[Lumpy21]

so, my brother is new to paintball and he only wants to play woodsball and our friends house... and he says he is scared to play speedball with a bunch of people he doesnt know and have better guns and doesnt want to pay to play... im just curious to know if anyone else has ran into this with a friends of theirs and if there is a way i can word things so that he wont be scared and is wiling to try speedball...

[HoTDoG!?]

i had the same deal with a friend. i told him in speedball i usually just get shot in the hopper/gun/mask and that he wont get bunkered because open play has a 10 foot rule.

[jesus01]

take him to a speedball field and make sure you tell the refs running the filed his concerns. any good field will honor the request and make it fun for him to play

[bellan70]

Originally Posted by jesus01

take him to a speedball field and make sure you tell the refs running the filed his concerns. any good field will honor the request and make it fun for him to play

Or just go out to the field in mind, and go talk to the more experienced players, just to frost him of?

I have alot of new guy`s here in Sweden that comes out and just stand there, and when i ask them if the`re gonna play they just dont want to look bad.

But hey! we were all noob`s at first right.

Take a day and just go to a field and look, ask, make friends. That`s what Paintball is about right, having fun and to try to be better. Take the first step is never going to be easy.

[ferg man 5000]

Refs usually let us know when new meat is hitting the field. We don't want their first experience to be horrible so we will play with a handicap. We will play with gravity hoppers, just the rip drive or some of us don't use hoppers at all. We try to level the playing field for them.

[AManWithAElectraDX:(]

Originally Posted by ferg man 5000

Refs usually let us know when new meat is hitting the field. We don't want their first experience to be horrible so we will play with a handicap. We will play with gravity hoppers, just the rip drive or some of us don't use hoppers at all. We try to level the playing field for them.

i wish some of the good people at my field were like that...the first time my son plays airball he gets bunkered and quit playing

[fofo]

Yea talk to the refs. At my field weather I ref or play, I make sure we keep it fair in open play. Either 1 ball the whole time or use pumps. And never bunker, a new player will probably not like this. From the sound of it he seems intimidated from the other players. Take him to the field some time and have him watch a few games, have him talk to some of the better players.

Have him play in the back and chill till he gets more comfortable. It sounds like he just needs to take the first step. I think he enjoy it after he plays and will realize he was worried about nothing

[Pyrate Jim]

Speedball is easy compared to woods.
At least you can see all your opponents from the start, and not worry about some gung-ho mil-sim team shooting you thirty times in the back.
(happened to my 10 year old daughter, and they were on our own team!)

[ferg man 5000]

Originally Posted by AManWithAElectraDX:(

i wish some of the good people at my field were like that...the first time my son plays airball he gets bunkered and quit playing

I know the feeling all too well. My first time was with a rental on the speedball field. Got destroyed, but it just fueled my anger and made me buy some better gear so I could throw the same amount of paint. lol.

Since I know the feeling I try to help unexperienced players on and off the field. It's just good paintballing when everyone has a good time.

[Purple_people_eaterZ]

Usually bunkering is not allowed in open group as like with your brother, there are new players who have never played before and certainly never been bunkered. At our field they usually seperate mechs and electronic guns to get the rentals on the field with the same type of gear in everyones hand.
You could always get him a chest protector to stop the initial zing of a shot to the chest or back.

[pcpete]

I say if your brother is uncomfortable playing speedball then don't force him to play. If he wants to play woodsball with his friends then let him. As he plays more and comes more familiar with the sport and his skills improve then maybe he will want to try speedball, but if he's happy playing woodsball then that should be fine.

[Coenen]

This is my view on why paying to play paintball at a regulated field is worth it...

You and your buddies get together an outlaw game on Monday. By Wednesday you've got like 12 people who are "totally gonna be out there." Friday rolls around and a couple guys have to drop out, but no big deal, 4v4 or 5v5 is fun, right? You head out to whoever's house or property on Saturday morning, and the phone calls start going out and coming in, pretty soon you're lucky to have five guys show up who are actually ready to play.

Sure, you avoided a field fee, and maybe saved a few bucks on paint because you were able to buy no-name paint at Wally World, but wouldn't it have been more fun if everyone had shown up?

Would it have been worth the extra cash to go to a well-regulated field with fresh paint, air fills on site, maybe a gun tech to fix broken equipment...and most importantly, an actual crowd of people to play with week in and week out whenever you go? You might save money playing in Uncle Bob's back yard, but it's probably worth it to pay for the better game play experience of a quality field, which will be safer, have more amenities and more people to play with in the first place.

Once you go out somewhere a time or two you won't be a stranger anymore.

With regards to being afraid to play speedball, that depends on the field, if they're not taking steps to separate players by skill level and equipment then that's unfortunate. Most fields that are worth their salt will make sure to keep the new players "safe" from the more experienced guys. Just go by your field and talk to a staff member, explain about your brother's situation and ask what, if anything, they do to accommodate newer players.

