Post by sicnarf033 on Nov 26, 2005 18:04:50 GMT -5
taken from pbnation
Playing in the back is an extremely underrated position in paintball these days. All the glory is up front. But even more than that, when the game is won, it is
usually the speedy front guys that get to gloat in the staging area about that guy they "did." What can the back guy say? "Well, I shot a guy on the break, then proceeded to shoot half my pack…"
Doesn't sound too glorious eh? To make things even worse, when things go wrong, it is the back guy's fault. "How did you let him bunker me?" or "I can't believe you let them get by you to hang the flag?" Face, you rarely get the credit in this position. If, after reading the above, you still have a hunger to sit in the back and throw paint, read on. We're about to dispel some myths as well as show you how you can clean up the field. First of all, know this, anyone can play in the backfield, but to be a GOOD back player is probably one of the hardest things in paintball.
One Case One Kill
There is a common misconception that a back player's, or linebacker's job is to simply shoot a ton of paint. While it may be necessary in certain instances to shoot a LOT of paint, a good back player is smarter than that. There are certain instances in which shooting a lot of paint is necessary. Here are a few:
Shooting the Lane
When a back player walks the field, part of his/her job is to find a clear firing lane. Sometimes they are hard to see, but it is very rare when you can't find a good firing lane. A good firing lane is usually found in the vicinity of the flag station. Sometimes you have to make an extremely short run, but if you are going to "shoot the lane" of the break, you want it to be as close as possible. Of course, the shooting lane has to be where you know, or at least strongly suspect an opponent is going to be running. If the lane is setup so you are shooting straight (and not diagonally) across the field, you should have an easy "kill." Otherwise, if the opponent is not running straight at you, but diagonally, pick a spot where you KNOW they have to run through. That is where you want to shoot. As soon as that whistle blows, the back player runs over to that firing lane and shoots as many paintballs as possible in the shortest amount of time straight down that firing lane. Don't trail the person with your paintballs as they run. Shoot at one point in front of them, and make them run through a wall of paint. If you get good at this, you'll see them walk off the field covered in brightly colored splotches. This IS possible. Bob Long, an amazing back player, is good for at least 1 to 2 "kills" per game off the break.
Sweet Spotting
Another instance where a back player needs to hammer out the paint is when the team picks and labels a certain key bunker on the field has a "sweet spot." This bunker is usually one of those game winning bunkers. If the other team controls it they'll probably win. If the other team occupies that bunker, there are a few options available. One, bunker the guy, and two "sweet spot" the bunker. You're in the back, so chances are you're not going to trot down the field, but you can shoot a ton of paint at that sweet spot. You might get lucky and sneak one through a crack in the bunker, but chances are you'll just keep that player out of action. The next step of this sweet spotting comes next.
Pinching
So you can't shoot the guy out on your own, but what if someone on the opposite side of the field of that sweet spot started shooting like a madman towards that player? The goal here is NOT to shoot at the bunker, but to shoot behind or to the side of it. This will force the player to tuck in a little. And chances are (depending on the type of bunker), he'll get a little sloppy and stick part of his pack, or foot out the opposite side he is being sweet spotted on. Now of course, on the other "other side" of the field another player lets loose, and shoots whatever exposed part they left out. If you can't see anything hanging out, shoot anyway. You may not hit him, but there are good chances he'll be under a lot of pressure and may make a mistake like shooting over the top. This trick works amazingly when you are "pinching" someone in a stand-up hyperball tube.
Suppression
This one is simple. Maybe a teammate is going to move up the field, or even do a risky bunker move? Pick the most likely person that might shoot your teammate as he moves and dump a hailstorm of paintballs towards them.
Communication
One of the hardest parts to being a back guy is communicating to your teammates. YOU have the better view of the field, not your teammates huddled into a tiny ball in the front. Talk to them, you need to be their eyes. Picture them as being extensions of yourself. Tell them where to go, tell them who's shooting. Tell them who's moving. Make sure they know where everyone on the field is. Even if you have to repeat yourself, do it until you get some kind of response. I like back guys to be as annoying as possible (well, to an extent). This is easy to say, but hard to do. Sure, talking is easy enough, but once the whistle blows, you've usually forgotten everything. The only way to become good at this one is to force yourself to do it over and over again.
