I don't think it's fair to say that the reason the US teams win is because they have more sponsors, or they have more players, or they have more money. At least in the case of our team and many teams near us, we put in a lot of effort to get to where we are. Just because we live in the US doesn't mean all of a sudden we are top players. No matter how much money and support you throw at a team it won't work unless the people involved are motivated to become better, it helps, but it doesn't make the process suddenly happen. Last year our paint was not paid for, I was spending over $200 (I'm not rich!) a week on paint so that I could learn how to play a back corner in 10-man on the weekends and drill during the week at indoor to improve my shooting skills. Not a week went by that I didn't play at least two days and my skills improved quickly as a result. This is only a very small part of the effort I put in, it doesn't count the years prior where I paid for everything, travel, paint, gear, entry fee, etc.... There are only so many fully sponsored teams in the US and you don't just jump on one, you have to earn it.
We also setup practices/scrims with the best teams in our area and this got us into shape real quick. It seems like the teams in Europe could do the same thing, commit to getting better and do whatever it takes to reach that level. If there is a top ranked pro team or am team in your area, hook up with them to train every week. Go to practice with the mindset that you are there to learn and it does NOT matter who wins. A lot of teams get involved in who is better then who and that does not help when practicing. And if you have to travel to meet up with a good team then do it, 10 hours sitting in a car each way to go to Bob Long's house sucked, but after the weekend was up we had learned and improved and it was well worth it. I know guys from Bob's team that live near here that drive to his place nearly every weekend, because they are committed, not because of their sponsor's support.
It's amazing seeing the drive of new players that want to become better. These guys are coming from rookie teams and wanting to learn from the pros and ams. To give you an idea, we picked up 4 new guys this season, all came from the novice level, never played a national level amateur tournament before. See even though we have big support this year, we still have the same troubles as you guys, finding players with experience and skills. We are finding guys with raw talent and then training them to play Am and eventually pro level ball.
That's a bit of an insight to paintball around here.
You didn't happen to be the one that shot me on my barrel? Best of luck to you guys in Sweden.
