Playing scrimmage games and exhibition matches in tournament paintball is a great way to apply the skills you learn, but it’s only through drills and training sessions where you’ll develop those skills in the first place. Want to play like the pros? Here are some drills to use at your next practice.
Snapshooting
The paintball skill known as snapshooting is when you quickly come out from behind your bunker/cover to take one to two shots at your opponent before going back behind cover, effectively “snapping” your body/marker in and out of the bunker. Being able to accurately land your first shots when coming out of cover is one of the most essential skills a tournament paintballer can have.
To practice this, you can place a target across the field in a bunker opposite of yours, and then you practice coming out of your cover, taking 1-2 shots, and then going back in. Do this slowly at first, focusing on accuracy, then focusing on speed.
Off the Break Shooting
Trying to eliminate opposing team members at the start of the game (known as “off the break”) can give your squad a huge advantage right at the beginning of the match. To practice this, you’ll need to work on how well you can shoot at where an opponent is headed rather than where they currently are, as well as learning how to run and shoot your marker at the same time, as you may have to be on the way to your own bunker at the same time you’re trying to eliminate another player.
Communication
Even though it doesn’t involve you shooting your marker, communication is easily as important as any other skill in paintball. Being able to communicate enemy eliminations, teammate eliminates, and come up with strategies on the fly is the foundation of a good team. A good way to practice communication is to have each of your teammates take turns playing a match without their marker, so that all they can contribute and work on is communication.
Hone these three skills and you’ll be ready for your next major competition. Looking for a place to practice, check out our SC Arena tournament facility.