New Thinking

[Collier]

I remember my 1st season with Twisted, We decided we needed exposure and the best way of doing this was to play the MS , we played Germany the first event, made the sunday club then couldn't afford to play another event till campaign. lol ****ed that idea up royally!

 

[mazz_had2k4]

i see what you guys are saying, but i might get told not to play paintball for saying this, but i love paintball but also i hav collage and the fact that i cant afford paintball to the exstent that i would like to play it, if am lucky i can train 2 times a month and have a tournement, this is with most of my money from going to collage and from what i have got from working, so been at my age and not been able to drive and afford the best marker out there etc. isent is also apart of just been at the rite place at the rite time, or are the legistics (not sure how u spell that) just to difficult for most people. i mean i think my goal was to come anywhere but last in a tournement, then to come 3rd then 2nd, they are small goals. but were still trying to make them happen, and with out these, how are people going to find the ultimate team?
haDD3n

 

[TheRenton]

Originally posted by Dominus-UK

This interests me though, as it seems the only way of starting off tournament play is to either join a team or make one, and to join a team you need experience (I know this is not really true, but ). So I am left with the option of starting a team, and the only players I can get are my friends (which itself is not definite, more so doubtfull, due to costs among other things). And then of course they aren't all going to have the 'aspirations' (I should say 'dreams' - they have about as much chance of manifesting themselves as a dream is to turn out true.) as I have.

Well, if you want to join a team but havn't got experience, then now you have the option of going to training facilities (if they exist in your area) where teams train and can pick up new talent by seeing what they are capable of in training (especially with reball)

 

[Robbo]

Originally posted by AndyDane
I think that the lower down you go through the leagues the more money becomes an issue. .......

.......So at the moment, the prize for winning a lot of the UK events is just being able to say that you won. That is enough for a lot of people to want to push hard enough to get to that level, but what about beyond it?

Andy, it works like this mate, Mr X (or whoever, maybe even a few players) decides he / they wants to put a team together to really go for it.

They announce their intentions and either have trials or go on a hoover up mission across the country.
Most people in our sport in the UK know who the serious ones are, in that we can't just have any Tom, Dick or Harry declaring they are 'going for it', individuals who venture down this road have to have substance and it would son become obvious if these people weren't right for the job.

Once a team has enough members, they get to training, not playing, training.
The mindset of these players now necessarily has to focus on improvement and as such, any thoughts of playing the game have to be refocused on training together.
And so money that would otherwise have gone to playing tourneys is then redirected to training and then after six months, maybe longer, these teams should then take tentative steps back onto the tournament scene.
Results can obviously be a good indicator as to how things are going.
this feedback then allows the training to be structured accordingly and so the team develops as the year unfolds.

Now, once that year is done, a more structurted approach to tourney involvement is embarked upon and if the training is done correctly and the players are committed enough to the cause, results will necessarily follow.
As that year unfolds, and people begin to take note, any representation to prospective sponsored will be met with a more sympathetic reception because of the results attained (hopefully).

Sponsors are no mugs, they don't give money away for nothing, they keep their ear to the ground and if some ‘up and coming’ team is making the right noises, they will want to get behind them.

Organise, dedicate, commit, train, train and train some more, go play a tourney or two, train more, get results, go sposnor hunting and while you’re at it, train some more.

Stick to this, and it will happen.

 

[PEBBLE]

.

Originally posted by rentonc
Well, if you want to join a team but havn't got experience, then now you have the option of going to training facilities (if they exist in your area) where teams train and can pick up new talent by seeing what they are capable of in training (especially with reball)

Are you actually talking about the subject or trying to advertise your reball place?lol

 

[Dominus-UK]

Originally posted by rentonc
Well, if you want to join a team but havn't got experience, then now you have the option of going to training facilities (if they exist in your area) where teams train and can pick up new talent by seeing what they are capable of in training (especially with reball)

Yes, I'm hoping to start playing at some of the training days at D7's. Hoping because I'm going to be relying that there's other players on their own aswell, or that one of the teams would have someone train with them. (But to be honest I don't have a clue how it works having not been .)

 

[TheRenton]

Did I mention the word Fireball (oops I just did then)

I was actually answering him, but hey

 

[TheRenton]

Originally posted by Dominus-UK
Yes, I'm hoping to start playing at some of the training days at D7's. Hoping because I'm going to be relying that there's other players on their own aswell, or that one of the teams would have someone train with them. (But to be honest I don't have a clue how it works having not been .)

As Robbo says, training before playing tourneys is the key, if you can train a lot successfully with good players, it will rub off and you will be a viable member to any team

 

[Robbo]

Originally posted by Gyroscope
Something in one of those other threads comes to mind. The thread was about teams that almost made it, and one thing that caught my eye was that one of the teams that almost made it was described as having failed as pros because of a lack of sponsorship.

When you talk about making it to the top, Robbo, you must be talking about success in either the NXL or NPPL pro division, right? That is a tall order without some serious backing, aside from and beyond the backing requisite to train with regularity.

In the past, it has been pointed out that sponsorship funds are drying up, that companies are looking for a flagship team for this or that market, etc. It occurs to me that the sponsorship availble in the UK is less than what one might find over here, and that moreover, getting out to big events and meeting the people you need to meet to start connecting dots is harder there than here. Maybe I am wrong about the relative commitment and expense of getting out to Mill events vs NPPLs or PSP events, but it seems to me that finding team leaders with the savvy to put together a sufficient sponsor package to underwrite a real pr team is the thing that is lacking.

Of course, it is a long way from there to here, so I don't have the clearest view of what is happening in UK paintball. That is just the impression I get.

OK we have to acknowledge 3 things here to best understand what I am saying, we now have the sites (which we didn't have before), we have the quality of players to put together about 5 real quality teams who after some serious work and commitment could play at the top, all we need is that bit in the middle, that catalyzing individual(s) who goes for it and helps provide the infrastructure (and some finance) to put together these type teams.

It ain't so much an alpha male, more of a focal personality who has aspirations for UK paintball outside of his / her pocket.
They are rare yes and maybe there will be some overlap with certain individuals but hey, I don't really give a sh!t as long as we can get some teams moving in the right direction.

 

[LV 4 26]

Originally posted by mazz_had2k4
i see what you guys are saying, but i might get told not to play paintball for saying this, but i love paintball but also i hav collage and the fact that i cant afford paintball to the exstent that i would like to play it, if am lucky i can train 2 times a month and have a tournement, this is with most of my money from going to collage and from what i have got from working, so been at my age and not been able to drive and afford the best marker out there etc. isent is also apart of just been at the rite place at the rite time, or are the legistics (not sure how u spell that) just to difficult for most people. i mean i think my goal was to come anywhere but last in a tournement, then to come 3rd then 2nd, they are small goals. but were still trying to make them happen, and with out these, how are people going to find the ultimate team?
haDD3n

I would say what you are doing is commendable from reading your post. College, training, tournaments and trying to fund it yourself (by working part time I take it) is the right attitude. Keep at it mate and if you have got what it takes the rest will fall into place. If you feel that it aint falling into place quick enough, why not look for a better team or wait for a trials for a better team to come up and go for that.

Millsy