Thread of the Week: How long would it take to go from beginner to pro in paintball?

J. Stein · 04-21-2011, 12:58 PM

This is blatant thievery, as I am just copy/pasting an email I got from Gabe:

A buddy sent me this article about this guy who quit his job and is spending 10,000 hours focused on becoming a Pro golfer. It's a very interesting article. He's a year into his six year plan now. 6 hours a day, 6 days a week for 6 years.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/can...actice/1159357

How long do you think it would take for an average person who has never played paintball to become a Pro level player? I feel like it could be done in a lot less than 10,000 hours. The problem is that it's near impossible to use the same plan since you'd need a group of competitors who could dedicate that same amount of time also.

Seekey · 04-21-2011, 01:51 PM

Roger was on track to doing that in record time.

1 winter and he was a pretty competitive D3 player in the region. Had he kept that pace up he would have been real good real fast.

Like you said you would really need a group of people because you wont get to that next level without real game exp.

Isn't there some kid on TBD thats like 16? I wonder how long hes been playing.

amontoya · 04-21-2011, 02:39 PM

greg siewers, anyone?

J. Stein · 04-21-2011, 03:20 PM

Or Chris Costigan. Or Brian Gigliotti, for that matter. Billy.

amontoya · 04-21-2011, 03:23 PM

did lil poo make it to pro status? i remember him playing semi pro

sumorai · 04-21-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seekey

Roger was on track to doing that in record time.

Whatever happened to him? Last time I saw him he randomly showed up to one of the Canes practices at Riptide last year.

Quote:

Isn't there some kid on TBD thats like 16? I wonder how long hes been playing.

Jacob Edwards is 14, I think. Youngest pro ever? Maybe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amontoya

greg siewers, anyone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Stein

Or Chris Costigan. Or Brian Gigliotti, for that matter. Billy.

How long did it take them to reach the Pro level?

J. Stein · 04-21-2011, 03:43 PM

Billy started playing in 2002 or 2003, i think and played pro with NEH in '05

Poo was playing in 2004, i'm not sure how much before then, and went pro with NEH in '05.

Brian was probably playing awhile - I remember him from 2002 and I think he started before then, he went pro with NEH in '04.

bmoney003 · 04-21-2011, 03:56 PM

I dont know if its the nature of the game...or the level of "pro" in paintball...but it is NOT EVEN close to any other sport in its learning curve.

you would be hard pressed to think of ANY other sport you could become pro or even remotely close to pro after 2 years of starting to play.

bshort524 · 04-21-2011, 04:11 PM

pretty sure thomas taylor went pro in two years.i think alot of it is your ability to learn the game, and the people you surround yourself with.

KBrady[UMASS] · 04-21-2011, 04:19 PM

First and foremost, it depends on the person. We can say learning curve in different sports, but truly phenomenal athletes can excel in many. I know football-wise there are a handful of guys in the NFL who had just a year or two of experience in the sport before going pro. Steven Neal didn't play prior to the NFL, but he was an NCAA champion wrestler.

Point being, a truly world-class athlete, I think, could make it from beginner to pro in a year or two of dedicated practice. That would involve the help of lots of people. Just doing the more standard, do it until better with no guidance approach, and I think it would be longer.

Someone without that pure athleticism to stand above most/all paintball players would probably be more of a 3-4 year situation if can be done at all. Some people probably just dont have the necessary athletic ability, reaction times, etc to ever make it there.

bmoney003 · 04-21-2011, 04:29 PM

1. steven neal played in HS...so he played before

2. he did NOT play a skill position. thats like saying...someone can be a pro track star lol...all they need is the natural ability to run fast.

you cant compare those two together.

there are ALWAYS a couple of exceptions. but for 99% of all pro sports and positions, NO way could you play 2 years then be pro...

J. Stein · 04-21-2011, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmoney003

I dont know if its the nature of the game...or the level of "pro" in paintball...but it is NOT EVEN close to any other sport in its learning curve.

you would be hard pressed to think of ANY other sport you could become pro or even remotely close to pro after 2 years of starting to play.

