idea on introducing newbies to "the pain"

[PnueMagger]

Good Idea. I agree with that.

First time I ever played was 2 on 2 outlaw 10 years ago. My friend said discretely, "hey - go over there and I'll shoot you once so you know." But my two other freinds heard him whisper it to me and loaded their guns as fast as possible.

I got hit once and I bent over cursing. It hurt. Then the two others jumped out and proceeded to unload their hoppers on me as I was curled up on the ground. Just had t-shirts and shorts cause I didn't know cause I was a newb. We chronoed the guns shortly after. The two prolites were shooting around 410fps.

One was using a 68 Automag Classic. I was Honored.

[maxama10]

OWWW that hurts! Imagine that on my face! *rips off mask* I never ripped off mine when I first played. Everyone was warned profusely about it and everyone did what they were told. Ive never seen it happen personally. Does it happen that often?

[-Commander-]

This is a great idea, spread the word to your field owners.

If you need any support convincing them, I believe there was an article a while back about a kid loosing an eye after taking his mask off in the backyard and his gun misfired when he looked down the barrel. If that doesn't work, ask them to imagine what the insurance increase would be for an incident like that if it were to occur at their field, that'll get 'em...

Thanks,
-Commander-

[stop whining buy a mag]

It would turn a lot of n00bs off it they had to be shot before their day even starts. The best thing to do is get some n00bs together and have them play a quick game. Once they realize it doesn't hurt then they won't have a problem. As far as kids ripping their masks off, it has nothing to do with pain. They do it because they forget or don't think about losing an eye. You just can't stop n00bs from doing this. Even people that have played several times do it. A friend and I were reffing in a local scenario game and we were assigned to ref the "beach". It was essentially an open field with plenty of bunkers spread out. Sometimes we'd get 60 or 70 people up there and one guy decides to stand up and rip his mask off. My friend ran screaming over to him but the guy still did not listen. Both of us tackled him and he wasn't too happy about it.


You can't fix stupid.

[topazpaintball]

It hurts a lot more when they know its coming. Don't line up like a firing squad

I say just assign them a "buddy" for them to tag along with during games, and to jump on him if he takes his mask off (whiteboard style )

[ttink]

We did this thing at a field here called Gettysburg. The two teams line up facing each other a fair distance apart (but close enough so the paintballs can break), and then each person on one side takes ONE shot at the other line, then takes a big step forward. Both lines alternate going back and forth. When you get hit, you sit down where you were hit and you dont have to move anymore. If you take more than one shot, you get punished (i forget wut they did). But we did this with some first timers and things seemed to be alright when they were hit one the field.

[Toll]

I've had kids start flailing around and grabbing their limps and whining while I was working which sucked (because I thought they were really hurt) and yes, I could definately see a 10 year old getting smoked in the solarplex and not being able to breath.


Personally as soon as we start the day we take them to the "bus" area. Basically it's a mid distance area where there are two old school busses. 90% of the time they stay around their bus and are hit at a decent range to acclimate them to the sensation of getting hit. The ones that stay in the bus tend to get bunkered and also get acclimated....harshly.


Imo, anyone younger than 15 shouldn't be on the field without a "practice shot" from the owner or refs just because of "odd" instances.

[Loco_AEXY]

This is a great idea, and basically the way I got my wife to play the first time. We had arrived really early to the field and one of the refs let just me and her go out so she could get comfortable with the marker. We played 1-on-1 for a couple games and I let her get me out while I shot around her, then after I saw she had a good handle on the shooting aspect, I snuck around and got her in the side. All it did was make her want to get right back out on the field and shoot more people! (mainly me!)

I think the worst thing is waiting for that first hit. Once it is over with, most people tend to loosen up a lot more becuase they know what to expect.

[bleachit]

maybe give the parents of the minors the option to shoot/get shot so they know what it feels like and are responsible for shooting their own kids...

[SureLockRTPro]

i think every noob should get kicked in the crotch thirteen times and have a minimum of two fingers broken to play. and after that they still have to have their mask ducttaped to their head for a full 24 hours before their allowed to even look at a gun....


