hopefully when it is that word will be passed along in a timely manner.
As little as I like saying it I think it's probably inevitable at some point. Maybe not Chicago and maybe not even the rest of 2014 but if not now eventually. The potential for space and time savings makes it attractive for maximizing team participation and potentially opening new venues to the league besides. And despite the rugged beginning the rest of the event demonstrated it can and will work when implemented better than was managed at MAO initially.
The Refs
It turns out MAO can be a tricky event to fully staff. In part because of the location and in part because it falls on or just prior to a lot of schools finals week. This time around we had a lot of last second drop outs--not due to MAXX though--and where Dallas was a great start for the new program we took a half step back at MAO. And it was only a half step due to the above and beyond effort put forth by the crews that were out there this past weekend. The refs at MAO more than earned their keep--they deserve our gratitude. Any failings on their part are our responsibility and we will do better. It seems like circumstance conspired to make MAO a difficult event all around but we will continue to expand the pool of certified refs and continue to work with the best of the best in an effort to improve, if only a little at a time, from one event to the next.
The Cali event is similar to MAO in that the league hasn't had a presence out west for sometime so if you or anyone you know has an interest in reffing don't hesitate to drop me a line at: paul(at)pspevent(dot)com.
The Layout
Okay, I'ma 'fess up. Yes, the same person who did the "fake" layout could in fact come up with the MAO layout because they were predicated on different concepts. MAO was intended to be a highly technical layout demanding coordinated effort but also allowing teams of any tactical persuasion to play the layout to their strengths. Which, at the divisional level, happened quite frequently. Not universally but still. Not so much however on the Champions field where risk aversion has been elevated to a core principle. (The fact that one end of the field was a mud pit all weekend didn't help but even so.) To see how the field could be played watch Heat versus Russian Legion. Or the final few points of Shock and Art Chaos when Chaos was finally sufficiently desperate to stop sitting in their bunkers. It seems to me, at least conceptually, that the ideal layout is one that suits all styles of play as equally as possible but it seems that reality is if it can be stalled and/or slow played that is what most of the Pros will choose to do. In the meantime I'll take the blame for the terrible layout on which the Pros chose to slow play their points. Trust me, that won't happen again.
The Results
Didn't see that coming. Infamous wins Dallas and is relegated at MAO. Didn't see Art Chaos winning MAO but surely didn't predict they'd be relegated either. Impact recovered their balance in Dallas and have carried on since with a win in the Millennium and a finals spot at MAO. And what about Aftershock? The off season additions seem to have brought the right balance of experience and discipline to the team without diminishing their aggressive tendencies and the result was some great paintball at MAO. Has the Champions bracket just gotten that much tougher? It might seem like Vicious took a step back but the reality is that one or two points at critical moments is the difference between moving on and playing a relegation match. And 187 struggled but they stayed in Champions. No more yo-yoing for now.
In Challengers VCK has been consistently at the top of the ranks without breaking into Champions yet. The Russian Legion turned their fortunes around to join Heat back in Champions while XSV and Top Gun saw their Dallas fortunes reversed. What will Chicago bring?

