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Getting into the game
NEWS RELEASE
By Pat Brown
So you have never played paintball but want to give it a try, or maybe you’ve played once or twice, loved it, but just wasn’t on par with your more experienced paintballing friends. Here are a few tips to help you step up your game.
1. Stay cool, calm and collected and remember everyone gets hit at sometime or another. This is a lot easier said than done but staying conscious of your breathing and focused on your objective is paramount. If you sit behind an obstacle with your heart-racing just fearing having a paintball splat across your chest, you’re playing into your opponents hands and if you’re on a team, you’re dragging the rest of them down. And remember everyone gets hit at one time or another so don’t live in fear of the paintball.
2. Stay on the move. If you aren’t shooting or aren’t on the move, you’re an easy target and you’re not helping your teammates.
3. Stay covered up and NEVER take your goggles and mask off. It stings a little bit when you get hit but it sure beats taking a straight shot to the face. Plus, a shot to an uncovered mouth, ear or eye could very easily equal a trip to the hospital. Don’t be stupid play safe.
4. Conserve your energy. This is an extension of the first tip, when you’re an inexperienced player who’s heart is racing like a frightened rabbit, trying to hard can leave you out of breath and make you an easy target. Don’t be weary of playing hard when the extra effort is needed, but if you’re running wind sprints back and forth without gaining position on your opponent, you are lending you’re opponent a physical advantage.
5. Play with a friend. One of the hardest parts of paintball is learning to cover someone and work collectively towards a common goal. Flanking is a required skill for any competitive player and it’s something you can only get better at by practicing with someone else. Also, figure out how to communicate with one another on the field. You have to be on the same page if you have the same goals in the game.
6. Learn to load your pod without looking. You can practice this at home in front of the television. Experienced players have their focus on the game around them, not inside their pod.
A lot of these tips are common sense, the type of advice you could apply to a whole range of sports. Simply reading this may not be much help, staying conscious of this advice and avoiding mistakes and bad habits will help you become a better player faster though. And as with anything else in life practice makes perfect.
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