Teamwork
Here is where the fun begins. Not only do you want to talk to your front guys, but also you want to work with them. I don't mean tell them to "move up" or even in this case to "go do the guy," what I am talking about is working with your front guy to shoot someone out. Picture this, you're in the back, in a stand-up bunker. Your front guy is in as tiny a position as possible in their bunker. The player across from your teammate is sticking out of their bunker and shooting at him/her. Do you take the shot? Sure, if your positive you can shoot him out, but most of the time you are too far away and the person in question will have moved back behind the safety of their bunker before your paintballs get there. Humans are creatures of habit. Even the best paintball players come out the same side of the bunker more than once from time to time. We all know not too, but until the huge orange splat appears on our goggles, we think we're invincible. Talk with your front guys. "He's shooting at you from the left side, he just went back in, he's shooting over the top…" It's as simple as that. Next time your opponent pops back out, have your teammate ready to do what you tell him/her. "He's shooting out the right side." Instantly, your teammate leans out of their bunker and snap shoots the player out. It may not happen on the first try, but it does work. Chances are you'll shoot him out this way. There is another aspect of this type of teamwork to discuss. It is almost nearly the opposite:
Baiting
This time, say someone is crazy enough to be lobbing paintballs all the way back at you. In this case you, need to be all the way in the back, where even if the paintballs did hit you, chances are they'd bounce. The guys with the big tummies are good at this one Anyway, play a little sloppy, make some glory hound on the other team believe he is going to get an easy elimination. Chances are he'll shoot like a lunatic at you. But your front guy will be ready. Once he starts shooting, you'll have already told your teammate to be ready. He'll simply pop out, snap off a few shots and eliminate that hopeful glory hound.
Jerry Springer's Final Thought
Thanks for watching the show today. We've learned that being a lesbian that thinks they're a monkey can cause many problems with the officials at the zoo. Wait a minute! What the heck is that… Anyhow, playing back is tough. Those are just a few tips to help you out. There are many more, but don't ask me to share. Can't give away ALL my secrets after all. Just make sure you communicate with your teammates properly and things will fall into place. The team you hear talking left and right on the field is usually the one that wins. Make sure you move with your team too. It really ticks me off when I see a guy all alone in the back while his team moves all the way down the field, moments away from victory. Oh ya, don't forget. Playing in the back, you usually have to clean things up. Just because you play "linebacker" doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to play up front, and snap shoot properly. Read some of these other articles on the site to brush up on your skills.
Playing in the back is an extremely underrated position in paintball these days. All the glory is up front. But even more than that, when the game is won, it is
usually the speedy front guys that get to gloat in the staging area about that guy they "did." What can the back guy say? "Well, I shot a guy on the break, then proceeded to shoot half my pack…"
Doesn't sound too glorious eh? To make things even worse, when things go wrong, it is the back guy's fault. "How did you let him bunker me?" or "I can't believe you let them get by you to hang the flag?" Face, you rarely get the credit in this position. If, after reading the above, you still have a hunger to sit in the back and throw paint, read on. We're about to dispel some myths as well as show you how you can clean up the field. First of all, know this, anyone can play in the backfield, but to be a GOOD back player is probably one of the hardest things in paintball.
One Case One Kill
There is a common misconception that a back player's, or linebacker's job is to simply shoot a ton of paint. While it may be necessary in certain instances to shoot a LOT of paint, a good back player is smarter than that. There are certain instances in which shooting a lot of paint is necessary. Here are a few:
Shooting the Lane
When a back player walks the field, part of his/her job is to find a clear firing lane. Sometimes they are hard to see, but it is very rare when you can't find a good firing lane. A good firing lane is usually found in the vicinity of the flag station. Sometimes you have to make an extremely short run, but if you are going to "shoot the lane" of the break, you want it to be as close as possible. Of course, the shooting lane has to be where you know, or at least strongly suspect an opponent is going to be running. If the lane is setup so you are shooting straight (and not diagonally) across the field, you should have an easy "kill." Otherwise, if the opponent is not running straight at you, but diagonally, pick a spot where you KNOW they have to run through. That is where you want to shoot. As soon as that whistle blows, the back player runs over to that firing lane and shoots as many paintballs as possible in the shortest amount of time straight down that firing lane. Don't trail the person with your paintballs as they run. Shoot at one point in front of them, and make them run through a wall of paint. If you get good at this, you'll see them walk off the field covered in brightly colored splotches. This IS possible. Bob Long, an amazing back player, is good for at least 1 to 2 "kills" per game off the break.
