Team "Tryouts"

[Micewheelz72]

Ok. Thers 4 people on my team that are nearly equal in ability, thats me, james, kyle, and nathan. Now we have 3 n00bs who want to be on our team, and all of them are of equal skill, but are way way way less than the above 4. To see who can be on the team, we're testing them. Sending them through an obstacle course, testing accuracy, etc. We're also gonna put one on a team with each of the 4 good people and have them tell us what to do. Anyone else do somethin like this? Any tips?

[Magnus55]

Just remember not to base all your decisions on skill. Like you said, they are newbies and they will have time to grow and learn and become better paintballers. Sometimes it's easier to take in newbies onto a team and teach them from scratch rather than having people join who have already developed habits and mannerisms in paintball. Don't worry about what they can do now, they'll learn later. If they haven't got the right equipment now, don't worry because they can always buy stuff later on. But somethings will not change. You should look for both learning and tactical potential and physical potential. If they guy is fat and sluggish, chances are he will stay fat and sluggish. You'll want someone who is smart enough to make decisions on his own. Try having them facing impossible odds and seeing how they react. I like the whole idea of having them try lead the team for a game. Thats a good way to judge their overal mental ability and mindset.

Afterwards take the three new guys along with your other three teammates out to eat for lunch or dinner and just chat it up with them. Remember whoever you pick will be working closely with you and your teammates so you have to make sure they can get along. Find other common interests besides paintball, so you can be both a friend and a teammate, although sometimes that can complicate things later on. Main point is, you should be able to get along with whichever guy you choose so choose well. And remember if you grow to like all three guys, or even just two of them, you can always take them on as alternates. But if none of them meet the criteria, don't feel forced to choose one of them. Someone will always come along.:)

[Micewheelz72]

The thing is, the three guys are all differnt. ones fat and slow, but is a great baller, the other is athletic and fast, but sucks. Those two have not improved in the year we've been playing togehter, the third guy, is new to pballing but improved incredibly in two games. So, in observing them in one game, they are all equal, but in different areas, thats why we're testing them in all the different areas. Its gonna be fun too.... we're having an 8 man free fer all after the test...hehehe, its gonna rock!!

[Rabid Fishstick]

I guess in this situation since one is fat, slow, but a good player and the other is fast, athletic but not so good, you have to think about what positions are needing players on your team? The fat slow guy whose a good player would be a good back player, if your team is needing a back player. THe fast guy would be a good taperunner, front player, or maybe even mid-player.

[Micewheelz72]

Kyle and James are the front players, I'm the mid and nate does whatever we want him to. The fat guy is good, but sorta reckless. He loves the action and stuff, so he refuses to be a back player. The fast dude is a total wuss. he is afraid of getting hit and his gun sucks, or should i say he sucks with his gun. And the new kid is a good all around person. What I think we should do is have nathan and I play back, Have the new kid play mid and kyle and james play forward with the fat guy as backup. But the tests are next week, so we'll see.

[apoc__thedoors]

me and my friends have a team going to and there are 2 that want to join so what we did was we had them race and do everything besides paintball athletically so we would know what position they would be good for then we had the tryouts

[UTLadiesMan]

I like everythin Magnus said. Also, a good "impossible situation" to test them on, is do a 2-1 against them. See if they are capable of keeping up with two people flanking from different directions. They don't have to win, they don't even have to get one person out. Personally, I would rather have someone hold off two people for a while, then tunnel vision on one and get him out, then get shot in the back. Also, this is a good chance to light them up a few times, and see how they react. If they get obliterated the first time, and later they stick as far back as possible, and are very timid in all of their actions, that's a negative. If they get lit up and then learn from it, play more aggresively, and try to follow the action on both sides better, I would count that as a big plus. Like Magnus said, don't look for whose good, or who has better aim. Look for who could be good, and has the intangible qualities that are much harder to teach than good aim or speed. It is much better to have someone that plays smart but sucks, then someone who can't handle the field but can rip up a target from a good distance. You can get faster by jogging. You can get better aim by just shooting through cases. You can teach people skills, but you can't teach intelligence, observance, or good decision making skills under pressure. Some people have them, some don't.

[Micewheelz72]

Thats a good idea. I agree totally with all that. Thanks for your help, all of you
If all goes well and we have a decent team, we plan to go to a tournament in march, even if its just bummin around (which it most likely will be). We could really use the experience. All of us eat lunch together, and we're all really good frineds. The thing I'm most afraid of is someone getting POed cuz they didnt make the team. All of them take this way too seriously.