Mikill snap shooting tips!
Snap shooting is the most important individual skill in the game. And I say individual because it takes more than one gun to be able to effectivley move around the field and be able to "lock" the field down. unles you are the invisible man playing agianst a buch of squids and you can easily make your self dissapear... unlikely.... so listen up... while playing rec ball try to draw the opponents attention simply by looking at them( not shooting) the reason is that as you do this you will learn that you can keep them ocupied while they are trying to get a shot at you. this is good because they are waisting paint and they are focused on one part of the field. after trying this a couple of times( lets say on a cross angle) come out shooting down the tape, now you have two positions looking at you possibly both shooting and you still have a near full hopper. plus your center or back player can pin in the center allowing the other tape guy to move unchecked. Now keep an eye on the cross guy because it is your job to prevent him/her from moving up. Try this and always yell what side they are looking on if no one is posted(on me! on me ! is a green light for your other team mates to move) on the cross shot then that means that you should be because he is trying to clear the tape and move up... let them... if you are not afriad of getting out trying a harder "peep" out the bunker... meanwhile the guy who was wasting his paint on the tape(your tape side mirror)has now switched to give support to his man making the move up... if you did it right then your other back player can stay posted on the tape guy at least shooting at him while he dives in to his bunker keepin him in while you bust out with a fat wrap around keeping him exposed even though he moved up. when your mirror shoots at his cross mirror ( your back guy/center) the only angle that needs to be covered is the center and you can come out shooting the lane as you move up in the blind spot. suprise they are all shooting at your old bunker because no-one saw your stellar move and they are still wasting paint... meanwhile your back guy is taking all the heat and you can wrap your new found joybunker wiping out the center(be careful to do it quickly because the other team will notice and it can sting to get shot in the face from that close/ from the back or tape guy on your side) and if you are ballsy enough bunkering the back man on the back 90. As a front guy you just got two kills and stopped their tape guy from having cover in his over exposed position. note that it all started because you came out not hooting and just watching..this takes some practice and it works best with paint that can be well seen. Think of it as hyper dodge ball. The only real defense is a solid squid team that can lock the field down but you would be supprised how many players can not hit a moving target even when they are pointed right at the lane if they dont expect the move. And the paint will bounce.. Try it some time in rec ball if it works then you did it right .... if not then don't bunker the last guy... or dont come out shooting untill you have your eye on the target... keep in mind that their is such a thing as a magical paintball and it can hit you even if you are behind you bunker...because it curves... and there is also balls that are "in the mail" and just bad timing puts them in your face.... check back next week for another lesson in shooting fundamentals and team communication.... meanwhile stand in front of a long verticle mirror with you marker and practice snap shooting your own image in the mirror paying special attention to the part of your gun/body that comes out first... and refineing your stance into a slimmer profile.... this helps you get comfortable holding the marker in a new way and it helps you know instinctivly what part of you is most exposed at different angles try it with both hands and dont shoot any paint it is just a drill for the benifit of knowledge... not accuracy....... check back next week....MAV