The Coming Storm

Okay, there is no storm. At least not that I'm aware of. (Blame it on 'Game of Thrones' and my willingness to generate traffic with deceitful titles.) Neither a real storm or a figurative one--insomuch as it might affect the big wide world of major league paintball this coming week. The weather at OXCC the next couple of days may be a little grim and damp but as of yesterday's reporting everything should be good by tournament time. I would recommend however you bring something extra to stay warm early and late as nighttime temps may be a bit chilly. They certainly will be for this Florida boy. (My blood is thin. What can I say? I'm not yet reduced to a sweater and rocking chair but the clock's ticking.)
Even without a storm there are some intriguing storylines at MAO. First and foremost is RaceTo MAXX. Will it succeed or will it fail? Could it do both at the same time? (I think it could.) Succeed as a scheduling efficiency but still prove unpopular with the teams? Or will it be another tempest in a teapot; the usual aggrieved outrage that sputters and dies out?
My personal top priority is will I have an assigned golf cart at MAO? (At Dallas I had to beg, borrow and steal the damned things and the fields at MAO are more spread out than Dallas's tight and relatively compact structure. It's even uphill both ways.)
MAO will be the first appearance of Art Chaos in the Champions division and that's certain to generate a ton o' interest and speculation. Will they deliver as expected? Do they immediately challenge for wins or, despite their experienced roster, will there be a learning curve of some sort to get them acclimated? Seems to me everyone expects virtual dominance from the get go but while I believe they are an excellent team I'm not convinced they are firing on all cylinders just yet. Should be exciting to watch though.
And what about Vicious? Or Heat for that matter? Or the Russian Legion? Was Vicious lucky or good at Dallas--and will a result at MAO tell us one way or the other? Will Heat vault back into the Champs division and if so who tumbles this time around? And is it time to say RL's glory days are past and start to wonder if the slide can be arrested?
And then there's the layout all this drama will unfold on. I will grant it's highly technical and demanding particularly on the snake wire but to hear some of the peeps carry on you'd think it was practically unplayable. I've seen quite a lot of paintball played on this layout and whether or not it's your personal cup of tea excessively long mid-games will happen, if they happen, by choice. While not as fast as Dallas fast points are possible and the typical point I'd put between 90 seconds and two minutes.
I understand the slow point argument but skirts are for Catholic schoolgirls not competitive paintball players. And the reversion to dragging out points when it happens is just an argument for the league to manipulate field design. Personally I favor--at least hypothetically--balanced fields that allow teams to play to whatever they perceive their strength to be but if the pros automatically default to slow play they are in fact asking for the league to act. Just saying.
Currently the crew is on site getting the fields ready and Ronald McDonald is still chained to his bench on Bethel Rd by the intersection of Old Telegraph so everything is right--and nearly ready at OXCC for this year's MAO.

Who Wants Vanilla?

What do you want to see when you watch a PBA webcast of a PSP event? (Yeah, I know, you want to see yourself and not those lame pro players but other than that--what do you want to see?) How 'bout everybody shaking hands like gentlemen after the match? Or another scintillating player interview where the players try not to say anything even slightly controversial? (When did everybody go to media savvy school and learn to be bland?) Or another penalty for over-shooting, oops, I mean unsportsmanlike conduct? Come to that any penalty that becomes the mystery center of attention for ten seconds (hopefully no longer 'cus you're never gonna find out what the penalty was for anyway.) Or another incomprehensible team chant or another shout out to fill-in-the-sponsor. Or God forbid players on competing teams laughing and hugging each other.
Every player lies to himself and tells himself competitive paintball is hardcore. Gritty. Dirty. And then when we try to bring it to a wider audience we scrub the drama, conflict, passion (and humanity?) right out of it. Yeah, I know, the pros need to act like professionals--despite the fact they mostly aren't--but does acting like a professional have to be boring as hell?
I had a long conversation today [yesterday] with a VIPP (very important paintball personality) and one of the things we talked about was what sort of game do we need to be playing to capture the public imagination? I know, I know, some of you are convinced competitive paintball will never be more than a niche sport and some of you kinda like it that way. Hear me out and then shoot me down.

When the talk turns to the game on the field I think everyone pretty much is in agreement; we all want fast paced high energy action that grabs your attention and won't let you look away. Which is easier said than done. (D'oh!) (Although I have an idea or two about that as well--for another post.)
But before a new audience can get caught up in the action of the game don't we need to give them a reason to care? To choose to watch. Cable TV is replete with "reality" shows of guys fishing for crabs, or prospecting for gold in tough environments or even trashy superficial women fighting like cats and dogs. What they all share in common is drama and conflict and the ones that work and prosper do so because an audience cares about the people involved, love 'em or hate 'em, and want to know what happens next. Maybe what paintball needs is a little more "reality" and a little less banality. 

