Proper Steps to Accurately Communicating
Step #1
Make sure everyone on the team knows all of the team’s unique codes for kill counts, teammate losses, and time left in the game, bunkers, equipment failure, bunkering, game plans/breakout plans, etc. Practice making these calls over and over and make sure everyone is on the same page for this important information. Make these codes unique to just your teammates and not copied from other teams. Remember, the best way to do this is keep it short and simple and not more difficult then the codes need to be. There is so much usually happening in a real game of paintball that the last thing you want to do is have to worry about what a code for a certain part of the game is while actually playing a tournament situation. If you really want to take it to the next level you can learn hand signals that distinguish or portray what you want to happen on the field from your teammates. For example: doing a simple hand wave to represent you want yourself or another a player to go to the snake or you think an opponent is about to go to a key spot on the field before the game starts!
Step#2
Always remember, when a game starts and players arrive at their position on the field, to quickly communicate where the opponent is, the kill count if you have eliminated an opponent, an opponent in your mirror, or a teammate loss. This should be the first thing you do along with shooting your gun and looking for moves. This is very important because it could drastically change the outcome of the game very quickly, depending on which side the information favors. If you can affectively do this in the beginning of a game across your team, you might be able to act quickly depending on whether you shot an opposing player and can quickly make a move down the field. On the opposite side of this scenario, your team might lose one or two players at the start of the game and need to communicate that information to your teammates and act accordingly to the situation. You may have lost your whole left side and need to swing over to spread the field. When doing this don’t just start yelling to yell, you have to make sure your information gets to the rest of your team as I stated before. So many players just yell what they see once and think they did their job, but don’t actually get it across to others. Because the first 30 seconds of a game is the most important, it is vital to absorb everything that is happening on the field and getting it across to your teammates instantly.
Step#3
Another important communication note to practice, is too always quickly communicate any information to your teammates if the opponent has made a move to a “killer spot” on the field. This “killer spot” is a spot where you know is a very effective position on the field to eliminate players. Most of the time when you see an opponent move into this “killer spot” the opponent might not be able to kill you from there, but you know that if you teammate across the field does not receive the information, he will be eliminated. These “killer spots” usually include far positions up the snake, or Dorito side of the field and even the center X. This is why it is so important that you immediately get this information across to your teammate that could be affected by the opponent’s move, before he is eliminated and you are down another body that could have been avoided!
Gant MacLellan
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
What is Edging?
Edging is when a player shoots his gun at a target/player/bunker on the way to his destination/bunker. Other terms used are running and gunning or running and shooting. Xball was really the first format to utilize this skill in a dominate way. Players will use Edging either from the breakout of the game or during the game in order to get to their next position on the field. More skillful and experienced players will use Edging to get to far spots on the filed on break ex. Snake, Corners, or 50's. Edging is a very critical skill now and used in all formats of paintball.
Dave
TrainHardPaintball.com
Dave
TrainHardPaintball.com
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Paintball Communication - How to properly communicate on the paintball field
Communication
Communication in paintball is one of the hardest things that you will have to learn in the game and to get right. Knowing how to communicate properly and affectively is vital to being successful in any type of paintball game. Anytime you can communicate information on kill counts, teammates lost, or where players are at, etc. across the field, the better your team’s chances of winning! While it is very hard to practice and drill specifically for just communication, there are several areas that can be focused on. The first thing to take into mind is, communication is a two way process. Meaning you are communicating information to a teammate and then receiving information back and interpreting it to yourself. As a tournament player you have to be able to effectively communicate information on the field but be willing and receptive to listen for communication coming from others. Too many players fall into what we call “Tunnel Vision” and let what is going on in the game and their individual situation on the field, consume them from communicating and responding to information. This style of play and lack of communication will almost always result in poor results for the team as a whole. You have to be aware of what is going on around you at all times and constantly thinking and managing instinct.
