Are UK teams good enough to compete at major tournaments?

[kway44]

Sup people,


I looking to get back in the sport of paintball after 4 years out and I wanted to know if the teams in the UK have improved? I’ve watch a few Youtube videos of U.K teams vs U.S at major tournaments and there seems to still be a large skill gap between the two and the rest of Europe.


Just wanted to know what's peoples toughs on the subject

I'm not have a pop at any team

 

[hipjaw]

There is still a gulf between the US and the Europeans, paintball is cheaper and more available out there and so naturally more players play and are more ready to commit to improvement - however the Europeans seem to be catching up slowly.

Unfortunately as it stands the UK teams aren't doing great at the CPL. Nexus hung in there by a thread this season (14th/16) after a few big roster changes from last year (and their 4th place finish) meant they had to drag some of their new additions up by their bootstraps. Tigers, with the return of a bunch of Shock players last season, won the 2013 Semi Pro division to be promoted to the CPL where they placed 12th this year with a few wins over Nexus. Both teams are, hopefully, set to improve next year so long as there's no more big roster changes.

The North American teams came 1st and 2nd in the Millenniums whilst the euro teams getting 3rd and 4th also had American pro player injections.

The Russian Elite, now playing under Art Chaos, are also serious contenders with the Americans, whilst inconsistent this season they just won their last 2 events at the PSP and Millennium.

 

[Liam92]

I like to think there's the potential for the UK to be better, but just not enough other quality teams to really test and train against. After all when you've got teams like dynasty, impact, vicious, infamous etc. etc. all able to practise each other on a regular basis, its not wonder the skill level is so high. Teams like nexus and tigers can practise themselves plus try things with some other elite teams but bottom line is you only get better by playing people better than you, and they just aren't available in bulk in the UK, or europe as a whole for that matter.

 

[kway44]

You both make good points it’s just hard to watch UK teams get dumped on at these events year after year. I also found when I trained at Dartford that a lot of teams never wanted to have practice games with other teams which I could not understand, When I was at SC VILLAGE in California they were more friendly and up for random teams matches with noobs and pro players playing on the same team just the help them improve the guys with less experience.

 

[I used to good.Honest]

No is the simple answer.
From what I have seen the politics of who sponsors who has a lot to do with who plays where and who can practise against who in the UK. It simply does not happen in the US, I spent the week before the world cup with Infamous and they practised twice a day against teams who have completely different sponsors to themselves and it just wasn't an issue.
Teams here seem to be afraid of telling their sponsors (which lets face it aren't really sponsors, they just get cheaper stuff) to stop telling them what tournies they can enter and what sites they can practise at. If you want to get better, then the whole cliquey way of having a team here needs to stop too, the days of guys saying , "I don't want to play with so and so because he'll take the place of my mate on the team" should be gone, but they aren't.
I don't play at the top level anymore but I watch a lot of it, and I have to say, I'm really surprised at how many steps back we have taken, in the 90's we took the game to the yanks and we were on an equal footing, no the UK teams aren't even competing against the better teams in europe.
I see players saying "ooh I'm not playing down south because I live in the midlands" or vice versa. that sort of attitude is never going to get you to the top.
the more you play and the better teams you play will make you a better player/team. but it costs, and to get decent sponsorship you need to be winning.
Sponsorship is something that companies will clammer over if you are successful, if you're not winning then work harder and put your hand in your pocket.
I realise I won't make many friends posting this, but hey ho.

 

[Tony Harrison]

@I used to good.Honest speaks the truth.

Sorry to be banging on about the 90's again, but back then the UK teams did well at European events. Back then, teams from mainland Europe were playing catch-up, and we were leading the field.

Now, in the main they have caught up with us, gone straight past and are playing catch-up with the US teams.

I think that part of what is holding us back is the lack of experienced coaches, and as @I used to good.Honest says, the "friend syndrome"

Ledz once said to me "You need to stop picking players just because they are your friends" and he was right. You have to cut people for the good of the team.

On a seperate note, there is still a greater concentration of more serious teams in the South, so historically we have seen players like Edwards, Pinch, Al & Latham putting a lot of miles in just to train.

What is the answer? Well, set out your goals. The CPPS offers a clear way of progressing to the Elite division, so that is a good place to start your tournament career - it is more or less in the middle of the UK, offers a high standard of competition AND a lot of teams train there.

If you can't make the journey to the CPPS to train, talk to your local site and sort something out with teams local to you. You can check how well your training is going each time you enter a tournament.

Pick a coach who is not the same person as the captain - the coach organizes stuff and calls plays. The captain picks the squad, and anyone not pulling their weight gets benched or cut.

Besides training, players need to be doing cardio and gym sessions.

@hipjaw has a blog that makes very good reading and a good guide for an up & coming team.

One thing I have noticed - and something that I think contributes to their success - is that many US teams are based around families. Vicious was built around the Bortol family, and Impact is built around the Yachimec family....all because their kids wanted to play paintball. I like that.

Or, you can just take the old-fashioned approach.....eat pies, drink pints, smoke fags and don't train. The team is picked from whoever remembers to turn up. This still works for some!

EDIT - almost forgot. If you have stopped enjoying playing, it's probably time to take some time out. This will either make you want to play again, or make you realize you don't miss it.

 

[Tony Harrison]

Sup people,


I looking to get back in the sport of paintball after 4 years out and I wanted to know if the teams in the UK have improved? I’ve watch a few Youtube videos of U.K teams vs U.S at major tournaments and there seems to still be a large skill gap between the two and the rest of Europe.


Just wanted to know what's peoples toughs on the subject

I'm not have a pop at any team

Just wondered which videos and what tournaments you had been watching? NPPL?

 

[kway44]

Just wondered which videos and what tournaments you had been watching? NPPL?

Some Millennium Series videos by PB Nation if I remember correctly and some other random ones which had London Tigers vs Impact etc.

 

[kway44]

No is the simple answer.
From what I have seen the politics of who sponsors who has a lot to do with who plays where and who can practise against who in the UK. It simply does not happen in the US, I spent the week before the world cup with Infamous and they practised twice a day against teams who have completely different sponsors to themselves and it just wasn't an issue.
Teams here seem to be afraid of telling their sponsors (which lets face it aren't really sponsors, they just get cheaper stuff) to stop telling them what tournies they can enter and what sites they can practise at. If you want to get better, then the whole cliquey way of having a team here needs to stop too, the days of guys saying , "I don't want to play with so and so because he'll take the place of my mate on the team" should be gone, but they aren't.
I don't play at the top level anymore but I watch a lot of it, and I have to say, I'm really surprised at how many steps back we have taken, in the 90's we took the game to the yanks and we were on an equal footing, no the UK teams aren't even competing against the better teams in europe.
I see players saying "ooh I'm not playing down south because I live in the midlands" or vice versa. that sort of attitude is never going to get you to the top.
the more you play and the better teams you play will make you a better player/team. but it costs, and to get decent sponsorship you need to be winning.
Sponsorship is something that companies will clammer over if you are successful, if you're not winning then work harder and put your hand in your pocket.
I realise I won't make many friends posting this, but hey ho.

Man speaking some real truth

 

[UKBall]

I think part of the problem is that there isn't anywhere near enough supair fields in the UK so teams can't get form or get practice. The nearest supair field to me is an hour away and its a pain to get to. It also doesnt help that gear is cheaper in the US so they can practice more often.