MAXX

I wasn't planning on writing this post. Not when I first heard about the possibility of testing MAXX at MAO and not when I became peripherally involved in some of the discussion as it pertained to organizing the fields set aside for this and dealing with the refs and extra staffing. And when I say peripherally I mean tangentially. I didn't do any of the heavy lifting but contributed a thought or two. (And a press release.) That isn't to say for those wishing to assign blame (or sack Rome) that I don't share in the blame. The fact is I work for the PSP and support the PSP for the same reason--I think it delivers the best national and international level paintball available anywhere. So if you're of a mind to tear it all down and start over we're on opposite sides.
That said I'm not a big fan. Of the alternating matches formula. I've competed in the format and it really doesn't make a substantive difference from the players' side ... but even so. And for those mostly upset about the timing of the announcement I agree with you too. It was terrible timing and there's no way to put a happy face on any of it.
Of course I've been opposed to most of the changes the PSP has made in recent years and look where we are. The league is bigger and more popular than ever in the xball era. Shows what I know. Would I like more sense of stability and continuity? You bet and yet as I say that I've got a list of changes I want to make to the the rules. So when is change about just doing something different or doing something better? Depends, I suppose, on one's perspective.
There has also been a lot of talk about motivation. I don't have definitive answers but I do have an opinion. Based on personal knowledge of those involved. Dallas was a legit surprise. Going into the season event participation was projected in advance and Dallas blew those projections outta the water. Along comes MAO with a similar result--except there was no room to add more fields. Sometime after the potential scale of the MAO turnout was realized an effort was made to find a solution. MAXX was the result. Does that make the PSP greedy bottom feeders? I don't believe so but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think a situation came up that put the league in a difficult spot and this was the path chosen.
Would I have done it differently? From where I'm sitting, probably, but neither you or I have the same view as the peeps making the final decision. Certainly this wasn't a public relations coup. To put it mildly. Win, lose or draw it will be considered a black mark against the league by some (players and observers) that will have to be overcome. And the effort to do that will begin next week at MAO.

Get With the Program

The new PSP reffing program, that is. Much to my chagrin (okay, not really but it seems like the sort of thing I probably ought to feel chagrin over) I have neglected to inform you, the loyal VFTD reader, just what the PSP is doing to upgrade the quality and consistency of the officiating. Since, you know, I'm sorta involved on a nearly daily basis in the process. Or, if you are of a cynical or conspiratorial bent you might consider this post VFTD selling out. Despite being both cynical and conspiratorial I don't see it that way but if I didn't myself better I'd be suspicious too.
For starters the logistics of the program have been revamped completely. Brought up to speed with what the league is doing with teams and players. Refs now register with APPA, are issued an ID card, sign in at the event just like the players and receive their field assignment at registration. PSP refs can even sign up for events like the teams do and the pay scale (which used to be rather haphazard and inconsistent) now has a tiered scale of daily pay rates based on experience, effectiveness and availability beginning at $150 a day for a new to the PSP referee. Now that the league has entered the 21st century with the reffing program it allows us to keep comprehensive records which not only make the ref's job just a tiny bit easier but makes it possible for us to track and evaluate our refs more efficiently. Our goal is to put 10 refs on every field and limit the number of "new" guys per field so that we can accelerate the development of the less experienced refs by surrounding them with seasoned refs. We also have a dedicated web forum just for PSP referees where they can blow off steam, talk about unusual situations that come up and generally discuss the business of reffing in the PSP.
Long term the goal is to grow the pool of certified PSP refs so that we not only don't suffer short falls at any events but so we can reward the best refs and provide a consistent level of excellence on the field at the events. And that process begins at our reffing clinics.
The actual clinic and training are of course classified top secret so I can't reveal any details here. Okay, that's a blatant lie but it sounds better than the truth. The truth is it's late and I don't want this post to go too long so I may (or may not) get around to talking about the certification (and recertification) clinics and how and why they are different from previous efforts--in another post sometime. I will say though that the critical difference is in the focus on what's important and the attitude and deportment the league expects in its referees.
Come to that I will also say that in my admittedly limited experience so far the great majority of refs both new and old are excited about the changes, the league's commitment to the process and energized by the prospect of being PSP referees. And that's a good beginning.
(This post was brought to you by the PSP. Not really but I know some of y'all can't help thinking maybe it's true.)