While communication should come from all players on the field, it is primarily the back players and back center players’ jobs to relay information from the left and right sides of the field! This is primarily due to their position in the back center of the field. Their position further back on the field, offers an easier way to see the whole field and relay information throughout the rest of the team. I have found that the best way to communicate with another member on the field is to call out that players name first, so it directly refers to who you are trying to communicate with. This is very important because just like in the real world, people usually pay attention and respond when their name is called out! Once this is done you then need to make sure they acknowledge you, and then relay them across the information until you know they understand. Once you establish this communication line with your teammate, you will know that they understand the information with some simple head nods or verbal recognition. A key point to practice when doing this is to not let your goal of communicating when playing, take you out of the game, off an opponent, or out of your teams game plan! You want to multitask and focus on the game at hand but still relay the proper information to your teammates without stopping what you are doing. Depending on the situation, you always want to do this because if you don’t it might allow the opponent to move and make advancement that you might not see on your side of the field, which could be disastrous. Additionally head nods are great when a teammate is so far up the field and does not want to yell and give away his position. Since most beginner players do usually take their selves out of the game when communicating, it is almost always a good opportunity to go crush an opponent when he does so. Most players will either stop shooting, turn backwards, let their gun down, etc, when doing this.
3 Proper Steps to Accurately Communicating - coming next week stay tuned
Article by Gant MacLellan
www.trainhardpaintball.com
Communication in paintball is one of the hardest things that you will have to learn in the game and to get right. Knowing how to communicate properly and affectively is vital to being successful in any type of paintball game. Anytime you can communicate information on kill counts, teammates lost, or where players are at, etc. across the field, the better your team’s chances of winning! While it is very hard to practice and drill specifically for just communication, there are several areas that can be focused on. The first thing to take into mind is, communication is a two way process. Meaning you are communicating information to a teammate and then receiving information back and interpreting it to yourself. As a tournament player you have to be able to effectively communicate information on the field but be willing and receptive to listen for communication coming from others. Too many players fall into what we call “Tunnel Vision” and let what is going on in the game and their individual situation on the field, consume them from communicating and responding to information. This style of play and lack of communication will almost always result in poor results for the team as a whole. You have to be aware of what is going on around you at all times and constantly thinking and managing instinct.
While communication should come from all players on the field, it is primarily the back players and back center players’ jobs to relay information from the left and right sides of the field! This is primarily due to their position in the back center of the field. Their position further back on the field, offers an easier way to see the whole field and relay information throughout the rest of the team. I have found that the best way to communicate with another member on the field is to call out that players name first, so it directly refers to who you are trying to communicate with. This is very important because just like in the real world, people usually pay attention and respond when their name is called out! Once this is done you then need to make sure they acknowledge you, and then relay them across the information until you know they understand. Once you establish this communication line with your teammate, you will know that they understand the information with some simple head nods or verbal recognition. A key point to practice when doing this is to not let your goal of communicating when playing, take you out of the game, off an opponent, or out of your teams game plan! You want to multitask and focus on the game at hand but still relay the proper information to your teammates without stopping what you are doing. Depending on the situation, you always want to do this because if you don’t it might allow the opponent to move and make advancement that you might not see on your side of the field, which could be disastrous. Additionally head nods are great when a teammate is so far up the field and does not want to yell and give away his position. Since most beginner players do usually take their selves out of the game when communicating, it is almost always a good opportunity to go crush an opponent when he does so. Most players will either stop shooting, turn backwards, let their gun down, etc, when doing this.
3 Proper Steps to Accurately Communicating - coming next week stay tuned
Article by Gant MacLellan
www.trainhardpaintball.com
Paintball Atlanta Clinic Review Saturday March, 7
Gant MacLellan and Dirty Dave Pastore hosted a paintball clinic at Atlanta's hottest paintball field Paintball Atlanta on Saturday March, 7. Ran by a great group of people including Mel, Jay Green, Tito and the rest of the staff. They offer an assorment of fields including hyperball, huge mounds fields, lego type structures, castles, woods and more. www.paintballatlanta.com
Overall we had a great group of players that attended the paintball clinic. As the weather shifts to spring we look forward to hosting our next paintball clinic at Paintball Atlanta. www.trainhardpaintball.com
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wetumpka Paintball Clinic
Dirty Dave Pastore and Gant MacLellan of Train Hard Paintball hosted a paintball clinic at Wetumpka Paintball this past Saturday Feb 21. The Wetumpka Paintball facility was top notch with 3 excellent paintball fields including a new Xball field to choose from. Paintball players from all parts of Alabama attended the paintball clinic making for a great showing. Train Hard Paintball would like to thank all the players that attended including Barney and JJ for putting the event together. If your in the Alabama area or passing through definitely stop by and check their paintball facility out. Learn more @ www.wetumpka-paintball.com
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Preparing for your next Paintball Tournament - Game Plans, Harnessing Nerves & more
So your preparing for your next tournament, whether its your first, second, or twentieth tournament the paintball butterflies will always start hitting you the night before the big day. The good news is no matter how much experience you have this is common in all professional sports. The way you harness your nerves distinguishes you from your competition.
