Paintball Journal

Good evening, I’m Dana Granholm, reporting from PBJ Headquarters in Evansville, Indiana. Here are tonight’s top stories…

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PSP World Cup 2007 ended Sunday. It’s a great way to end the PSP season, and there is plenty to be said to wrap things up.

First of all, congrats to all the teams that placed this year. Here’s to showing them a little love…
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It’s that time of the year again. We’re re-designing our team from the ground up. That means name, jerseys, logos, sponsors, and more.

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True to their name, I had never even heard of UKS until today. I was shuffling through PBNation’s video thread, when I saw a thread with over 12 pages of posts. Figuring that it was either a really crappy video or a really great one, I clicked on the link and well…

If you watched that, then you’ll be more than excited by this:

Good luck for the rest of the season, UKS! I know it’s pretty much impossible to reach your goal now, but keep it up and I bet you could at least place 1st in an event. So far they’ve been placing in the 20’s, with a 22nd place finish for Boston.

For us, paintball started out as something purely for fun, in the woods, and when we had enough money to do so. A little over a year and a half ago, we were introduced into the speedball world. We were still absolute noobs to this aspect, but we loved everything about it right off the bat. We thought about the idea of tournaments and a team. We had plenty of people, and some decent equipment shortly after, so why not give it a shot?

Any group of kids can play paintball, and any group of kids can call themselves a team. But for just any group of kids, tournament paintball will be a whole new experience, and will take much more than they often bargain for, especially in regards to their team. One person needs to be able to take command and responsibility to organize practices and any tournaments you wish to enter (not that other teammates won’t help), and everybody else on the team must acknowledge the fact that he has complete rule over you in practice. I’ve come across several articles about ‘breaking in the noobs’ and similar ideas, and here’s what I’ve found.

If you want to call your motley crew of Joe Nobodies a team, then you have to practice, and practice, and practice some more, but paying very close attention to the first one can save you a lot of time in the end. First, get to know your players and their styles by doing any number of drills, and at the same time, figure out who makes the weakest link.

1. Find a set of bunkers five to ten yards apart, and put a player in each one. They have twenty seconds to shoot each other out, and if they fail to do so then they both run a hill, or do pushups. Once somebody is out, he steps off and another jumps in. It should be a rapid fire pace giving the players little time to recover, or even think for that matter. Bunkering is definitely encouraged.

2. 3v1 – This is a great bunkering drill, because even if he does manage to shoot somebody out, there are still two more opponents out there. This greatly increases your chances of seeing a bunkering move.

A good eye will find out several things about a player, so look for those that are smart, aggressive, stupid, or timid. Pay special attention for aggressive and stupid and know the difference. A stupid person might look aggressive running down field until he gets blasted, but this will take work to beat the stupidity out of him and make him a smart, field-reading player.

This will also tell you who has the motivation and determination to be part of a winning team. These players won’t talk back, and will gladly put themselves on the line in order to win a game. If you catch somebody that is shying away from the drills, or is not clearly pulling his weight, then don’t be afraid to give him the axe if he doesn’t shape up.

If you are good friends with other teams, particularly fairly experienced ones, ask them to help you guys out by scrimming you for awhile. They will absolutely grind your team, and it will be a very ugly process, but this is one great way to get the determined on their feet, and those that just aren’t ready for tourneyball off their feet. If anybody is dragging around by the end of the day complaining, then perhaps they shouldn’t be part of the team.

There are so many variations to this first Hell Practice that nearly anything can work. But, never forget the overall idea of it. It must be a fast paced day with few breaks. They must get dirty; people need to be covered in paint and dirt by the end of the day. Punish them for any mistakes they make by making them run hills, or do pushups. And if at any point during this ‘weeding out the weak’ process anybody tries to tell you know or otherwise, then give them the boot.

Wait, who?! Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too.

Edmonton Impact forced their way into the professional spotlight at NPPL Huntington Beach when they battled for first place with Oakland Blast. Though they only placed second amidst teams such as Dynasty, Joy, Ironmen and many others from the Pro Division, they were determined to stick around.

Just over the weekend they proved that maybe it wasn’t just beginners luck. After two days of intense paintball at NPPL Tampa, they found themselves competing once again for first place on Sunday. The outlook was promising when they took the first win against Dynasty, but they lost the second two games of the set, leaving them with another second place finish.

A solid performance in my opinion, and I hope that they can keep up the hard work. It’s good for the industry - new teams coming in giving the usual Pros a run for their money. It definitely mixes things up a bit, and keeps all the teams on their top level of game, because that’s what it takes today. Without constant drilling and practicing, the old powerhouses will fall behind in way of the hungry ones like Impact and Oakland Blast.