-donald


































































-j/k

[ttink]

I think the worst thing is waiting for that first hit. Once it is over with, most people tend to loosen up a lot more becuase they know what to expect.

Ya, thats true, i remeber my first game when i got hit. It was right on the wrist, baby blue fill. I do remember after that though i was not as scared to get hit.

[mag_lover05]

whoever said to put em' in a game with pump players, you are retarded, yes i admit we play very honerably and safely. BUT, well, atleast for me, i know i aim for whatever is sticking out, and in a pump game, its always the head/face. i know its not great, but most of the players are very experienced and dont stick out their body, and there is no hopper to hit (we play stock class). so that would NOT be a good idea for da nubs'

[PumpPlayer]

It's not a "retarded" suggestion. What playing pump does is to help prevent overshooting. Also, many young players today have no idea what they're doing with a pump and play very sloppy (not that they don't play sloppy with a semi- either). I would argue that for the average walk-on player today, putting a pump marker in their hands would make it much easier for a new player to shoot them out.


If it was 100% new players, pump-only would be a great idea, though it does make the equipment a little more difficult to operate. Many fields have non-motorized hoppers for their rentals. This works better, IMO. The idea is just to limit the ROF so that the kids don't overshoot each other. Stress that one hit is enough.

You shouldn't ever mix first-timers with regular walk-on guys unless its logistically inadvisable. A few examples might be if there's not enough new players or walk-ons to field a full game or if there's only one field for everyone to play on. In these instances, the refs should really look out for the new players... not that any experienced players worth their salt shouldn't be looking out for them as well.

Having the new players take a mandatory hit isn't fair. It needs to be in the context of a game or it'll be interpreted as abuse. A good suggestion, and one that works quite well, is to simply have the kids "duel" for the first few minutes of the day. You get one round each, 20 paces counted by the ref, turn and fire. If you both miss, you do it again with just 15 paces, then 10 and so on. With a group of 20 kids with two or three refs, this should only take a few minutes and the kids will enjoy it. It gives them a huge adrenaline rush starting at about pace 17 or so and they know that no matter what, they're only going to be hit one time at the most.





In the end, though, if you're a ref and you have a safety violation that serious (lifting a mask during a game), don't bother trying to change policy, make your safety brief more effective and be more mindful about constant reminders throughout the day. The players' safety is your first responsibility. You're dealing with kids; don't blame them for being wusses.


Oh, and playing at a lower velocity (unless you mean real low, like 200) doesn't make it less painful. At lower velocites, you'll get more bounces which means that it'll hurt more and you'll get shot more before you're eliminated. 260-285 is a fine speed to play at for new players, just don't allow bunkering. If you're on a commercial rec field shooting over 285 (and thus in violation of the insurance policy), you're a real jerk.

[jsdatjsd]

At the local field, which I only played once 2 years ago (splatter park, ohio) they didn't allow opponents to approach more than about 20 feet or closer. It was REALLY annoying.

The second time I played, I played with a pump (first time a tippy rental). I thought i had a guy bunkered, and he had a semi, and I turned the corner. I got hit 5 TIMES. THree shots form a yard away and two more from about 6 feet. THe one that realy hurt was on the inner thigh.

That being said, it just made me want to play more. Limping of cvourse. For a couple weeks.

But keeping a buffer zone of 15-20 feet for noobs is a really good idea I think.

ALso, I am one of those stupiud kids, 9 years ago, that lifted my mask just a quarter inch. I was fogging. I thought there was a difference between removing it, and carefully lifting it a quarter inch ot let air in.

I was wrong and I was sidelined. ANd, to this day, I am thankful for the thoughtful ref who yelled at me and sidelined me for a game. It could have been much harsher.

And that is why, when I finally get my new stuff, im gonna get a goggle fan. Even with a JT spectra, I got foggy glasses.

JD

This was my ref that pulled me==>
Thank you ref for yanking me off the game when I did a dumb thing.

[Toll]

Refs are hard on the folks, but it's for their own good/the ref's own good (as no on wants to lose a job)


Everyone was that stupid kid once (probably) but it's all good so far as you dont do it again