Preperation is always key (here are few things that will help)
Practice:
the more you practice with your teammates the more confindence you will have going into the tournment. Practice, practice, practice....
Game Plans:
experinced teams will go into a tournament having a tenative game plan. Players will have tenative positions snake, doritos, corners, back etc... This is expecially helpful when fields publish the filed layouts prior to the event. Experienced teams will practice the field layout before going to the event. If you dont have this ability no worries, generally most tournaments will have the field avail. online for you to print out. Try and go over the field the night before and place players in tenative positions. This is key*** this will allow you to make sure players know areas of the field to mainly focus on.
If for some reason the tournament doesnt make the field layout avail. before hand you have 2 options: My favorite and highly suggested if possible is to go up to the field a day early to walk it(sometimes even practice it). If this isnt an option then show up to the field as early as possible the morning of and be prepared to walk at the beginning of day light.
Final Game Plan:
the final game plan should never be finalized until you arrive to the actual tournament field. From professional experience I can assure you the actual tourny field layout is always slightly different from your practice field or print out (angles, bunker locations etc). Spend your time wisely walking the field(s) and make sure all players on the team are aware of all changes. Trust me... this will help build individual and overall team confindence going into the tournament.
For those walking the field the day of, make sure you have a chart or dry erase board with the field layout. All players should have the game plan charted out.
***Always plan for alternative routes and game plans especially when the tournament is played on only 1 field.
Paintball Jitters/Nerves:
Like I mentioned earlier there is really no cure for the paintball jitters, exceptional players like Oliver Lang to Todd Marinez have them. I've even seen some pro players throw up before matches in a tournament. The true pro players have learned how to master these nerves and use them to their benefit. Ipods, stretching, team stretching, and field/position visualization are all great ways to build mental focus and harness those jitters.
Contact me with any questions
"Dirty" Dave Pastore
Train Hard Paintball
www.trainhardpaintball.com
Paintball Clinics that Rock!
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Learn how to play paintball Paintball Clinic hosted at Paintball Atlanta - Sunday March 8, 2009
Train Hard Paintball is proud to announce a 1 day paintball clinic being hosted at Paintball Atlanta.
Paintball Atlanta (Alpharetta, GA just outside Atlanta) Sunday March 8, 2009
Paintball Classes will be conducted by World Renowned Professional Paintball Players Dave Pastore and Philly Americans Pro Star Gant MacLellan.
Students will learn the key paintball skills necessary to enhance virtually every angle in their game as well as build the confidence needed to compete at the next level. Paintball training classes are designed for players of all ages and calibers with guaranteed results.
Learn key fundamental paintball techniques:
Running and Shooting
Bunkering
Edging
Snap-Shooting
Sweet Spotting
Breakouts
Communication & Teamwork
Diving and Sliding
Proper Stretching
Field Awareness
Time Management
Strategy
And much more
Clinic Fee: $130 per player
Includes:
- 1 day paintball instruction
- Entrance fee
- Unlimited Air fee
- Lunch
- Includes 1 case of paintballs****
sign up call 777-594-0912 or 678-208-1092
www.paintballatlanta.com
www.trainhardpaintball.com
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Paintball Atlanta (Alpharetta, GA just outside Atlanta) Sunday March 8, 2009
Paintball Classes will be conducted by World Renowned Professional Paintball Players Dave Pastore and Philly Americans Pro Star Gant MacLellan.
Students will learn the key paintball skills necessary to enhance virtually every angle in their game as well as build the confidence needed to compete at the next level. Paintball training classes are designed for players of all ages and calibers with guaranteed results.
