As the rosters are locked in for the season ahead and the
amount of professional talent in the CXBL rises, I think it is a good time to
discuss what it takes to be successful. Though I am sure some will disagree, I
truly believe that it takes more than one or two talented players to make a
team.
While I have never been a member of a paintball team, I have competed at the national level as a competitive synchronized skater. Now before you angrily post your disgruntled comments on how dis-alike paintball and synchronized skating are, hear me out. A synchronized skating team can only be successful if all of the skaters act as one unit. Everyone must move at precisely the same time—each stroke of the skate, each turn of the head, each lift of the arm. This means that if just one skater is out of time, the whole routine can be lost or someone can be injured.
We’ve all heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and my experience as a competitive athlete and captain of my team taught me that a team, no matter the sport, is only as successful as its weakest athlete. In other words, puting an Olympic quality skater on a synchronized skating team will not make up for those who are out of time. One athlete’s strength alone does not equate success for the team. As the now-retired professional basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has said, “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” I strongly believe that this is true in ANY team sport. Unless a match is somehow played only with one-on-ones, this is true of paintball also.
Paintball, like any team sport, requires a team to work together in order to achieve. Babe Ruth, one of the most skilled major league baseball players of all time said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” If your back players are doing their job, your front players have more freedom to do work in their position. If your front players mess up, this puts pressure on the back players. If one player takes a penalty, it hurts the whole line. You win and lose together so you need to play point-by-point together! That is not to say that talent isn’t worth anything; the giftedness of individual players is certainly going to help you out on the field but those players must be able to put the needs of the team first and must be able to work alongside their teammates.
Now, it is easy to predict that the teams with the greatest number of talented players will be among the most successful but talent is not the single most important qualifier for the success of the team. “In most domains, talent is overrated compared to determination…because after a while determination starts to look like talent (http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html).” In fact, it is scientifically proven that determination is a greater indicator of success than talent alone. That is to say that if you are determined enough, even if you do not have the most statistically gifted players, success is still within your reach.
If a team has a unified purpose and the drive and determination to work toward that goal, they will inevitably grow in skill and as they grow in skill, they will inevitably win more points. That being said, a determined player without discipline is worth little. Your players must be capable of disciplining themselves to become better at a skill in order to work toward the final goal. Just because I WANT to be a rock star doesn’t mean I will wake up one day with the ability to play bass and sing like I belong on Canadian idol. I must first take the steps needed to learn how to play bass and have the vocal training to hit different notes and then I must be willing to spend hours and hours refining those skills. You absolutely MUST discipline yourself in order to better your skills as a player. If you have weak laners, they should be working on their laning; if you have players who can’t run-and-gun, they better be running-and-gunning until they reach the point of exhaustion. Determination means nothing without discipline. Actions matter more than words. You want to win? Prove it.
While I have never been a member of a paintball team, I have competed at the national level as a competitive synchronized skater. Now before you angrily post your disgruntled comments on how dis-alike paintball and synchronized skating are, hear me out. A synchronized skating team can only be successful if all of the skaters act as one unit. Everyone must move at precisely the same time—each stroke of the skate, each turn of the head, each lift of the arm. This means that if just one skater is out of time, the whole routine can be lost or someone can be injured.
We’ve all heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and my experience as a competitive athlete and captain of my team taught me that a team, no matter the sport, is only as successful as its weakest athlete. In other words, puting an Olympic quality skater on a synchronized skating team will not make up for those who are out of time. One athlete’s strength alone does not equate success for the team. As the now-retired professional basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has said, “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” I strongly believe that this is true in ANY team sport. Unless a match is somehow played only with one-on-ones, this is true of paintball also.
Paintball, like any team sport, requires a team to work together in order to achieve. Babe Ruth, one of the most skilled major league baseball players of all time said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” If your back players are doing their job, your front players have more freedom to do work in their position. If your front players mess up, this puts pressure on the back players. If one player takes a penalty, it hurts the whole line. You win and lose together so you need to play point-by-point together! That is not to say that talent isn’t worth anything; the giftedness of individual players is certainly going to help you out on the field but those players must be able to put the needs of the team first and must be able to work alongside their teammates.
Now, it is easy to predict that the teams with the greatest number of talented players will be among the most successful but talent is not the single most important qualifier for the success of the team. “In most domains, talent is overrated compared to determination…because after a while determination starts to look like talent (http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html).” In fact, it is scientifically proven that determination is a greater indicator of success than talent alone. That is to say that if you are determined enough, even if you do not have the most statistically gifted players, success is still within your reach.
If a team has a unified purpose and the drive and determination to work toward that goal, they will inevitably grow in skill and as they grow in skill, they will inevitably win more points. That being said, a determined player without discipline is worth little. Your players must be capable of disciplining themselves to become better at a skill in order to work toward the final goal. Just because I WANT to be a rock star doesn’t mean I will wake up one day with the ability to play bass and sing like I belong on Canadian idol. I must first take the steps needed to learn how to play bass and have the vocal training to hit different notes and then I must be willing to spend hours and hours refining those skills. You absolutely MUST discipline yourself in order to better your skills as a player. If you have weak laners, they should be working on their laning; if you have players who can’t run-and-gun, they better be running-and-gunning until they reach the point of exhaustion. Determination means nothing without discipline. Actions matter more than words. You want to win? Prove it.
The best teams will be those who have a COMBINATION of
talent, determination, self-discipline and the ability to work together as a
team.
I'll leave off with two quotes that I believe speak for themselves...
"When a team outgrows individual performance
and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality." - Joe Paterno (American
College football coach who coached Penn State for over 46 years).
"Every
worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and
triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory." - Ghandi
What do you think it takes to succeed?
The 2011 NAX champions -Windsor Lockdown
Photo Credit: Jeremy Maillet/Playonpics
Signing off,
The Paintball Wife
2 comments:
use paragraphsssss
sick post :)! very well written like usual
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