And that’s exactly what I like about the sport; anything can happen. Yeah, you’ll have the upsets in the NBA, NFL and etc. but not like it is in paintball. It’s such a team oriented sport, and when played right the game turns into an extremely intricate machine. If one man fails to do his job then the machine fails, the team loses. Perhaps an essential part is replaced by another, but this new part just doesn’t quite meld like the old one did, and again the machine doesn’t run at maximum efficiency. This is one problem many teams face when they can’t seem to hang on to any of their players, because they are constantly leaving for more stable teams. Team Ultimate is just one of the many that come to mind.

Some sports have just become too commercialized I think. The “pros” whine when they don’t get paid $30,000,000 a year, lose meaning of the sport, and often times a player can “make” the team great. In basketball, give it to the guy who shoots the threes. Once he has the ball he can do the rest all on his own. In paintball, “Hey Ollie, run downfield and shoot five guys out for us. Just tell us when you need us.” It just doesn’t work like that; Ollie isn’t anything without his team, and yet he is that one essential piece that makes Ironmen (and Dynasty) successful.

So Edmonton Impact returns to Canada with a lot of hope after this weekend. The pressure is on. Can they prove themselves worthy of the Pros, or was it just a long…and very complex streak of…continuous luck? I’d think not, and I’m ready to see them kick some more ass. Mad props to IMPACT!

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Paintball has a huge online community. It’s been said that most paintballers spend most of their time talking about paintball on PBNation and watching paintball videos on YouTube and DarkSide, rather than actually playing. So why don’t teams, especially the ones playing on or close to a Pro level, maintain decent sites?

In my search in the past week for good sites that contain viable information, I can only express profound disappointment in most of the teams for not providing what so many fans would like: a site showing current rosters, events, rankings, sponsors, and all of that good stuff. While PBNation’s team forums are decent places, a more organized and compressed place to gain insight into a team would be more than welcome. Hell, even a well-run Myspace page or something would work.

All of the pro venues like PSP, NPPL, and Millenium maintain great websites. PBNation is one of the largest sports forums in the world. Get with it, Pro Teams. Make websites, and keep them up to date!

(Oooohhhh, I just called you laydeez!)

This year, especially, Team Ironmen has risen once more into the spotlight, vindicating the hundreds of fans who have supported them over the years.

This is largely due to two players: Nicky Cuba and Oliver Lang. I’m not talking about their outstanding playing abilities, though that certainly is a factor. I’m talking about the intensity that they brought to the team. They gave the team a little hype to live up to and the LA Ironmen are living it up!

Try: 1st Place at PSP LAO.

The extremely strong roster is looking for more finishes like this, but didn’t perform quite up to par, finishing just under Joy at Huntington Beach in late March. A 5th, while not terrible, isn’t where Team Ironmen expects to be.

I’m rooting for the Ironmen this season. I’d enjoy seeing some big things out of them. A strong roster with a strong coaching staff, the Ironmen look ready to take the podium for the rest of the 07 Tourney Season.

Alrite, let’s start off with a quick roster:

Rocky Knuth: Team Captain
Raymond Knuth
Trevor Hocking
Tyler McCluskey “TMAC”
Mike Lew
Hector “The One” Cardona
Kasey Field
Adam Smith
Colt Roberts
Chris Dazzi
Mark Nelson
Zach Wake
Kevin Fillers
Drew Robertson

Rocky is a straight up killer, and the ‘Dogs are looking good in the ‘07 season, even with several new players from Legacy and Ultimate. Though they performed poorly at HB, coming in 8th in the Pro Division, the ND Team is gearing up for a much stronger showing at the Tampa NPPL Event in May. (And I won’t even mention their LAO ranking…)

Rocky Knuth has written several articles available on the ND Website. They are very well written and extremely helpful, so definitely check ‘em out!

The Naughty Dogs are shooting PL Shockers this season, a big change from their main ICD Sponsorship last year. Though, these new Shockers look tight…

This week I’m going to be featuring different ‘07 teams in my posts. A quick recap on the teams we’ve already covered:

NE Hurricanes
Dallas Elite
Avalance
Dynasty
Ultimate

A preliminary look tells me I’ll probably try to cover XSV Damage, Ironmen, Naughty Dogs, Joy Division, and the All-Americans, but that could change. So keep an eye out for an exciting week of predictions and rosters for the ‘07 season, helped along by stats from the events that have already been play like LAO and HB.

Looking good in blue this year, the ‘07 NE Hurricanes are looking to take NPPL/NXL by storm. Aha. A pun. How witty of me.

Anyway, their roster looks ready to kick some ass. The thing I like most about this team is the fact of how close-knit it is. Many of these players have been playing with the team for quite some time, some since it’s founding, and even more previously were on the team and have rejoined them this season. They’ve also got just enough new blood to give the team some life.