Learn key fundamental paintball techniques:
Running and Shooting
Bunkering
Edging
Snap-Shooting
Sweet Spotting
Breakouts
Communication & Teamwork
Diving and Sliding
Proper Stretching
Field Awareness
Time Management
Strategy
And much more
Clinic Fee: $130 per player
Includes:
- 1 day paintball instruction
- Entrance fee
- Unlimited Air fee
- Lunch
- Includes 1 case of paintballs****
sign up call 777-594-0912 or 678-208-1092
www.paintballatlanta.com
www.trainhardpaintball.com
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Paintball Clinic Hosted at Spent Paintball Saturday Feb. 28, 2009
Train Hard Paintball is proud to announce a 1 day paintball clinic being hosted at Spent Paintball.
Spent Paintball Park (West Palm Beach, FL) Saturday Feb. 28, 2009
Paintball Training will be conducted by Philly Americans Pro Star Gant MacLellan.
Students will learn the key paintball skills necessary to enhance virtually every angle in their game as well as build the confidence needed to compete at the next level. Paintball training classes are designed for players of all ages and calibers with guaranteed results.
Learn key fundamental paintball techniques:
Running and Shooting
Bunkering
Edging
Snap-Shooting
Sweet Spotting
Breakouts
Communication & Teamwork
Diving and Sliding
Proper Stretching
Field Awareness
Time Management
Strategy
And much more
Clinic Fee: $90 per player
Includes:
- 1 day paintball instruction
- Entrance fee
- Unlimited Air fee
- Lunch
- Includes 1 case of paintballs****
sign up call 561-966-9334
www.spentpaintball.net
www.trainhardpaintball.com
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Learn how play paintball - Paintball Clinic being hosted at Medley Paintball Park South Florida March 21-22
Train Hard Paintball is proud to announce a 2 day paintball clinic being hosted at Medley Paintball Park.
Medley Paintball Park (near Miami/Ft.Lauderdale)Saturday and Sunday March 21-22, 2009
Paintball Classes will be conducted by World Renowned Professional Paintball Players Dave Pastore and Philly Americans Pro Star Gant MacLellan.
Students will learn the key paintball skills necessary to enhance virtually every angle in their game as well as build the confidence needed to compete at the next level. Paintball training classes are designed for players of all ages and calibers with guaranteed results.
Learn key fundamental paintball techniques:
Running and Shooting
Bunkering
Edging
Snap-Shooting
Sweet Spotting
Breakouts
Communication & Teamwork
Diving and Sliding
Proper Stretching
Field Awareness
Time Management
Strategy
And much more
Clinic Fee: $100 per player
Includes:
- 2 days paintball instruction
- Entrance fee
- Unlimited Air fee
- Lunch both days
- Trophies for all players****
(Field Paint Only $50/case)
sign up call 305-888-5552
www.medleypaintball.com
www.trainhardpaintball.com
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Monday, February 9, 2009
Paintball Clinic hosted at Elite Paintball Spring Hill, FL April 4, 2009
Just announced Train Hard Paintball will be hosting a paintball clinic at Elite Paintball in Spring Hill, FL on Saturday April 4, 2009. The full day will be $125 including a case of paint, air, and lunch. learn more visit www.trainhardpaintball.com
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Friday, February 6, 2009
Paintball Extravaganza - Atlanta Saturday Feb. 7
Meet Gant MacLellan from Train Hard Paintball at the Paintball Extravaganza Saturday Feruary 7, 2009. Train Hard Paintball will be on-site signing up new fields wanting to host paintball clinics in 2009. learn more @ www.trainhardpaintball.com
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Train Hard Paintball - New Logo
Train Hard Paintball introduces its new logo for 2009! Thanks again to John @ Stakkeddesigns.com
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Practicing Paintball Techniques around the House!
Today’s blog topic will offer great insight into practicing simple and effective techniques for any paintball player around their house. As we all know paintball practice can be very time consuming and costly to play multiple times a week. Fortunately, there are several methods one can practice during the week and without the need for air, paint, or even a field to stay on top of their game. The first example includes always carrying your marker around the house! I’m sure my parents can vouch for this one as I would always carry any new gun I got around the house and practice shooting imaginary targets! I did this for several reasons including practicing switching hands while keeping the gun barrel level, holding the marker with my non-dominant hand, loading while shooting, and tightly adhering to different shapes throughout my house. I have always been a firm believer in feeling comfortable with your particular marker and making it an extension of yourself. To this day I still set my marker up with my tank, loader, and barrel and practice these techniques while keeping note of my gun position and playing tight around corners and “bunkers”.
