A few simple steps to make your team an unstoppable force.

By Bruce “Charon” Johnston

“They were like ghosts. They moved through the woods eliminating everyone in their path. It was like they could read each other’s minds. We didn’t have a chance.” On which side of that story is your team? Are you the ghosts or are you the guys in the neutral zone taking about the ghosts? Do you want to become a ghost? The key is to practice. Every professional paintball team in the world spends a considerable amount of time practicing in order to hone their skills and enhance their teamwork. If you want to get better and win more, you must practice as well. There are a few simple steps to turning your team into a well-oiled machine that acts like a ghost in the woods.



Talk it Over: Talk about various on field plans with your team and decide on the best way to get the job done. Talk about different plans for different situations. Make sure everyone is clear on what to do.

Dry Training (training where you do not shoot any paint): Walk through the plans a few times. I really mean walk, don’t run. You don’t need anything fancy; even a backyard will do. You need to make sure everyone knows what the plan looks like when it is in progress. Carry your markers. Point them at targets and say, “bang, bang”. Onlookers might think you look like a group of escaped mental patients, but it really works.

Live Half-Speed Training: This is just like dry training only you are shooting paint, but don’t run yet. I have found the best place to practice this is on the speedball field because bunkers are close together, and the ground is level and you can see your entire team. Set up empty soda bottles as targets. If you can hit a soda bottle you can hit a person.
Live Full-Speed Training: This is just like live training only you will be running and shooting paint. It is good to practice a few times on the speedball field and then a few more times in the woods.

Communication: Communication is essential. If you practice until you can complete any plan in your sleep, your team members will instinctively know where to go and what to do just by watching each other. No one will have to say a word. During a speedball game, there is a lot of screaming and communication between teammates, but everyone has the same objective. In woodsball play, you do not want the other team to know what you are doing, so the ability to complete a plan silently is a huge advantage. Watching a good team silently execute a plan is an impressive sight.

As you can see practice is a process. If you follow the steps above you and your team will be the last off the field every game. If you practice hard and with purpose your team will be the “ghosts” others talk about and fear. Keep your plans and your practices simple. Following these few simple steps will make your team an unstoppable force on the woodsball field.

Bruce “Charon” Johnston is captain of the Tippinators tournament speedball team, ex-military sniper, and woodsball vet. He writes and creates tactics illustrations for Action Pursuit Games, Paintball Sports and Special Ops Paintball.