Paintball Journal

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!

Impact practices two to three times a week, pretty much drilling the entire time with a little scrimmaging mixed in. They claim that the best drill is the one ball snapshoot, and will run a pod or two likes this before practice starts. Plenty of running and strength conditioning also takes up a lot of their schedule off field.

Edmonton Impact, Impact, NPPL Tampa, Paintball, NPPL