Brit Future

[beanbag83]

Ever heard of carpooling? Does nobody else in your team live close to you?
Even if you have to make the drive on your own, it's still worth it. If you pay that amount on paint, it'll run out eventually. Which, the way most teams train, would mean the end of the session for you. However, using reballs, you can keep training way past the point where your paint would have been all used up... Simple really.
So when you think about it, the real problem seems to be you rather driving for 10 minutes instead of 2 hours. That's unfortunately not the kind of mentality that'll get you places.

Could anyone tell me where there are any ReBall centers in Britain?
I know there was the fireball gym, but didn't that close down (Due to lack of interest )?

 

[Heaven]

This whole thread makes me chortle, how many times do we have to see this topic discussed, nothing ever comes of it and nothing ever will.

This is the only way forward in British paintball (national paintball club of GB) and if anyone thinks different they are very disillusioned and have there heads stuck up there arse. End of discussion

 

[Revolt]

You have relatives in Manhattan. Wow... That makes you an expert, no doubt.

Instead of basing your statements on what you know about a handful of people, try looking up some facts, they are easy to come by with this internet thingy.
Take it from somebody who has lived in the US.... They DON'T get as much time off as we do. When you start a new job, often you only get two weeks paid vacation a year. That's it. Your allowance goes up when you stay loyal to the company, but you have to be working for a looooooooooong time if you want to reach European levels.
I suggest you retract that knobjockey remark somewhat quickish. It does not improve on my mood. If you can not deal with people debunking some of your points, don't engage in a debate. It's really that simple.

Anyway, back on topic.
I also know about the cost of living in the UK, I have lived there too. It is indeed more expensive to be living in the UK compared to, for example, Holland, but not much more. The Dutch pay more taxes than the British do, but we have a slightly higher income on avarage, which more or less balances things out. Prices in the UK are only slightly higher than in Holland, particularly since we switched to the Euro.

Money isn't the real issue. Yeah, paintball isn't cheap, but it's also expensive in the US, even though it costs less than it costs here, but that applies to pretty much everything.
Since the arrival of things like Reball, the finances have really degraded to what they are: the weakest f*cking excuse there is.
With reball the cost of training is air for the day, and a sandwich in between training sessions.

It's all about HOW you practice. Russian Legion, as pointed out, have shown you the way, and Joy have followed that path. The results are self evident.

thats all good and well mate but some teams cant afford the huge cost of reballs, (unless they want to drill for 30 mins and spend 2 hours picking them up before they can do them again), reballs are a great thing to happen to the sport. joy division train with them and look where its got them, but over here its either not that accessible, or once it is people suddenly realise they have to get off there fat ass and do something, and choose not to

 

[Robbo]

No offence taken - it's the internet. Even if I win, I'm still retarded

That's gotta be one of the best lines I have seen on this site and straight out of the MissyQ bank of quotes - it made me chuckle

I am now gonna read the entirity of this thread and see what it says.

 

[Buddha 3]

thats all good and well mate but some teams cant afford the huge cost of reballs, (unless they want to drill for 30 mins and spend 2 hours picking them up before they can do them again), reballs are a great thing to happen to the sport. joy division train with them and look where its got them, but over here its either not that accessible, or once it is people suddenly realise they have to get off there fat ass and do something, and choose not to

Than Reball is not the problem (as Joy have proven), but the players are.

You wanna sit on your fat ass? Fine, no problem with that. But don't moan because your country's paintballing skills get stagnant.
You want to improve and make a difference? Make an effort.

And many people also seem to forget that training does not always have to be about shooting paint.

 

[NinthWizard]

Than Reball is not the problem (as Joy have proven), but the players are.

You wanna sit on your fat ass? Fine, no problem with that. But don't moan because your country's paintballing skills get stagnant.
You want to improve and make a difference? Make an effort.

And many people also seem to forget that training does not always have to be about shooting paint.

Your right it doesn't but i have played many sports but if you are in full training for any sport i'd say about 70% of it has to be technical as opposed to fitness. e.g. with football 70% should be with a ball at your feet so that that part of it becomes second nature if you get what i mean.

 

[Kitch]

I to am liking what Exile has to say, some interesting points with the whole 'sponsored trainer' argument.

I don't know how much a unified league would do for the sport, I know with the Koth series of events there was some talk of a finals between the seperate areas.

As Heaven has already said Steve Bull Et Al have been going great guns with the walk on and woodland scene with Genesis and the National Paintball Club, this will only see the sport grow in all areas.