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I have always been very fond of playing the snake and the challenges that this system of bunkers bring to the game. The snake can be a very difficult spot to play because of its shape and bunkers that dictate your low body position to the opponent. Adequate snake players must feel comfortable in being able to move quickly in low positions and snap shoot effectively out of awkward positions. For this exercise I would find a low object in the house, such as my bed and constantly adjust myself to come up quickly and imagine shooting a target. Focusing on body position, leg position, and popping up with every part of my body at the same time. Eventually one will be able to smoothly transition into playing the snake and feeling comfortable in hectic situations to eliminate your opponent.
In addition to pretending to shoot imaginary targets, one can also practice snap shooting at a mirror. Without an actual game-type situation, a mirror can be a great tool to distinguish if your form is correct. I would practice lining myself up away from a mirror with flat edges in an open space as if I was preparing to snap shoot at the mirror itself! I would then practice holding my gun and imagining taking a couple snap shots at the mirror while noting the position of my loader, elbows and head in the process. I would practice this exercise left and right handed and perfect it by what appeared in the mirror first. This is a great exercise for any individual who has trouble with their elbow leading their snap shot.
As you can imagine there are numerous techniques that one can practice in the comfort of their own home and at no expense. For me paintball was life and doing anything I could to make myself a better player was all I focused on! I guarantee you there is not one other pro player who has not played paintball “Around the House,” so please don’t feel uncomfortable doing this with your friends, but respect your parents belongings. I hope this will give some of you a little insight and motivation to continue perfecting your game and your technique!
Sincerely,
Gant MacLellan
Professional Player
http://www.trainhardpaintball.com/
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wetumpka-Paintball Clinic Feb.21
Train Hard Paintball is hosting its next paintball clinic at Wetumpka-Paintball on Februaury 21,2009 in Wetumka, Alabama. Registration is filling up quick so dont delay.
Sign Up
www.wetumpka-paintball.com
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Sign Up
www.wetumpka-paintball.com
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Friday, January 16, 2009
How to become a better paintball player?
How to become a better paintball player? This is probably the question I get asked the most. Unfortunately there is not one solid answer, I honestly feel its a two part process in order to get there. I will try to keep it straight to the point and as short as possible.
First I'm firm believer on working on key fundamental paintball skills. Snap shooting, that's with yes, one ball at a time. Right handed, left handed, just becoming as comfortable as possible with the paintball marker in your hand as possible. This is where the set up of the gun comes in, it has to be a custom fit for that individual. Trust me it makes all the difference in the world on your performance, great example would be Tiger Woods and his golf clubs. Each golf club is perfectly tailored to fit his body frame, height, arm length, and comfort (grips). The paintball marker has to be tailored to each individual the same way especially if you want to compete at the next level. Everything from the paintball gun size, tank size, drop forward (rail), barrel length, hopper, and grips needs to fit you absolutely perfect. These changes alone will make drastic improvements in the way you snap shoot, sweet spot, run and gun, etc. There are too many times I host a paintball clinic and I immediately see students struggling with snap shooting. The first thing I check is the tanks length, especially with the young students with shorter arms, unfortunately there paintball marker set ups are 9 out 10 times too long. Good news its generally a easy fix by adding a small drop forward or rail and I promise you will see dramatic results. Back to becoming a better paintball player drills, drills, drills by far the best way to getting better. Again Snap Shooting targets at first, water bottles, cones, old hoppers on sticks etc... then move on to one on one against a good partner or group of players. Then transition onto another skill set sweet spotting, bunkering, run and gunning etc. The point is practice makes perfect but make sure you push yourself hard, practice against better opponents (trust me no one likes losing but the end game is getting better and trust me it works), practice as much as possible regardless if you only have 500 paintballs for the day (perfect hone on key paintball skills that use less paint) ex. one on one's with each player filling there hoppers with 50 or 100 paintball per game (great way to rely on skill not paint volume) or stick to snap shots and head checks and finally have fun, ask better players questions all the time. No paint left for the day, take a seat and watch teams and key individual paintball players that are good. Take pointers and mental notes, think of ways you would of done certain moves differently. Watch team breakouts, communication, movement - soak everything up like sponge. Trust me it will all start coming together.
