got a back player thread, why not a front?
OFF THE BREAK
run fast, gain as much real estate as posible. your primary bunker should be either far up the field or a position that you can easily move from into another one farther down the field. make sure you cordinate with your back players lanes/positions. ie snake and snake corner. Keep in mind that on the side of the field there is one less side to get shot from, working down the middle takes alot more practice. also listen to what your backmen are saying all the time. one strategy is to work your way as far as possible down one side of the field, shooting inside and making eliminations. if possible try to get out the opposing players on your side of the players. also, put your hand up to cover up the hard parts of your mask. it really helps. i have some fairly bony hands, but add gloves and i have yet to break a ball there. keep your gun behind your body. this, added to keeping your hand up, creates as many soft spots as possible and reduces the possibility of you getting hit off the break. running and gunning is also a option, but takes practice and knowing when and where to run and gun.
*UPDATE* running and gunning
is not always as bad an idea as you may think.(or me when i originally wrote this
) having 4 or 5 guns up off can be a good thing. my team recently played a tournament and went with 5 guns up and guess what? we won every game. accurately running and gunning can be a very very very usefull skill. you want to keep your guns rolling as much as possible in about 90 percent of game situations.
sliding
supermans are probally the best way to get under the other teams lanes. it alows you to get as low and small as possible as you can, reducing the possibility of getting hit. sliding on your knees is also a option,it also alows you to get fairly small, but not as low as a superman.
BUNKERING
there are several kinds of bunkering and different times each should be used. a runthrough can be a desperate last measure to end the game or something that a team will pull when they are way up on numbers. it can also be a self sacrificing run to eliminate 2 or more other players, while your team only loses one. or a move to dig a player out of an important position, like snake or X. a wrap around or pop up on the other hand could happen at any time, particularly in the snake/zipper. wraping around is usually my choice of attack. poping up over the top of the bunker exposes you to alot more paint, whereas wraping around and staying tight exposes you to alot less paint. With any type, you gotta move fast. practice your fast twitch muscles.
When to Bunker
I am going to make this short and to the point. you bunker people when they are least expecting it. If i slide into the snake and there is someone on the other team in with me, i nail that sucker right away. some times i make my slide long enough so i can bunker him sliding in, then either go a little farther on the snake or go back to where i am depending on how the snakes made, where the other team is, ect.
GEAR
go as light as posible, light hopper, not many pods(i recomend 3-5), light gun, smaller tank ect. pants are also a must. sliding into that 50 bunker will tear up jeans or anything not made out of very strong material into pieces. pads are really your preference. some people find the pads to be constricing and they prefer to go without them. i try to get ahold of a pair of knee pads whenever i go out, cause i got some nice big scars from when i have not. the pant type is really your pereference, look around and see what best accomodates you. your probally looking for somthing very durable. i also recomend a game timer, its always good to have the time. a strong hopper is also a must. spend a little extra monies on that good paint, you gotta be able to shoot straight.
COMMUNICATION
always always always communicate with your other players. if you want to live in the bunker jungle, you need to know where people are like the monkeys need to know where the bannanas are. i learned this by finding a guy in the bunker i had just moved to. i got nailed. if i had of been listening, my teammates would have probally told me that he was there. when your back player or coach tells you to move, stop ****ing around and move.
PRE GAME
If possible, always find out what the layout is like. a bunch of bunkers here, a key bunker there, a lane there, anything and everything. plan your game out, from start to end. i am going to go here off the break, take out person x, and do this if the time runs down. make sure you are aired up and have enough paint for the game(duh). if something went wrong last game, tell your teammates what went wrong a fix it right there. if you fix it later, it might be to late, you might lose that big tournament. i find that stretching helps as well. as you grow sore later in the day, you will not be able to play as well as you could if you were not. stretching before you start that day helps relieve some of that soreness, and let you play stronger when others are begining to get sore and play slower.
TRAINING
Playing front is very demanding. you need to be able to run fast with out alot of rest. i run every morning for a mile or more before shcool, then i do crunches, leglifts, pushups, and other endurance builders. swimming is GREAT exercise, i reccomend 2-3+ k meters a day. (40-60+ laps) endurance can give you a real edge at the end of the day when other teams are begining to wear down. if you are still playing strong, you will murder them. always be thinking about what you are going to do on certain fields and how you are going to do it. The day before a day of paintball, a tourny in particular, always take it easy, dont do anything to make you sore on the day you are playing. you want to be in the best physical condition possible. practice snapshooting as often as you can, it wins games. train in the most extream conditions posible so normal playing conditions are easier to cope with.
update>SNAPPING
please know how to snap shoot. this is one of the most important skills you can aquire. you need to know how to snap in the snake, the doritos, everywhere. practice snapping from a standing and kneeling position. i subjest using doors if your inside. this just takes hours and hours of practice.
my method for snapping
balance your weight equally on both legs. lean out using mainly your abs to move out and in on the bunker. the only part of you that comes out should be above your nips, if that. tuck your elbows in dont stick em out or your screaming to get shot. tuck your head in directly behind your marker. if your head is behind your gun, there is less to get shot, if it is not directly behind, the opponent has your head and marker to hit witch is a much bigger target.
MISC.
If you are not dropping pods allready, start doing it. picking up pods after the game is over is not very hard, but putting them back into your harness during the game is.
If you are a big player but you still want to play front, dont worry about the size. i have a friend that is, well, large. size does not seem to matter with him as he usually plays a mid/ front possition, and is really good at bunkering people.
dont lose your temper. play paintball for the reason it should be played, for fun. if you can win, sweet, but dont go balistic if you dont.
if you want to play your best, DO your best.
remember to get as tight as you can and tuck in as much as posible.
update>If your on a budget but still want a uniform, get a nice pair of pants that will last (i recomend protos, just got my 06es and they are very nice) but is not too expensive, then go to walmart and get a plain longsleve t-shirt for like 5 bucks. they will function just like that 50 dollar jersey and be about 45 bucks cheaper.
if you have anything to add to this, post up here.
>>>>>>scroll down the page for part 2, this has your snake tips in it<<<<<<<<
People who have added to post (click on name)
dm5bangbang
JD-Fuel
MID101
stop askin for it
Snake
goes into more detail then i did. props
also i highly recomend reading any PSUGhost articles. they are very very usefull.
PSUGhost articles
-JON
Front player 101