More cheaper accessable training areas would be ideal, but there are very few people that are willing to put the time effort and money into it, and to be honest with the general apathy running through paintball at the moment I could hardly blame them.

 

[Robbo]

What seems obvious to me is that Matski, Budhha and Exile have a profound grasp on the realities of UK Paintball with some others having no real idea whatsoever.
We can draw a rough line thru our ballers with the 95th percentile falling into Matski's description of those 'not really bothered enough'.
These are a body of ballers, the main body actually, who run around with a marker in their hand, playing Paintball but not seeing it as a sport.
No disrespect intended toward them or their lack of aspiration but we can't realistically look to them to provide them as any bedrock for our national tournament base.
Their reasons for playing are quite divorced from what we need as tourney ballers tho I do concede a lot of our tourney ballers are form that very group.
These guys basically play for fun and 'good luck to them' is what I say but let's never confuse them with serious ballers.

This leaves a 5% remainder with a fair proportion of them falling into this group so described by Matski :-

Our problem is culture and attitudes, and those are notoriously hard to change unfortunately. We seem to have an issue with getting 'one up' on each other and find reasons to play little league instead of dedicating to something and helping each other out. Our competitive drive seems to be focused on proving something to other teams and raising the middle finger, rather than just winning

Actually I couldn't have put it better myself other than changing the last word (winning) to 'improving' or maybe even 'aspiring to be better'.
We have a small minded culture entirely focused in the wrong place and because of this, we reap the rewards, or in this case we reap the penalties.

When we had 3 teams in the NPPL, we could as Brits, hold our heads up but now, we can't really hold our heads up in Europe let alone the US.
Kelly's certainly have the potential but one swallow don't make a spring, we can't just rely on one team to act as a UK vanguard.

Domestic Leagues don't make great teams, people make great teams; Sergey made the Legion great with his vision and money, he had no domestic league in which to strut his stuff and develop.
The same really goes for Magued and Joy, Joy didn't get good because of any domestic league, bejeeezus, I can't understand why people go down this road.
Joy got great because their players are dedicated enough to train 3 times a week and Magued knew the right road to take them and they listened, and continued listening.
This is why the Swedes are where they are.

'Resources' will now be uttered in the background and it is true, they help but I think you'd be surprised how much Joy get, or don't get.
I know and trust me on this, their improvement isn't down to money, it's down to dedicated players being taught the right things to do.
It's a simple equation with no real complexities.

And so, what are we really left with here?
The acknowledgment that most of us who put on a paintball jersey ain't really that dedicated ....... hmmmmmm...no sh!t ?

And to pile on the sh!t even more....the 5% who are real ballers aren't even focussed correctly.
I think Kelly's are, I think Shock were, going into Campaign because I think I am right in saying, they were training more than any other UK team at that time.
And from these two teams we somehow look to create aspirational focuses for the rest?
I have been around the paintball scene for a long time now and I know what lays in wait ... and it has very little to do with traditional sporting ethics or aspirations, but has everything to do with petty jealousies and chicanery.
What hope have we got?
Short term - none really.
Mid to long term ?
Well, it all depends upon a few things - we need to somehow bring new blood in by marketing tourneyball as against woodsball.
We then have to try and generate a cultural revolution whereby success by one Brit team isn't seen as a reason to decry, slander and conspire against.

The average young male in any nation is competitive by nature, testosterone plays a huge role in this mindset and as such, go take a look at the NXL or NPPL, it is made generally made up of young men, champing at the bit, trying to stick their barrel in yer face and drill you into the ground.
That's what being competitive is, that's what tourney ball is about, that drive, that will to win.
And you can only get to that place by committing yourself.

We need to attract new blood, and lots of it.
And this transfusion can only work if the resources are in place (sites, teams, leagues and coaches) to steer this new influx.

 

[Exile]

Your right it doesn't but i have played many sports but if you are in full training for any sport i'd say about 70% of it has to be technical as opposed to fitness. e.g. with football 70% should be with a ball at your feet so that that part of it becomes second nature if you get what i mean.

Also true - but you don't have to actually shoot paint all the time.

Diving/sliding drills, practicing the form/stance of snap shoots and running & gunning.

Even when you do practice with paint, around 80% of the time you can achieve the desired results by turning off the beloved ramping modes and one-balling whilst running and gunning.

And not blowing a hopper-load at the chrono to impress/show-off helps too

 

[NinthWizard]

I agree and i do aim to train with less paint and without any at all if i can as its cheaper and makes you concentrate on what is important, and that is as you say form and technique. I was just saying you still need the paint and the places to do it.