Starting a team...wanna know about positioning

[mattimaru]

my friends and i are gonna be starting a team and i wanna know about the different positions and their responsibilities. the team is gonna focus on speedball style game so you base your answers off that. i want to know about positions because i wanna know what i would be most comfortable with.
Ill let you all know about my style so you can also make suggestions.
I mainly like to play defensive in the bush (infact i mainly play defense unless i see fit). At my local field we have a "village" which is basically speedball and i usually play forward in this because the field is pretty long. im smart with my paint i dont shoot unless i see a possible target. im also planning on getting an impulse(and many upgrades) in a month or so. i think id like to play back cuz i am good at laying down paint for cover fire. i also am a good decoy so others open themselves up.

Well let me know what you think.

[elTwitcho]

Tell you what, I'll give you the standard 5 man positioning.

2 front players - Their job is to get as far up field as possible, and get good angles on players. They're usually called upon to take the difficult bunkers and if you have a problem with diving and sliding, I can say (from many bruised ribs) that front is not the position for you. Playing front requires the ability to play from extremely contorted positions, as well as play in very small bunkers. The guy who plays front needs to be able to pop out take a few shots real quick and get back in. His job as well, is to look for an opportunity to move up to an opposing players bunker and bunker him into the next century should the opportunity present itself. Front guys gotta be able to think quick as well.

1 mid player- The mid player has a rather ambiguous list of responsibilites that require a fairly balanced player. He's gonna be somewhere between the front guys and the back line guys. He's gotta lay cover fire for the front players, but as well he's gotta be able to move up and fill in for the front guys should one of em get taken. This player is the one who can usually play back and front fairly well. Some teams adopt the philosophy that the mid players can be the ones who break games open. Which means they'll sit in the middle dumping paint here and there, and when they see their opportunity they'll move on up the field and take the whole team down given the chance. The mid player is in a slightly different position from a front player in this respect. While the front player is expected to make the big game breaking moves because he is closest to the opposition, the mid player is in a better position to see "the big picture" in terms of how the game is progressing. In practice, most game breaking moves are done by front players, but I know of a couple teams who use their mid guys for the real big moves. The mid player must also serve as the guy shouting information out to both the front guys and the back guys. Kind of like a communications hub if you will.

2 Back players- These are the guys who get their jollies from shooting alot of paint, really fast. Their primary job is to pin down the opposing team so the front players can do their work. They don't have to be the fastest or quickest reflexed players on the team, but they've gotta be a pretty good shot (especially at hitting moving targets) and they've gotta be the ones who can visualize the opposing teams next move. The back players also do alot of yelling, as in telling the front players where the opposing teams players are, and what those players are doing. Back players usually serve as the brains of the team as well, they are best in a position to predict what the other team is doing, and they should be calling out what's happening before it goes down. Back players also carry the responsibility of bein the guys who shoot rather than sprint at the breakout. Their job is to try and nail one of the front players on the opposing team as they make it to their bunkers. Back players shoot a ton of paint and don't get alot of eliminations, but they're an absolutely critical component of any team.

[Jake]

Twitch really said it all, I would write a whole essay like he did but I'm lazy.

If you play a conservative game you could even have 3 back men but be prepared for long games and if you play an aggressive team you will either win big or lose horribly.

What he said about mid players is right though, for example Lasoya is a mid player and he breaks games wide open all the time.

Just work with your team and see how you guys like to play, I personally go nuts just sitting for the full 10 minutes (or however long it is where you live) and prefer a more aggressive style of play. The biggest thing to having a successful team is playing with people you KNOW. I mean not just you met them at the field once a week, I mean guys you chill with. If you have this element communication becomes almost a secondary factor because you will know each other so well that it doesn't even factor in needing to tell them because they just know what you are going to do.

Hope I was of some help,
Jake

[mattimaru]

well if my team is who i believe it will end up being we already are friends so the communication wont be much of a problem.
If i play back am i expected to go nuts on the paint? i hate wasting paint... i plan on getting a 4 pack harness or possible a 6. post your thoughts on this for a possible back player (i really like those jt slammer packs).



OH YEAH

i just wanna mention that my team will be a 3 man team (90% chance)

[wap]

If you are playing back, you better take lots of paint and air, and plan on using it all. Those front players are counting on you to make sure nothing lives in your lane. Otherwise they accumulate painful red circles on their skin. You have to make sure that their players (back or mid) don't eliminate your front players, and keep their front players from bunkering your front players. On the other hand, you can also keep their heads down with massive paint in order to allow your front/mid players to distribute red circles to the opposing teams front players that are cringing(hopefully) in their little bunkers.
Bottom line, back players take lots of paint. I would estimate about 400-600 balls for a 7 minute game.
If you want to conserve paint, play up front.

[Jake]

always take more paint then you need(those jt slammer packs are cool in theory but the pods will slide out if your not careful). Tourney style ball sucks when you run out of balls so a six pack would be my suggestion. Or get a dimensions or attack pack or extreme rage pack with the tuck away loops. That way you can gauge the amount of paint your gonna need and can have as much or as little pack as you want. Back man is a big responsiblity you have to call out posistions, sweet spot( a huge help), cover fire and help with pushes up the field. a final not on the paint I carry 620 on the field and am a front player so you get as many pods as you geel comfortable with(i have a 3 vert pack and added 200 for the hopper).

[phatboy]

The first time you play w/ a harness, its hella weird. You'll get used to it, DYE and Redz packs are super comfy.