Sunday, Feb 28 2010

Played at the new CDR field and got a little more practice footage today. Look for a video later this week!

CEPP TRIP: What we do to play.

We left our wet weather climate last weekend to get some solid grindout time down at CEPP in Sacremento, California. We left at 10:30pm from the Puyallup area, with Big Geoff piloting the Ford Excursion. