Effective XBall Squad Rotation

[garethedwards]

I'd like to hear your views and opinions on this matter. Any "pro/semi-pro players" advice would be greatly appreciated.

The Low Down:
Format - Xball

Squad

Stronger Players - 6​

Average Players - 4​

Weaker Players - 2​

My views are that you would the strongest players together, and rotate in 1 or 2 of the Average and Weaker players as the matches progress.

Some others may say to form pockets of players, perhaps 2 Strong and 1 Average/Weaker player, and these people would always play together all the time. You would then add a second pocket, minus the player least suited to the field or game strategy.

What do you think?

 

[Lovetone]

Id say it depends how the match is going and what your definition of strong and weak is.

you may want some faster / more aggressive players if you are down on points to help get your game back up

if your taking a big lead, then you can rest these players, sit back ,and let your oppenents bring it to you.

if you are testing the water, put out a mixed bag, with some strong back players incase things go bad, with some decent fronts.

one thing ive learnt about xball is that there arent any real positions and everyone should be prepared and able to get up the field, and play all types of bunkers where possible.

 

[garethedwards]

Agreed completely regarding position.

My definition would best be described as...

Stronger Players - would be the most well rounded, able to play 90% of all bunkers/positions affectively, generally more experienced and have plenty of game time under the belt. Also these players would be suited to each others style playing and are able to read off each other. These players have set the teams style of play.

Average Players - would be the learned, able to play a set bunkers really well (i.e front/aggressive bunkers or back/holding bunkers) and have a decent understanding of the other bunkers, experienced in lower leagues but still able to hold there own, often having plenty of game time too. These players are natural adapters and fit into the teams style well but lack the "team-game-time".

Weaker Players - would be the wickedly talented but new to paintball, these players, are learning the hard way from the teams Stronger Players, they do not have the "position-mind-set" and are able to play all bunkers weakly as well, have little to no game time experience. These players are being taught the teams style from the offset but still lack the "team-game-time".

Hope that gives you a better idea.

 

[Lovetone]

id start off with 2 teams of 5

3 of each of the strong
1 medium
1 weak

and play a couple of points, rotating the 5 men each time (penalties allowing).

if you have troubles, get rid of the new players, and play 3xS, 2xM
If you are getting up on points, play 2xS,2xm and 1xW to give everyone a go and rotate the people sitting (as you have 12 players) but make sure these spare two are pitting / coaching where appropriate at all times.


always look to play your strongest possible 5 as much as you can, but bear in mind people might not "hack" back to back points, or you might need to rotate people in and out.

Obviously your ideal is two 5 men Strong squads but your gonna have to work towards that.

if you are there to WIN, then be ruthless, and play your best players as much as you can , to ensure you are winning, then switch in some new ones, espeically for the first match. let them see the game play out, get ideas, athen when you can risk some points start dropping in your weaker players.

if you are there to compete, but dont mind losing or experimenting, then throw in some mixed teams and dont worry if you start dropping points, as this will get the experience you need - but obviously at a cost.

best way moving forward would be to get to d7 / nq xball lite days and get used to fast turnarounds and squad mentality.

 

[Michael Merola]

Very good points, agree with what Lovetone has pointed out.

Think one of the most important points there is how the match is turning out. If all you need is to sit back and put down paint to stop as much movement on the field you won't need the guys who are gonna hit the 40/50's from the break....well not as much

If your a few points up then could be the chance to mix it up a little and see what happens with strong back players providing the main foundation of this.

 

[Lovetone]

love a bit of repetition

 

[Michael Merola]

hehe gotta get that postcount up

Also .. I am neither a pro/semi pro so....just follow what lovetone said

Mike

 

[Lovetone]

nor am I

 

[garethedwards]

Thanks Lovetone!

Anyone gotta any other advise? Or does everyone agree.

I do! But open to advise.

 

[Baca Loco]

The first thing your team needs to do is evaluate and decide what Xball requires of you, not what each of you bring to the table. It may very well be your team's current style isn't suited to being successful in the format. In which case you need to change cus the format ain't gonna.

(As an aside you may also decide it's a valuable tool to be a LOT more critical in evaluating each player's actual abilities. [I'm projecting here based solely on the language you've used.] I have worked with a lot of real Pro players and I wouldn't rate more than a handful as you have your "stronger" players. Of course I'm also heartless and cruel and never satisfied. Even so, I think it is counter-productive especially at the lower divisions to not set a ridiculously high standard if you're actually trying to both win and improve.)

The rotation issue is easy. 2 lines play. If you have 12 players you have two lines of 6 players. The hard part is putting those lines together because ideally those lines should function like mini-teams over the course of a season.

This is where taking a hard look at what Xball requires helps you out because you aren't making line decisions based on some pre-existing hierarchy in the team or on some perhaps irrelevant qualities or characteristics but on what each line must have as compenent elements in order to compete effectively given the format. There's more to it but that's a start. It may also realistically take you awhile to figure out what really does work and what really is required in your situation and it wouldn't be unreasonable, if sometimes frustrating, for the process to take a whole season.