Paintball Journal

Yes, the title is redundant, no need to point that out. It’s redundant for a reason, actually.

A closed team practice is one of the best ways to get better results at tournaments. By a closed practice, I mean having a field that your team can play on exclusively all day, as well as a limited number of players. That doesn’t mean that only your team can practice, and that’s where practicing with teams comes in.

First of all, individually, you can get a lot better by going to other team’s practices. Playing against a good team can be very challenging if it’s only you and several other proficient, but separate, players on the opposing side. That’s a great way to work on individual skills like playing down with a handicap. More often than not, you’ll probably find that you’re outnumbered and out gunned, which is just how a tournament game might turn out.

If it’s your own team running the practice, then it definitely shouldn’t be just a series of scrimmages, even if another team is there specifically to practice with you. Instead, start out with drills, especially competitive drills like jousting and snap shooting. That will benefit both teams, and throw a little unpredictability in the mix. Practicing against your teammates is fine and dandy, but especially with drills, familiarity can be a bad thing.

Once you’ve run some drills and warm-ups, then scrimmages are definitely called for. Make the teams even, but don’t mix and match. A lot of what your team should practice should include customized communication as well as coordinated moves and predefined breakouts.

The most important part in choosing a team to practice with is looking for a team that is better than yours. That will ensure that you have someone to learn something from, because if they’re better than you, they obviously know something you don’t.

Don’t be afraid to talk to different teams, most of them will agree to practice with you, because different people do different things and that aspect of unpredictability is important to practice against as well.