[Volksjager06]

I have this problem with my girlfriend. Just take him there on a day it might not be so busy so he can get his feet wet.
Also tell him if he kills everybody first, he shouldn't have to worry about getting shot. Making him confident and eliciting a little chuckle out of him oughta help.
I also tell people it's really no different than any other paintball format, in that the paintballs won't hurt any more or any less than playing anywhere else.

Also, Coenen has it spot on.
I can't count the number of times my friends have tried to throw something together on somebody's land and invited me out. Usually we're lucky if 1/3 the people make it out, and lucky if half of THOSE people's stuff is working.
It's also WAY better to be at a place where you can fill your tanks when they're dry rather than having to quit when you're out of air.

[MoneyMaker17]

I actually was too scared when I first started going to my old local field. The only reason I started playing Xball was because my mom made me get in a game

Like people said, I would talk to the refs and players before he steps on to the field to play, that's probably your best bet. If you have some jerks at your local field, try to slip in a game that they're not playing. You can also ask the owner for a rental chest protector/gloves (if they have any) for just a couple games until he gets confortable with the playing atmosphere. Usually owners will be glad to lend them out free of charge if you explain the situation, because it results in more business for them.

[Lumpy21]

thanks for the great advice guys... hopefully soon enough we will have another person who loves this game as much as we do

[speedballer234]

From what you guys say, is it weird that my outlaw ball on weekends always gets 9 kids? the only reason i think we get that many is because we live like 80 miles from a field...

[jubba]

Maybe the people your brother wants to play woodsball with could go to a speedball field with him. Some of the fields I have been too will let rec players play on a different field from the field regulars players. My sons and I would go play at a indoor field when my youngest was 10. My boys would gang up against me and my ten year old had this vs1 and the regulars would cheer him on and give him advice from outside the side of the field. I'd be on the other side of the field and I could here them say things like go little dude, take the snake, your dads in the far left corner. He was so stoked those guys could have been like when are these newbs going to get off our field but they didn't they were totally cool and supportive(thanks to tj and his staff paintball heat Plymouth, IN.). If you can take your brother to a field where his experience will be a positive one he may warm up to speedball, but if he gets throne in with the pros and lit up he may go back to the woods.

[ATLpaintballa]

lol normally in cases of noobs i pick the farthest bunker back and just work on snapping, but sometimes theres the one guy just not ready to get off the field yet. I've bunkered a few noobs who just wont get out but thats the fun of paintball just wipe it off and get back out there

[RiCKiSSoAmaZiNG]

tell him not to be intimidated and he can stay at the back bunker. it is just like woodsball, instead of trees and bushes there are air bunkers, also the speed of play is faster, therefore you have less downtime and more time for action. with woodsball, there is to much camping (people scared to move foward) and a 30 minute round of woodsball is pointless, because no one really moves until the last 5 minute, 2 minute, or 1 minute horn. at the point the game is over and no one moved, and people just shot for the simple reason to get a shot of before you have to exit. speedball is a faster pace game and you can play more rounds to get better and gain experience. it is typically 5-10 minute rounds. if he is the last man standing, he can just wave himself out even though he didn't get hit, and then play another round. speedball is more intense and there is a period of adjustment, but with a good field, the referee should split the teams fairly so each team has the same amount of good people, so he may feel confident in that as well. all in all, he shouldnt knock it till he tried it. i use to play woodsball, and converted to speedball. i use to be scared to, but it is so much more exciting and more fun to play. you really get your money's worth playing speedball. woodsball is boring and so much down time. expecially if you are in a bigger field, you really can take a nap until the final horn to finish the match.

[213chrisp]

i would suggest he watch a few rounds, the worst thing you can do in paintball is fear, if you are scared because your going to get hit, is this the sport for him? i understand its not normal to think your going to get shot with a paintball, but once he gets hit, he should be just fine and the more rounds he plays, the more confidence he will get with the sport, like they said earlier, not much different besides you actualy get to show off your skills instead of letting the elements of the woods play your outcome.. mabybe its his lack of confidence with his equipment? or his gear? just some thoughts

[dude1it]

Originally Posted by Lumpy21

so, my brother is new to paintball and he only wants to play woodsball and our friends house... and he says he is scared to play speedball with a bunch of people he doesnt know and have better guns and doesnt want to pay to play... im just curious to know if anyone else has ran into this with a friends of theirs and if there is a way i can word things so that he wont be scared and is wiling to try speedball...

Take him to open play, let him play woodsball, and when the rotation for speedball comes, have everyone including his friends) go. Do this a couple times, he'll jump in eventually. If it's not for him, it's not for him - don't push it.