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So you're ready to make the leap
from weekend warrior to tournament ace, eh? You have
your own gear, play every weekend, and now you've
conned enough of your buddies into joining your team.
It's all falling into place... Think you're ready
for the plunge? Think again. You haven't even scratched
the surface of what it's going to take to prepare
your team and turn them from pretenders into contenders.
First off, there are some first-timer
tips you need to know to keep yourself from getting
dragged in the mud on your first tournament. To start
with, make sure the tournament you are entering has
a division that is at or around your skill level.
Don't attend a tournament that only has a Novice/Amateur
division, as you'll be going home early. If it's a
local tournament put on by the local field, chances
are they'll have the competition you're looking for.
If it's a more established tournament event, like
one put on by the WPF or Pan Am, they too will have
a division suitable to compete in. A quick way to
discourage and demoralize your team is to enter a
tournament at the wrong competition level and get
wrecked from the first minute of your first game until
your last game.
Next, practice with your team at
the field where the tournament will be held a few
times before the big day arrives. Play on the field,
then walk the field, then play it again using the
new information you learned from walking the field.
If you are playing at a site where you won't see the
fields until you arrive one the day of the tournament,
then get there extra early to allot time to walk the
fields. Never overlook the importance of walking the
field; it will keep your new team from getting walked
on by the more experienced guys. Since you're probably
new to walking fields, here are some key things to
look for.
Since your first tournament will
probably be a 5-Man event, I'll use field-walking
tips applied to the 5-Man game. First, find a starting
position for all five of your guys, including yourself.
If you haven't done so already, make sure you identify
whom the front, middle, and back guys on your team
are, then pick your starting bunkers accordingly.
Once in your bunker, look out of it from all sides
and see what available shooting lanes you have that
will allow you to efficiently put paint in your opponent's
direction.
Next up, find the bunker you will
advance to after you have reached your preliminary
bunker and do the same as the above, keeping in mind
that you should only move up to bunkers that will
give you some kind of advantage that will help you
eliminate your opponent. This means that if you are
in a large bunker that keeps you well concealed you
probably don't want to move up to a bunker where you
have to get into an uncomfortable position in order
to play it properly. Try to keep yourself from getting
overaggressive. Being overaggressive is a problem
that plagues players at all levels. Think of smart
moves to make, like ones that give you a great angle
on your opponent that will either quickly eliminate
him or "lock up his gun" which means even
though you haven't eliminated him yet you are keeping
him from shooting his gun with the pressure you are
putting on him, allowing your teammates to move and
get better positions on the field.
After each one of your teammates
has finished walking and has planned their own individual
strategy, get together and walk the field as a team,
one position at a time. Frequently your teammates
will see a different perspective on the bunkers you
have chosen and they will be able to offer suggestions
on how to play the bunker more efficiently and maybe
even suggest a different bunker to take. Always listen
to your teammates, even if you don't agree with them.
Respect their opinion and work out a solution as a
team. If you like to hold on to your pride at any
cost, get ready to play for a ton of teams because
no one likes to play with a jackass that is not a
team player.
Now that you have some idea of what
you're doing, you're ready to learn some techniques
that will give you a better shot at taking on the
experienced teams you are sure to play at your first
tournament. First, realize that you're a new team
with nothing to lose, which makes you very powerful
people. No team wants to lose to the beginner team,
which might actually make them a little edgy and cause
them to make stupid moves. You also have to know that
the more experienced teams are normally going to be
aggressive. If you don't feel that you can counter
this aggression with some of your own then you need
to set up a concrete defense that will make them sacrifice
bodies in order to try to break through it. In order
to set up a good defense you need to know the art
of the "cross-up", a Bushwacker specialty.
The "cross-up" is where
your players shoot and focus on what's to their side,
rather then what's in front of them. This means if
you're on the left tape, you should keep your gun
trained on the right side of the field, and vice versa
if you're on the right tape. This move will force
players to move in to compromising bunkers because
they weren't able to battle heads on with you as you
were fighting sideways, instead of straight on.
A great cross-up is also necessary
if your front and mid-players have been eliminated
and only the back players remain. They must now cross
up and force the other team to move through the center
of the field, which will make them eventually have
to try a sacrifice in order to try to break the cross.
Remember to stay tight and don't battle a lot if you
have crossed-up with your other back guy, let them
come to you.
If you have a chance I strongly suggest
that your whole team attend a tournament together
and just watch, especially if you can see a tournament
held at the field your going to play at. Watch how
the more experienced teams walk and play the fields.
Take some mental notes on what moves are or are not
working for teams. If game after game you see teams
winning more from one side of the field then the other
then you know that the one side has some kind of advantage,
whether it be bunker position or maybe the field is
built on a hill which in that case the top side is
normally the better side. After the games are done,
get out there and find the key spots that the experienced
teams frequently used and add them into your own game-plan,
while at the same time devise a way to stop it from
kicking your ass during a game. If you feel that a
certain bunker is hot, which means you think your
opponent will definitely try to take it off the break,
make sure you position a back guy in a spot where
he'll be able to.
Now for probably the most important
part of being ready for your first event, the mental/emotional
aspect. You need to learn how winning teams think
in order to win yourself. Aftershock doesn't clean
house because they're shaking in their boots before
each game, they go out there with the attitude that
you're the only thing between them and the finals,
and way before the whistle blows they'll already be
craving your ass so hard that it's going to scare
the shit out of you and affect your mental state.
You have to learn to do this to the other teams.
A look of uniformity, organization,
and readiness will tell teams that you won't be an
easy win and will automatically get them into a frame
of mind that is half serious/half nervous. To achieve
this look you need to leave the friggin' camo pants
and shirt at home. You know what, better yet, just
burn them.
Camouflage has gone the way of huge
gold chains and disco music, it just ain't cool anymore.
(You mean disco's dead??? - Ed) If you roll up to
the tournament wearing your Real-tree camo with matching
pants, teams will already be adding 100 points to
their score before they even play you, and you'll
become the joke of the day, as well as bring shame
and disgrace to your family name. You have already
lost the mental edge, which will now be next to impossible
to recover from unless you change your team name and
move to another state. Better to just come prepared
with matching jerseys and pants. If your team is committed
to getting serious it's best to invest in the clothes
now so you can promote your team in a positive light
from the get go.
 Well,
looks like you're ready to go. Instead of leaving
you with some words of wisdom or encouragement I'm
going to give you the straight horrifying truth about
what's probably going to happen in your first couple
of tournament outings. You're going to get beat, and
probably pretty hard. Ha. Don't expect to win anything
for a long time; you really haven't earned it yet.
It's going to take more than just a set of matching
uniforms and this article to get you into the winner's
circle. However, studies have shown that reading my
articles have been known to skyrocket a team to glory
much faster then practice and training. So you might
just want to forget those jerseys and get a subscription
to PGI for your whole team. You won't regret it. No,
really, I mean it. What are you waiting for?
1. No camouflage
2. No camouflage
3. No camouflage
4. No camouflage
5. Get familiar with the fields you're playing
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Sound
advice for newbies from our very own Chris Iaquinta
Essential
field walking skillz
Cross
your heart
Big
boys don't cry