Sweet Spotting
Another instance where a back player needs to hammer out the paint is when the team picks and labels a certain key bunker on the field has a "sweet spot." This bunker is usually one of those game winning bunkers. If the other team controls it they'll probably win. If the other team occupies that bunker, there are a few options available. One, bunker the guy, and two "sweet spot" the bunker. You're in the back, so chances are you're not going to trot down the field, but you can shoot a ton of paint at that sweet spot. You might get lucky and sneak one through a crack in the bunker, but chances are you'll just keep that player out of action. The next step of this sweet spotting comes next.
Pinching
So you can't shoot the guy out on your own, but what if someone on the opposite side of the field of that sweet spot started shooting like a madman towards that player? The goal here is NOT to shoot at the bunker, but to shoot behind or to the side of it. This will force the player to tuck in a little. And chances are (depending on the type of bunker), he'll get a little sloppy and stick part of his pack, or foot out the opposite side he is being sweet spotted on. Now of course, on the other "other side" of the field another player lets loose, and shoots whatever exposed part they left out. If you can't see anything hanging out, shoot anyway. You may not hit him, but there are good chances he'll be under a lot of pressure and may make a mistake like shooting over the top. This trick works amazingly when you are "pinching" someone in a stand-up hyperball tube.
Suppression
This one is simple. Maybe a teammate is going to move up the field, or even do a risky bunker move? Pick the most likely person that might shoot your teammate as he moves and dump a hailstorm of paintballs towards them.
Communication
One of the hardest parts to being a back guy is communicating to your teammates. YOU have the better view of the field, not your teammates huddled into a tiny ball in the front. Talk to them, you need to be their eyes. Picture them as being extensions of yourself. Tell them where to go, tell them who's shooting. Tell them who's moving. Make sure they know where everyone on the field is. Even if you have to repeat yourself, do it until you get some kind of response. I like back guys to be as annoying as possible (well, to an extent). This is easy to say, but hard to do. Sure, talking is easy enough, but once the whistle blows, you've usually forgotten everything. The only way to become good at this one is to force yourself to do it over and over again.
Teamwork
Here is where the fun begins. Not only do you want to talk to your front guys, but also you want to work with them. I don't mean tell them to "move up" or even in this case to "go do the guy," what I am talking about is working with your front guy to shoot someone out. Picture this, you're in the back, in a stand-up bunker. Your front guy is in as tiny a position as possible in their bunker. The player across from your teammate is sticking out of their bunker and shooting at him/her. Do you take the shot? Sure, if your positive you can shoot him out, but most of the time you are too far away and the person in question will have moved back behind the safety of their bunker before your paintballs get there. Humans are creatures of habit. Even the best paintball players come out the same side of the bunker more than once from time to time. We all know not too, but until the huge orange splat appears on our goggles, we think we're invincible. Talk with your front guys. "He's shooting at you from the left side, he just went back in, he's shooting over the top…" It's as simple as that. Next time your opponent pops back out, have your teammate ready to do what you tell him/her. "He's shooting out the right side." Instantly, your teammate leans out of their bunker and snap shoots the player out. It may not happen on the first try, but it does work. Chances are you'll shoot him out this way. There is another aspect of this type of teamwork to discuss. It is almost nearly the opposite:
Baiting
This time, say someone is crazy enough to be lobbing paintballs all the way back at you. In this case you, need to be all the way in the back, where even if the paintballs did hit you, chances are they'd bounce. The guys with the big tummies are good at this one Anyway, play a little sloppy, make some glory hound on the other team believe he is going to get an easy elimination. Chances are he'll shoot like a lunatic at you. But your front guy will be ready. Once he starts shooting, you'll have already told your teammate to be ready. He'll simply pop out, snap off a few shots and eliminate that hopeful glory hound.
Jerry Springer's Final Thought
Thanks for watching the show today. We've learned that being a lesbian that thinks they're a monkey can cause many problems with the officials at the zoo. Wait a minute! What the heck is that… Anyhow, playing back is tough. Those are just a few tips to help you out. There are many more, but don't ask me to share. Can't give away ALL my secrets after all. Just make sure you communicate with your teammates properly and things will fall into place. The team you hear talking left and right on the field is usually the one that wins. Make sure you move with your team too. It really ticks me off when I see a guy all alone in the back while his team moves all the way down the field, moments away from victory. Oh ya, don't forget. Playing in the back, you usually have to clean things up. Just because you play "linebacker" doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to play up front, and snap shoot properly. Read some of these other articles on the site to brush up on your skills.