"I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see."

I've always been one to worry about equipment. There are two types of players on this team. There are the players, and the buyers. The players just play for the game, and everything they do is for love of the game. The buyers just buy for the ability to show off, and for the sake of having a nice gun. There's nothing wrong with either of these views on paintball, but after playing in this last tournament, my eyes were opened. I've recently made a huge transition across the boundaries that separate these two views.

I mentioned there are two types of players on the team. As you may have guessed, I was previously a buyer. I was going for a good-looking everything. I wasn't blinded to the point where I went for looks over performance, but I was blind. It is hard to keep a straight head with all the corporate monsters out there today. For example, I just recently bought my Autococker. The first thing I wanted to do was buy everything under the sun. I wanted new regulators, pneumatics, barrels, frames, milling, anodizing, the whole works. I was a buyer. A dear friend of mine opened my eyes. When you think about it, why do you play paintball? Is it because you're bored? Because you want to have cool stuff? Is it because you like the sport? Is it because you want to excel? If you answered "yes" to either of the last two questions, then you need to read this. I play because I want to have fun with my friends and kick some ass. Will anodizing or milling help me achieve these goals? Will new pneumatics do it? No.

My dear friend made me prioritize. I thought about what was important and came to a new point of view. I am no longer caught up in spending $40 on having a ram with a wider cylinder. I am now caught up in playing. The adrenaline is irreplaceable. I'd much rather spend $40 on paint now than a new ram. What some of us need to do is just stop with the upgrades and play. It is way too easy to get caught up in all this useless stuff. There are a few essentials- a barrel, tank, and hopper. After this you just need to go out and play! Try to get good before getting a good gun. Don't worry about if your gun can operate at a low pressure. Worry about if your mind can operate under high pressure. Try to get the ability to analyze, synthesize, plan options, evaluate options, and then execute. To quote a good friend named Hally, "A good player can see the whole field without his eyes." The players out there that you see winning - not just the pro's, even the walk-ons - can all think on their feet.

So now you need to prioritize. See what's important. First thing you need to do is get your gun running decent. Not perfect, decent. You want above average of most things. Just enough to get you on your feet. I'm not saying buy the worst gun and go play and then upgrade. Take my Autococker for example. All it has is a barrel, frame, hopper, and a compressed air tank. That's all upper-end and lower-end marker users will ever need. With some lower-end markers, an in-line regulator is needed for compressed air. You don't need any more than that. If it's for a good looking gun or makes a barely noticeable difference, then save it for later. Have you ever seen a punk with an Angel get schooled on the field by someone with a Spyder? A lot of the time you hear someone say "I bet he's just a rich kid..." or "Damn, that guy with the Spyder is good!" Well you get a choice. You can either learn to school someone else and then look good, or look good and get your ass kicked. Your success is determined by how you use your resources.

This writing goes out with a big "Thank You" to Josh. "Just do it"

-Tiny Tim