PSP MAO Layout 2014

And now for something completely different. Instead of VFTD breaking down the layout I'd like to hear your take on this layout. Yes, I'm well aware this could--and almost certainly will--go horribly wrong. The truth is I expect y'all to wuss out so my threshold for being surprised (and pleased) by your responses is remarkably low. If you don't know what to do with this layout then tell me what you think of it. Surely a significant number of you have or will play this so you must have some ideas. C'mon, you can do it. Surely you've learned something here in the past. Right?

Inside Sunday

One thing I have wanted to see for years is a more comprehensive look at what goes on during a match--especially an important match--a Sunday semi-final or finals match--from outside the field of play. In the pits. Among the referees. Eavesdropping on the spectators straining at the ropes that keep them off the netting. Up in the booth where stats are collected and the Champions field scorekeeper operates. One thing I discovered first hand in Dallas is that (doh!) everyone sees it differently but that a thread of tension, the drama of the moment, ties everyone together too. And the best way to communicate the game to people isn't by showing them the action on the field--it's by telling them the story of the game. What are the stakes? Who are the teams? What are the players like? And then try to capture the energy that runs like electrical current through everyone involved. It is, mostly, an untold story.
The teams and players are strung tighter than piano wire and deal with the tension in a host of different ways. Oddly when you're in the middle of it, a part of it, you're less aware than you are as an immediate observer. Everyone tries to stay calm. Stay busy. Follow personal rituals. Act on superstitious habit. Time either passes more slowly or it disappears in an instant. It infects the staff and crew too. There's quiet conversation, forced laughter and outbursts of frustration and anxiety. The routines of preparing to play provide order and continuity. The excitement builds as the game start ticks down. Invisible it crackles in the air and pounds in your chest like an amplified heartbeat. It touches the referees too. It is the pinnacle of every event. The culmination of weeks of preparation and competition. The ultimate high or the ultimate low awaits. Regardless of the weather an emotional storm swirls and buffets everyone present. It is the difference between watching the match and experiencing it.  

Fitting the Frame

At the conclusion of  'The Reactive Mind' post I suggested the next post (this one) would have some practical ways to combat the reactive mind in the context of playing paintball. Now however it occurs to me there is a methodology that perhaps has a more universal application so instead of providing piecemeal bits I'm going to try and put all of it into a usable context. I offer no guarantee of success.
For our purposes the reactive mind is one that is constantly trying to process a stream of ever-changing inbound information (what the players playing the game are doing) in order to make (game play) decisions--and then act on those choices. When we are overtly aware of that process--when we consciously think about what to do next--it is a sign that it is taking too long. (Not so much at D4 perhaps but when we talk about the speed of the game accelerating what we're really talking about is the speed at which decisions are being made and acted on. Consequently any player with higher level aspirations must be able to move beyond the restrictions of the reactive mind.) And, as noted before, uncertainty (lack of information) and fear slow the process down even more.
Initially what is required is a way to filter all that incoming information, determine what's important and what isn't, make a decision and act. Our filter is two basic questions: 'What do I do now?' and 'What if anything is stopping me from acting?' By limiting our focus to our immediate goals we begin to filter out extraneous information and focus on what we need to know in order to act. But we're not done yet. We have narrowed the scope of our focus but we also need a way to mentally sort through the barrage of inbound information. After all, 'What do I do now?' remains an open-ended proposition that could have an almost unlimited number of answers. Here is where we erect a mental framework within which to answer both questions. The framework is constructed of knowing your role and executing the game plan. Within the framework when answering the question 'What do I do now?' most of the myriad possibilities are easily dismissed because they do not fit. When you know your role and focus on the execution of that role within the frame of the team-oriented game plan the "answers" from a much smaller pool of possibilities which speeds up the decision-making process tremendously and operating within the proposed framework serves the dual purpose of laying a foundation for effective teamwork. Conceptually we are pre-selecting the information we will consider important to making a decision that fits the criteria of our filter and framework.
This method for making game play decisions doesn't turn the reactive mind into the proactive mind but it helps get us closer to the ideal by drastically reducing the information we pay attention to when making a game play decision.

