• Tips for Communicating Across the AC Paintball Field

    soldier-160419_960_720Your team’s ability to communicate plays a large roll in the outcome of your AC Paintball game. Communication is an issue many teams struggle with not only in paintball but in other team sports as well. If players don’t let their teammates know what they are doing, they are more likely to run into problems that prevent the team from succeeding. Some paintball fields are large which makes communicating across it even more difficult, especially when your team is spread out and you need to make sure everyone knows what is going on.

    If you want to help your team achieve victory at AC Paintball, you should help make sure your team knows how to communicate well. To help you accomplish this, AC Paintball in southern New Jersey has compiled this list for communicating and relaying message across the field.

    What Is Important to Communicate?

    To start, it is important to know what type of information should be communicated. The three most common pieces of information are about movement and strategy changes, positioning, and kill counts. Your team should know what they are up against at all times.

    Movement and Strategy

    Your team should have an idea of what to expect moving forward. This way they can prepare themselves ahead of time and improve their chances of successfully executing their roles. Some examples of information you will want to let your teammates know include:

    • You want to move from one bunker to another.
    • You need backup.
    • You are out of paintballs.
    • You are going to deviate from the team’s original plans.

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    Positioning

    It is also important to know where both your teammates and your opponents are at all times. During an AC Paintball Speedball game where the field is small and open, it can be fairly easy to see where everyone is. However, during a Woodsball game, it is more difficult to see everyone and communication becomes more crucial.

    A good way to communicate where you are on the field is by splitting the field into nine different areas and assigning numbers to those areas. You can picture a keypad on a phone and order the areas in a similar fashion. For example, the back left corner of the AC Paintball field would be zone 1, the back middle would be zone 2, the back right would be zone 3, midfield on the left would be zone 4 and so on.

    Kill Counts

    It is always good to know how many players are left on your team, and how many players are left on your opponent’s team. One of the simplest ways to do this is similar to how you would report a score for various other sports. You give two numbers. The first is how many players are left on your team and the second is how many are left on the opponents team. So if your team has 7 players left and your opponents have 6, you would say 7-6.

    Develop a System

    Once you know what information needs to be communicated, you need to know how you are going to communicate it. You need to figure out how you will get the message from one side of the AC Paintball field to the other.

    One way to do this is a sort of snake pattern. Determine a communication order ahead of time, based on where each player will be positioned on the field. Then have each position responsible for communicating the message to the next person in line until the message reaches the opposite end of the field. When using this method, be sure that players know the order of other teammates around them just in case someone gets eliminated.

    Make Sure Your Message is Short and Clear

    One problem that can often occur while trying to communicate with your team is players not fully understanding one another. It can be just like playing whisper down the alley where the message starts out meaning one thing, but as it is retold each time the message can be changed to be something totally different. You need to make sure your message is clear. Some good ways to accomplish this are to be loud (when appropriate), keep the message concise, and repeat the message.

    Don’t Give Away Important Info to the Other Team

    paintball-1282160_960_720While it is good to be loud to make sure your teammates can hear you, you also have to think about your opponents. You don’t want them learning important information that they can use against you. Therefore, you should develop a quiet communication system you can use to send messages across the AC Paintball field. Here are three common quiet communication systems you can use.

    Hand Signals

    Body language is a communication system that nearly everyone understands. If you point, you want someone to look at something, if you wave your hand in a certain direction you want the person to move in that direction, and if you hold up a fist or a flat vertical hand, you want someone to stop what they are doing. You can also create some unique hand motions for your team that only they will understand. Just make sure you don’t create so many that it becomes difficult to remember them all.

    Code Words

    Code words can be used a bit more loudly than the other communication systems. Their advantage is they mean something that is only understood by your team, at least to start. Your opponents can catch on to what code words mean, so you should only use them sparingly. When using code words pick something somewhat arbitrary that means something associated to paintball. For instance, the term “fox” could mean that you spotted an opponent hiding somewhere.

    Walkie-Talkies

    Walkie-Talkies are one of the best ways to be fairly quiet while getting a message across the AC Paintball field. They are useful when the rest of your teammates are not within your viewing range. However, there are some things to watch out for. It is good to use it somewhat sparingly just in case a teammate is trying to communicate something important and you are preventing them from doing so. You will also want to be careful that you don’t accidentally hold the talk button down while crawling or leaning against something.

