[5N1P3R]

When did everyone learn to be calm in the game of paintball?

I know the first times that I played, my heart was racing so fast. For so many games, I would stop myself and just hear my heart pumping, even if I wasn't engaging an opponent. Maybe some of you won't admit this, and that you "never were frightened". Not gonna lie, I was for a while.

Last time I played, in Arizona, a kid that I becamse friends with let me use his Autococker pump About halfway through the day, I got in a one on one with battle with the kid's Dad that let me use his pump. The winner would win the game for his team. So I had a pump that I was barely accustomed too, and didn't really know how to use it corecctly. He was using a Luxe......

I remember watching an Ollie Lang snapshotting video where he was croutching and would always randomly pop up. It is the video with a ton of different camera angles. Anyways, we exchanged shots about 15 times. I was behind a long sort of wood piece that stretched probably 15 feet across, but had all sorts of things on top. I would stay on two feet, and just kind of crouch down, then pop up and take s hot. At that time, I realized something. I wasn't freaking out. I was totally calm, my heart wasn't rushing, and I was really enjoying it. It was something I have never felt before, and was probably one of the most fun times I have ever had playing paintball. Now maybe it was my new confidence, or just coincedence, but right after I stopped and realized that, I popped up and tagged him in the arm. I was quite proud of myself.

So...when did you learn to be calm and remember that its just supposed to be fun?

[Teddy K]

I was never scared while playing paintball and I still get pretty amped when im about to make a move or if I shoot someone off break my heart will start racing and ill play the rest of game double speed. Im rarely calm unless im super tired but I dont play much woodsball im normally playing xball so its alot more fast paced...in the woods im pretty calm the whole time I play pump when I play rec and go for the sneek up and get 5 gs with 4 paintball approach.

[EVERETTB2002]

Every sunday when I got to The Church.

[klaatu]

it is different for everyone ..... i personally think that point in time comes sooner for speedballers than it does for woodsballers ... only because of the speed of the game, and the frequency of the games ( dozens in a day vs a few ) , and because of that frequency, you get shot at ALOT more often. you can also stand outside the net if you sit out a game and observe other peoples playing styles that you would like to emulate. if you watch them enough, and then put that into practice during the next game, it gives you at least a plan.

having a real, tangible plan gives you confidence and also lets you play more focused with a goal in mind , as opposed to playing defensively. after a while, the game starts to "slow down" for you ... you begin to start making snap decisions based on player movement, bunker position, shadowing vs hugging, how to play the angles, when to run through, etc ...

for me it was just not as critical to get shot out in speedball cuz the next game starts in 10 - 15 minutes ... they went much faster, and so for me it accelerated my learning curve, and planning curve .... but i guess to answer your question, it happened for me once i started actually formulating a REAL plan, and then the game slowed down for me ... not just a plan of well, we'll go flank and hide and ambush then head that way ... i go into a speedball game knowing which bunkers are the critcal ones to play, how i want to play them, and from which other areas of the field they are vulnerable from ... so it also helps to walk the field in advance and get to know the "lay of the land"

[I.K.E.]

Well, I learned to be calm when I realized I didn't have to win. That's the truth. Guess how I learned that? I played a lot, got my butt kicked most of the time, and still wanted to play. It was when I realized I wanted to win, but didn't HAVE TO that I finally calmed down. Now I have good days, and bad days. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't.

This post has been edited by I.K.E.: 14 November 2009 - 07:42 AM

[schulzy]

I learned to be calm in my backyard, way before I even played my first game. I told my friends to shoot me while I ran around my backyard (nothing serious like 300 paintballs to shoot me with). At first, I was thinking, "This is gonna kill." But after I got hit twice, it wasn't that bad. I went paintballing at an actual field about a month later, and I was only a bit hesitant about going out when the speedballers went out. I later realized that they won't over-shoot you, and then the fear went away.

[Cuy'val Dar]

after my first few games of speedball. me being a big mouthed 12 year old thought i was pretty good. then when asked by a few of the speed ball people a few years older than me to go up the hill to the speed ball course i was okay, but ima win. little did i know that it was physicaly possible to shoot that fast. i got shot soooo many times up there, i just finaly got over getting shot. when i went back to the woods course and played a few games, i realized i wasn't scared anymore.

[Florentine]

I think the first time that I can remember, is about 3 years ago. I remember my first bunker that I did, man did I feel good after that. It made me more confident.

[ghostinthewood]

I learned to be calm when I learned its not worse than football and in most instances, I'm just playing for fun.

Kind of ironic you said this cuz I was in a tourney yesterday and it came down to a 3vs1 (3man charity tourney) and I was playing against some guys on my d3x team and I held them off from a corner bunker twice when we played them. Once some guy came to do me in and I played over the top and another time I was playing all over the bunker yelling for an air strike because I had a kill streak. One of the guys said it was impossible to gunfight with me cuz I was all over the place so they were just waiting to get lucky. xD

Point is, to go with the cliché, I do better under pressure because at this point its more fun!

[5N1P3R]

I still get pumped up when I'm bunkering or something, buy the first like 6 times, I wouldn't be able to control my breathing when I was just walking a couple minutes into the game.

Maybe it's because I am young...

[ghostinthewood]

5N1P3R, on Nov 15 2009, 11:16 AM, said:

I still get pumped up when I'm bunkering or something, buy the first like 6 times, I wouldn't be able to control my breathing when I was just walking a couple minutes into the game.

Maybe it's because I am young...

Nah, being young would help you. Inexperience =/= age.

[Phobeus]

I don't know when it happened but when it did, I became more confident in my abilities as a paintball player in general. I still feel the rush of playing but I don't have that fear of not doing well. I'm trying out new ways to play paintball, yesterday I ditched the ghillie to run pistol only! However, I always find my way back to my ghillie suit!

[wbsniper94]

During my first few months of paintball, I can remember how nervous I was and how much I dreaded getting hit, not because of the sting, rather it was a sense of failure to me.

I still have the problem with my nerves on some occasions, especiallys when I'm in a lonewolf situation. A prime example would be when I'm fulfilling the role of a paintball sniper, or when I'm the only remaining player on my team, my heart races.

For the most part, I dont have the issue now. I''m glad about that too, it's alot easier to control my breathing when my heart rate is not spiked, and when my breathing is controled, fog is easier to control.

This post has been edited by wbsniper94: 15 November 2009 - 05:02 PM

[CptObvious]

I get pretty wound up leading up to the begining of the game and for a bit after the first whistle sounds. My heart starts pumping like crazy, and I just use some simple breathing exercises to calm down. However, I really get amped up when I'm surrounded by the opposing team, then it becomes interesting.

[MurderDeathKill]

Calm is overrated sometimes.

I got a good head on my shoulders after, oh, two dozen games or so. After playing outlaw ball for a few years, hitting Basic Training, and coming back into regular woodsball, everything just felt more in-focus. A shot could whiz past my head and I didn't fart my pants anymore. After a few more games, I was back to yelling -- but now I was calling out positions, bunkers, movements, yadda yadda. In control, I guess.

I still get myself worked up when I wanna do awesome, though. Just yesterday I let the beast off the leash and snagged 9 squeegie-kills at a small scenario -- three of them from diving into a fort and slashing three dudes at once. Couldn't pull off crazy crap like that unless I was a little crazy on adrenaline.