Next time, Seeking the Proactive Mind.

The Reactive Mind

In an email conversation today (the other day now) the post topic came up peripherally--okay, so I brought it up--and afterwards I thought it might make for a worthwhile post. (So here we are.) Everyone (with even a modicum of critical thinking) eventually realizes one of the largest pieces of the puzzle in making "great" players is something we don't often talk about--the mental game. Other than of course you have to be mental to play this game. Our conversation was broadly about the suitability of players to styles of play and I brought up the distinction between the proactive and reactive player types--and all the elements that tend to push players toward the reactive mind. (Not the best choice.) Since we didn't take it any further I'd like to do that here. (Which makes this being my blog rather convenient.)
One reason the mental game remains less thoroughly explored (in all sports) is because it's difficult to discuss. Mere words frequently seem inadequate expressions of what's going on inside the mind. And this will be no exception so bear with me and see if, in the end, this makes any sense to you.
The proactive player is actively (naturally) engaged in controlling the play and making things happen. And if you have learned nothing from competitive paintball you should have grokked by now that it is always better to give than to receive. The proactive mind is totally focused on the game, on the imposition of the player's will and playing the game wholly in the moment. The reactive mind--even when the player wants to be the aggressor--and completely in the moment--is encumbered and inhibits that effort for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are nature, uncertainty and fear, both singly and as a collective stew. Nature, in this instance, is a function of the gene lottery and what that means in each individual case. Some people are more cautious than others, more thoughtful before they act, more inclined to weigh risk or avoid a mistake and less inclined to make snap decisions. So in one sense the reactive mind is perfectly understandable, rational and no doubt comes in handy on lots of occasions--just not so much playing competitive ball where it causes indecision and unnecessary delay and can cede the initiative to your opponent. But other factors can also trigger the reactive mind like uncertainty and fear. Uncertainty creates hesitation and that is when the reactive mind is engaged. Uncertainty is sourced in any number of concerns but broadly comes down to insufficient information (with which to make an immediate and/or comfortable decision) or a lack of experience--which can amount to the same thing in some situations. Fear works on the reactive mind like one's normal inclinations and uncertainty but also adds a more debilitating component; it also functions at an emotional level. While fear may serve a valuable life preserving function in sport it tends to produce a feedback loop of failure and it doesn't matter whether it's perceived or real. All of which makes fear particularly difficult to overcome. That and the fact that most players who exhibit signs of the reactive mind will deny to themselves and everyone else they fall prey to fear at times.

Next time (maybe) some practical ways to counter the reactive mind. 

The Fitness Fad

Seems like the fitness fad hit competitive paintball like a bomb a few years ago and its impact is radiating outward in an all-encompassing wave turning both male and female ballers into gym rats around the globe. Which is, in and of itself, mostly a positive thing. Done right it has value well beyond the realms of the Saturday afternoon grind. But it is not a panacea. Hours spent in the gym do not automatically improve on field performance. Oh sure, you may run a bit faster and have more stamina but neither of those translate into greater success on their own. Some sports are sufficiently demanding that a measure of fitness is required to even compete. Competitive paintball doesn't but at the highest levels every effort to improve may prove to be the difference between success and failure. Like any other sport that poses physical demands on the players fitness is a tool. Keep in mind though that the finest tools in the hands of the unskilled are wasted.