Stephen Neal
Brock Lesnar (does MMA count?)
There have been other crossover OL in the NFL (crossover meaning, coming from other sports backgrounds) and I think there was a TE who played basketball through college.

bmoney003 · 04-21-2011, 04:38 PM

i am not talking college. I am talk EVER playing.

for example...if 187 turns pro next year. I will have gone from never even hearing about paintball to pro in 6 years. That is without surrounding myself with other pro's and learning 95% on my own. AND i was 28 when i started. there is no way in ANY other sport can you play for the first time at 28 (never played before not even Little league or HS) and be remotely close to pro.

hell almost EVERYONE has played some form of football at some point (in PE or recess) you cant do that with paintball...

I personally think its because it is NOT hard for an individual player to get to "pro" status in paintball....it IS however VERY difficult to get a TEAM to be pro status.

Buck · 04-21-2011, 04:40 PM

Antonio Gates.

bmoney003 · 04-21-2011, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buck

Antonio Gates.

He starred at Central High School (Detroit, Michigan) playing both Basketball and Football.

again...had already played the sport

NeCanes · 04-21-2011, 05:48 PM

wow your old

PA1NT13A11 · 04-21-2011, 06:07 PM

Paintball is still extremely young, and hasn't developed higher levels of professional competition. Thus, it's possible to compete on the professional level in only a few years. If tournament paintball expands over the next decade however; the attributes needed to be a professional paintball player will grow.

If you look at other sports that have been around for much longer, success on the professional level takes more than a couple weekend practices.

KBrady[UMASS] · 04-21-2011, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmoney003

1. steven neal played in HS...so he played before

2. he did NOT play a skill position. thats like saying...someone can be a pro track star lol...all they need is the natural ability to run fast.

you cant compare those two together.

there are ALWAYS a couple of exceptions. but for 99% of all pro sports and positions, NO way could you play 2 years then be pro...

Thats fair. He had played high school.

My point was barring having a great athletic ability, which would provide some advantage over the great majority of paintball players, your average person would take several years at a minimum to go from no idea of its existence to "pro". That would be with the help of others, whether it be a coach of some sort or players already at that level (or at least better than wherever you're at, at a point in time). Without that, its a few more years.

I don't think we're even disagreeing. My only point was, with truly great athleticism (something paintball lacks for the most part, talking world-class type) and truly dedicating themselves to practicing 2-3 times a week, I wouldn't rule out someone being able to make the move within 2 years.

Another question that fits in with this.... has tournament paintball yet reached a level where not "anyone" can achieve the top level? As said, there are always exceptions, but is it like D1 college sports where some people have the ability and/or potential to reach that ability and other don't, or is it like D3 where "anyone" with the proper work ethic and resources could get there?

4x4 rider · 04-21-2011, 06:35 PM

Just played with Roger this past sunday, he is doing good. As for how long it takes to go pro, it all depends on the person. Some never, others have a knack, if your mind is in the right place, and your body follows what your mind is telling it to do, it will be fast. I am going to round it down to about 2 years for an individual that is not trying to stick with one team, can afford to travel to tryout for pro teams and such, like Greg S. did.

agalluze1219 · 04-21-2011, 06:48 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_%28book%29

He go the 10,000 hours from this book. I had to read it for a freshmen writing class. It talks about the time need spent to become professional at bassiacally any thing. It also talks about other factors just as $, your birthday for all your hockey fans, and other factors when becoming professional.

i like jeff think I would take a lot shorter of a time period given that your in decent shape. mainly because 10,000 hours of paintball is alot. If dont know much but I would say the average pro player plays about 1,000 hour a year maybe less.

agalluze1219 · 04-21-2011, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PA1NT13A11

Paintball is still extremely young, and hasn't developed higher levels of professional competition. Thus, it's possible to compete on the professional level in only a few years. If tournament paintball expands over the next decade however; the attributes needed to be a professional paintball player will grow.

If you look at other sports that have been around for much longer, success on the professional level takes more than a couple weekend practices.

.