2nd part of the answer is get experience.... Play as many small and local paintball tournaments as possible. Meet new friends at the local field and find ways to create a team, trust me I think that is one of the most rewarding parts of paintball is building relationships and friendships at your local paintball field. I know some tournaments can be expensive, so wait or look for paintball tournaments that fit your budget. You younger guys that love paintball but struggle with money, no excuse..... Put down the Xbox controller and start mowing lawns, shovel snow, bus tables, works deals out on new chores with the parents, search search search if you want it bad enough you will find ways to make it out to the paintball field. Just a little personal background on me, my parents unfortunately couldn't afford to give me a nickel, I literally saved change from around the house and eventually found a job bussing tables at a restaurant. I loved playing paintball soo much it was actually the only thing I thought about day in day out and I was going to let nothing stop me from playing. Unfortunately my job was on the weekends, and paid very little, so I would buy a half a case of paint on Saturday and buy another if I could afford it on Sunday. The paintball field was my life and getting better was my ultimate goal. The minute I ran out of paint I would begin reffing, especially team games in order to learn more. Just to note this was all at the age of 15, I'm now 29. Not to get too far off track, the point is don't let anything hold you back. I hear way too many times players not playing paintball because there saving for a better paintball gun or a new tank, hopper etc... etc... list goes on and on....and on... Play paintball, play as much as you can, these days you can find amazing deals online for used guns. Please don't get stuck in that rut of feeling like you need the DM9, or Ego 9 just b/c it just came out. I had the ugliest stock looking marker for years, ok it was an Automag, may of you probably don't even know what that is. The point is I didn't care because it fit me perfect, worked good, and let me focus on playing more as well as save money to play paintball tournaments. Was it difficult to see all my friends always getting new guns and accessories, absolutely, but there was nothing more rewarding then beating them in one on one's or holding up a trophy from winning a local tournament. Why was able to do this? Because I had the upper hand with consistently practicing and shrugging off the materialistic things. Trust me from experience these are always great new markers being released but your EGO 6, 7 or 8 will do 99% of the time the same job as the Ego 09. Play Paintball, have fun, learn as much as you can - Eat, drink, and sleep paintball - have heart, stay loyal and practice, practice, practice I promise, it works.... I was a professional paintball player by age 17 and trust me back in 1997 that was unheard of. I envy all you young up and comers starting at 10, 11, 12 yrs old. You guys rock and remember you are the future..... By the way you older guys no worries, that's why I love paintball there are no age limits or requirements.
* Just one note on the paintball marker thing, if you do have the money, and paintball gun collecting is your hobby by all means do sooo. I loved getting new equipment each year, but please just dont let it restrict you from playing.
Please feel free to ask me any questions at any time.
Dave Pastore #22
Train Hard Paintball
"Trust me our paintball clinics rock"
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First I'm firm believer on working on key fundamental paintball skills. Snap shooting, that's with yes, one ball at a time. Right handed, left handed, just becoming as comfortable as possible with the paintball marker in your hand as possible. This is where the set up of the gun comes in, it has to be a custom fit for that individual. Trust me it makes all the difference in the world on your performance, great example would be Tiger Woods and his golf clubs. Each golf club is perfectly tailored to fit his body frame, height, arm length, and comfort (grips). The paintball marker has to be tailored to each individual the same way especially if you want to compete at the next level. Everything from the paintball gun size, tank size, drop forward (rail), barrel length, hopper, and grips needs to fit you absolutely perfect. These changes alone will make drastic improvements in the way you snap shoot, sweet spot, run and gun, etc. There are too many times I host a paintball clinic and I immediately see students struggling with snap shooting. The first thing I check is the tanks length, especially with the young students with shorter arms, unfortunately there paintball marker set ups are 9 out 10 times too long. Good news its generally a easy fix by adding a small drop forward or rail and I promise you will see dramatic results. Back to becoming a better paintball player drills, drills, drills by far the best way to getting better. Again Snap Shooting targets at first, water bottles, cones, old hoppers on sticks etc... then move on to one on one against a good partner or group of players. Then transition onto another skill set sweet spotting, bunkering, run and gunning etc. The point is practice makes perfect but make sure you push yourself hard, practice against better opponents (trust me no one likes losing but the end game is getting better and trust me it works), practice as much as possible regardless if you only have 500 paintballs for the day (perfect hone on key paintball skills that use less paint) ex. one on one's with each player filling there hoppers with 50 or 100 paintball per game (great way to rely on skill not paint volume) or stick to snap shots and head checks and finally have fun, ask better players questions all the time. No paint left for the day, take a seat and watch teams and key individual paintball players that are good. Take pointers and mental notes, think of ways you would of done certain moves differently. Watch team breakouts, communication, movement - soak everything up like sponge. Trust me it will all start coming together.
