| (Steve Rabackoff is a member of the Sothern
California Ironmen, and works at DYE Products in San Diego, California)
Peparing For a Tournament
(Editors Note: This past season, Steve "Rab" Rabackoff was one of the most
sought-after players on the NPPL circuit. He is one of the best young talents
in Paintball. This new column features Rab's ideas on what it takes to make
it as a player or Captain in tournament Paintball.)
Attitude is the most important attribute in a Paintball player. Now that
I have expressed the importance of attitude, I will begin with the basics
of preparing for tournament paintball. The first step to becoming an amateur
level tournament player is making sure that your equipment works to the best
of it's ability. This includes everything from your gun to making sure that
your shoe laces are tied so you don't fall on your face on the way out of
the flag station, (which I have seen many players do).
My first year on the NPPL circuit (1994) was nothing but a learning experience.
My team, Houston Heat, struggled from tournament to tournament, winning some
but losing the important ones! After analyzing why we lost most of those
games, we found that very often there were a few players on the team who
weren't properly prepared for each game, Animals! We found that the lack
of preparation could have been the difference between winning and losing
that game. Here are some tips on how to make sure that you and your team
are prepared for tournaments, which will save you some of the misery that
I went through that year.
I don't care what marker you use; you must take the time to learn how it
works. When you have problems on the field, which you will have, trust me,
you will be able to fix them. You should know how to adjust the marker's
velocity and always make sure you have enough CO2 or N2 before entering the
field. Along with marker preparation, you should make sure that you have
new batteries in your Viewloader if you have one; if you don't, get one.
You should have a squeegee. The Jerk by Marty Bush is the one I recommend.
Make sure you are able to carry it in an easily attainable place like under
your goggle strap in the back of your head. You should make sure that you
clean your goggles before each game so you have optimum vision. Lastly, you
should make sure that your harness is full of fresh paint along with your
loader and then you should be ready for your next game . You would be amazed
how many times we were at the flag station before a game with a game about
to start, and someone forgot their harness or didn't clean there barrel from
the last game. My favorite one was when I forgot to put air in my tank.
Let me tell you, you will not win a game or a tournament if you are not prepared;
all these things that I just went over will cost you or your team a lot of
games! A player, if you make sure that all of these things are taken care
of each game, your Captain's's life might be A little easier. That way he
can concentrate on strategy and not babysitting his players!
Next month we'll get down to playing tips and strategies. See you then.
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