Rob Landry
Dan “Cabbage” Savoie
Tom Buckley
Chris Dellas
Alex MacMaster
Eric “Rico” Gigliotti
Nicky Foglia
Steve “Son” Dabilis
Greg “Buddy” Hinthorne
Chris “Wedge” Wedge
Brian “Giggles” Gigliotti
Chris “Poo” Costigan

They also happen to have one of the nicest looking Pro jerseys I’ve seen this season.

Filling the old DC Arsenal spot on the NPPL team list, Dallas Elite steps up to the plate, finishing 4th at the recent HB event. Not bad at all for a just founded team. Now, with that in mind, they are also composed of players from Legacy and Strange. Their roster is available at their site, Elite PB.

Their sponsors include JT and Hybrid, and the team actually shoots Hybrid Shockers, definitely one of the sickest gats out there. Elite has big expectations of themselves, and I’m saying that they’ll probably go far this season and the next, especially with their powerful roster and great coaching staff.

Check out this massive sponsorship deal that Dynasty has landed with JT – three years for over $1,000,000! It’s just another sign that paintball is on the rise! Simply amazing; that’s the most money any paintball team has ever seen, and that will be a tough one to break for awhile. I’ve always liked JT, and this is what the sport really needs right now. Two thumbs up to both JT and Dynasty for bringing the sport to the world!

As quoted from Paintballstar.com:

JT Sports LLC, a K2 Inc. company, announced today that it has signed a three-year partnership with the professional paintball team Dynasty. The deal’s value is estimated at more than $1 million.

JT Sports, the worldwide leader in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of paintball products, has sponsored Dynasty since its formation in 2001. The new deal runs through 2009. Dynasty, the world’s top-ranked professional paintball team, has won the past five consecutive World Paintball Championships and has more tournament titles than any other team in the history of the sport.

“JT Sports prides itself on developing high-quality products for paintball players worldwide – from professionals like Dynasty to the millions of amateur and recreation players. The success of Dynasty is a true measure of what can be accomplished by using the best products,” said Chuck Hendsch, vice president of JT Sports.

As part of the deal, Dynasty will work with JT Sports to create a new line of customized Dynasty-branded, tournament-grade products. JT Sports and Dynasty will host paintball clinics around the world and appear together at JT Sports’ nationwide network of retailers. In addition, JT Sports and Dynasty will collaborate on tournament and event appearances.

“JT Sports makes products that help us win; without the support of JT Sports it would be difficult to have achieved all that we have,” said Dynasty captain Alex Fraige. “The same commitment and dedication that we apply on the field, JT applies in their products, which is why we’re thrilled to work with the JT Sports family.”

I’m anxious to see these new “product lines” as well – really anxious. I liked the past Dynasty jerseys, and JT always have solid gear and blending the two should make for a wicked awesome combo.

And a special thanks to PBStar for keeping us up-to-date on all the latest news!

A local team from our city will be flying out to a couple of events to play Division III PSP this year, and it’ll be awesome to see how they do. They certainly have the determination to play competition like that, and judging them from the times we’ve seen them play, they definitely have the skills to compete. All of them are veterans to tournament paintball, and many of them are fresh out of high school.

There is nothing against this team – they meet the physical demands, they have the gear, they have the experience. There is nothing holding them back at this point, and I’m eager to see how they perform. And if they do manage to place, they can get some possible sponsors looking at them, as well as some nice cash prizes.

5-man Xball Division III

1st - $2,500
2nd - $1,500
3rd - $1,000
4th - $500

I’ll keep it updated when they get to an event, and they’ll be here before you know it!

Mid-Atlantic Open – PBC Sports Park – May 3rd-6th
Chicago Open – Bolingbrook Recreation & Aquatic Center – June 20th-24th
TBA – August 2nd-5th
World Cup – Disney’s Wide World of Sports® Complex – October 21st-28th *

*Days of play for the 2007 World Cup will be confirmed shortly.

PSP, Paintball Tournaments, Paintball

You want footage of the games, but don’t feel like paying $30 for a new DVD after every event? Even though DerDer does an amazing job, most paintballers aren’t made of money. To see some of the action up close and personal from events that you couldn’t get to, check out PBStar. They do an absolutely awesome job over there, with pics, videos, and the latest news, so it’s definitely worth checking them out at least once. You’ll like what you see, I guarantee it. Here is some of the footage from PSP LAO, already up on their site. This particular match is the Final Match between the Ironmen and the Russian Legion.

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pbstar, paintball, ironmen, russian legion

EDIT: My apologies, but that is NOT Ironmen vs. Russian Legion. I dunno what happened to my embedded video…