Training, Midweek Sessions & Ladies Cup 27th, 28th, 30th June

Midweek evening sessions: 27th & 30th June

Me and Dave decided to head up after work on Friday the 27th to work on some skills. Without the option of bunkers as we didn't have the site keys we went to Cribbs and just placed a target in the middle of the field and I set up some cones in a box to practice running and gunning whilst changing directions & hands. I am going to create a post for drills you can do without bunkers where I will go into more detail but here is some footage of us training on the Friday:

On Monday 30th we also went up, joined by Parkey this time. Instead of running the same drill we mixed it up slightly and stacked a couple barrels to use as cover to snap from, with a cone about 6m to the left and another to the right, practicing snapping as well as working in some running & gunning and changing direction. Here's the footage:

Here's the link to the post 'Cones, Barrels & Boxes: Drilling Without Bunkers'

28th June @ CPPS:

Ladies Cup

CPPS round 3 was a good event for Entity, placing 5th out of 10 in the Elite division - our best result so far! However in the main the team has taken a weekend off, not only to let the wallets rest, but also to support our girls, the Entity Wags, at the 3-(wo)man ladies cup at the CPPS site on 28th June.

When I rocked up at midday with Dave (We had a couple brews on Friday night) we had missed the morning session and they were just reseeding for the final few games. All the girls were excitedly chatting about the games and the points they had won. It's great to see the boom of ladies getting involved with the game over the past year or so. Whilst the Entity Wags didn't get the result they may have liked, Kayleigh, Chloe and Gabby all seemed to have a great time and can't wait to play some more! It was Chloe's first ever paintball tournament and she was awarded 'Player of the day'! Liam must be proud. Kayleigh's come a long way since she got back onto the paintball horse at the end of last year and showed it when she managed to pull back a 3v1.

Hopefully we will see more of the girls at Cribbs over the coming months. Credit where it's due, Emma seemed to put on a pretty good show with smiles all round.

Training with The Firm

I was there so that I could train with the Firm before playing Campaign with them this weekend coming. They were scrimming with Lucky 15's in the afternoon. I got to play where I play my best as the attacker / insert on the teabag side, alternating my breaks between going straight to teabag 1 and running it out to the corner. The very first point I got shot off the break getting to the bag - a lane which I did shoot pretty well last weekend - which was a pain as I wanted to prove myself to the guys so they had more faith in me at the tournament. I changed my run slightly so I hit the ground on the backline behind the teabag and scurried into the bunker, missing their lane. From there I played some pretty steady points, moving up the bags methodically, sometimes being a bit too aggressive but luckily I was getting away with it and won a couple points.

I was communicating well with Karl behind me.. Well I was once I had started to internalise their calls! They have names for their corner bunkers, their apple and orange are switched around and the names of all the floating bunkers were new to me. Plus instead of a G count they use numbers which threw me off a few times.. So there was a bit of "G1.. wait, I mean 11! Apple and back left are on.. I mean Orange and Turret are on me!" going on but by the end of the session I think I had internalised them again.

I feel that I played well, fitted in a lot better than previously and did exactly what I was told so hopefully that will translate to a few more spins at Campaign so long as I perform during our Thursday training slot and during the tournament. I'm quite confident on this layout too so I'm looking forward to a good event!

I'm shacking up at the campsite with Kelvin et al - If the stories of people getting smashed at campaign are true then I may need to bring some earplugs to make sure I get my full 8 hours in!

Good luck to all the UK teams playing, if you see me out there either come say hi or if I'm playing just save it until after. The ref's get pretty funny about fans on the pitch. Peter Bourne compiled a list on p8ntballer of all the UK teams attending so give them your support as and when you see them:

Champions Paintball League:
(Race to 5)

London Nexus
London Tigers

Semi Professional Paintball League 1:
(Race to 4)

Birmingham Disruption

Semi Professional Paintball League 2:
(Race to 4)

Durham DV8
London Nexus 2
London Tigers 2
Lucky 15s Staffordshire
Manchester Firm

Open Division 1:
(Race to 4)

GI London Defiance
London Tigers 3

Open Division 2:
(Race to 2)

Ashby Onslaught
Belfast Escarmouche
Collateral Damage London 2
Durham DV8 2
Edinburgh Din Eidyn
Ipswich Unwanted
London Disciples
London Nexus 3
London Samurai Rage
London Samurai Topcats
London SMG
Mayhem Knights Essex
Middlesbrough Lethal Bizzle
Operation Sandbaggers
Salisbury Cardinals
Salisbury Cardinals 2
Salisbury Cardinals 3
Sneaky Snorkels Tamworth
Stoke Quest A.D.
UK Masters London Allstars
UK Masters London Allstars 2
UK Redskins Essex

Oh and so far this week I have shot 2 cases (Friday's session was with old paint from CPPS and Monday I split a box with Dave). An extra 4,000 to make it 125,500 overall this year!