    Practice at AC Paintball

    Finally, you will want to practice. The best way to improve your communication system is to keep trying to use it and correcting issues that you find. Team building exercises can also be helpful to allow your team to get to know each other better. This way they are more comfortable talking to each other and understand how each other thinks. If you are ready to practice communicating with your team, schedule a session at AC Paintball now!

    September 27, 2017

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  • Paintball for Introverts

    alone-21279_960_720Contrary to popular belief, not all introverts are shy. An introvert is someone who prefers spending time alone. Being social can drain introvert’s energy and wear them out. Some introverts are shy, though. They experience anxiety when trying to talk to people they don’t know well. Simply saying hello can stress them out.

    Our society seems to prefer extroverts as they are more likely and willing to take command when you need a leader. Yet, introverts can be good leaders too. Introverts are great listeners and are smart because they spend a lot of time thinking. As an introvert, however, it is important to learn how to be more extroverted from time to time. Playing paintball at AC Paintball is a great way to do this.

    Paintball is a social sport. Without good communication, it is difficult to be successful. With the right team, paintball can help any introvert learn how to come out of their shell. Playing paintball at AC Paintball can give introverts communication skills, confidence, and friends.

    Paintball Provides a Common Interest and Conversation Topics

    The hardest part of communication for most introverts is approaching someone new.  It can be difficult for them to find a conversation topic. Some introverts get anxious when having to do this. They worry about the other person judging them and looking stupid.

    Playing paintball at AC Paintball can help quell some of these fears. If you are talking to someone at AC Paintball, chances are they are from southern New Jersey and interested in paintball. You can start a conversation by asking them where they are from and how they became interested in paintball. Their answers may spark even more conversation and soon you may find that opening up paid off.

    Paintball Can Lead to Making Friends

    paintball-1282158_960_720Conversation leads to friendship. Some introverts have trouble making friends. But having a common interest makes things easier. If you talk for a while and have a lot in common, you may end up finding a new friend. Once you make a few good friends, you will have a support system. You may find that if you promise to have your friends back, they will have yours. Every good team player supports their teammates and helps out however they can.

    If you find friends, playing paintball at AC Paintball can become your favorite hobby. If you are new to the game, try to avoid playing with hard-core professionals who put too much pressure on you. If you experience any problems with any players, talk to an employee at AC Paintball. We promote safe and friendly paintball and will try to help you however we can.

    To start out you should try to find players who just play for fun. They can be new players or experienced players as long as they don’t give you a hard time. If they are experienced, they may also be able to give you tips to improve your game. With enough good friends, you may create a regular group for playing at AC Paintball. You may even get together outside of AC Paintball.

    Paintball Improves Interpersonal Communication

    To be successful in paintball, your team needs to communicate well. When your teammates are depending on you, you may find it in yourself to be more outgoing. You won’t want to let your team down, so you will do what you have to do to help them succeed.

    Once you learn to be more vocal, you will learn how to communicate better. When playing on an AC Paintball field, you will need to make sure your teammates understand you. You will learn to be more clear and concise with what you say. There will also be times when you need to be fairly quiet. To make sure your teammates get the message, you will learn to better enunciate your words.

    Soon, you will be able to use your improved communication skills in other aspects of your life. You may find it easier to talk on the phone, give speeches and talk to people you don’t know well. You may become a better talker and become more social in general.

    Paintball Improves Confidence

    With improved communication skills and a good support system, you will become more confident. If you play paintball long enough, you may also gain some muscles and look healthier as well.  When you help out your teammates, they will be thankful. This can help make you feel important and give you some self-worth.  Confidence will make you feel better and help you go far in life.

    pintball-918086_960_720At first, it may be difficult, but don’t worry about being unskilled or bringing your team down. Most players aren’t experts at the start. Yet, with practice and dedication, you will improve with each game. It’s important to stay positive. An AC Paintball experience should be fun and not stressful.

    If you feel like you’re not good, learn to shake it off and laugh at your mistakes. You may not be able to take out half of your opponents, but you can keep your team’s spirits up by having a good attitude. You may lose at times, but if you do, lose with style. Don’t get down or be a sore loser. The more you stay positive, the better time you will have. If you stick with it, you may eventually become a team leader and help other introverts learn to love the game.

     

     

    September 12, 2016

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