2nd part of the answer is get experience.... Play as many small and local paintball tournaments as possible. Meet new friends at the local field and find ways to create a team, trust me I think that is one of the most rewarding parts of paintball is building relationships and friendships at your local paintball field. I know some tournaments can be expensive, so wait or look for paintball tournaments that fit your budget. You younger guys that love paintball but struggle with money, no excuse..... Put down the Xbox controller and start mowing lawns, shovel snow, bus tables, works deals out on new chores with the parents, search search search if you want it bad enough you will find ways to make it out to the paintball field. Just a little personal background on me, my parents unfortunately couldn't afford to give me a nickel, I literally saved change from around the house and eventually found a job bussing tables at a restaurant. I loved playing paintball soo much it was actually the only thing I thought about day in day out and I was going to let nothing stop me from playing. Unfortunately my job was on the weekends, and paid very little, so I would buy a half a case of paint on Saturday and buy another if I could afford it on Sunday. The paintball field was my life and getting better was my ultimate goal. The minute I ran out of paint I would begin reffing, especially team games in order to learn more. Just to note this was all at the age of 15, I'm now 29. Not to get too far off track, the point is don't let anything hold you back. I hear way too many times players not playing paintball because there saving for a better paintball gun or a new tank, hopper etc... etc... list goes on and on....and on... Play paintball, play as much as you can, these days you can find amazing deals online for used guns. Please don't get stuck in that rut of feeling like you need the DM9, or Ego 9 just b/c it just came out. I had the ugliest stock looking marker for years, ok it was an Automag, may of you probably don't even know what that is. The point is I didn't care because it fit me perfect, worked good, and let me focus on playing more as well as save money to play paintball tournaments. Was it difficult to see all my friends always getting new guns and accessories, absolutely, but there was nothing more rewarding then beating them in one on one's or holding up a trophy from winning a local tournament. Why was able to do this? Because I had the upper hand with consistently practicing and shrugging off the materialistic things. Trust me from experience these are always great new markers being released but your EGO 6, 7 or 8 will do 99% of the time the same job as the Ego 09. Play Paintball, have fun, learn as much as you can - Eat, drink, and sleep paintball - have heart, stay loyal and practice, practice, practice I promise, it works.... I was a professional paintball player by age 17 and trust me back in 1997 that was unheard of. I envy all you young up and comers starting at 10, 11, 12 yrs old. You guys rock and remember you are the future..... By the way you older guys no worries, that's why I love paintball there are no age limits or requirements.
* Just one note on the paintball marker thing, if you do have the money, and paintball gun collecting is your hobby by all means do sooo. I loved getting new equipment each year, but please just dont let it restrict you from playing.
Please feel free to ask me any questions at any time.
Dave Pastore #22
Train Hard Paintball
"Trust me our paintball clinics rock"
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Spent Paintball Clinic Pictures and Write Up - January 10, 2009
Dave Pastore and Gant MacLlelan hosted a Train Hard Paintball Clinic at Spent Paintball on Saturday January 10, 2009. The Paintball Clinic had over 17 participants including guest host PSP (NXL) commissioner Tony Mineo. The Paintball Class had students ranging from all skill levels and ages starting from 10 years old to over 30. Overall the day was a huge success, all participants we're estatic to learn so many paintball skills and concepts in one day. As Tony Mineo commented " I was excited to bring both my two boys Anthony and Nick today, they learned a ton of key fundamental paintball skills and had a blast doing it". Train Hard Paintball would like to thank all the particpants and looks forward to hosting the next Spent Paintball Clinic in the coming months. Stay Tuned!!
Next Paintball Clinic being hosted at Wetumpka-Paintball (Wetumpka Alabama) Saturday February 21, 2009
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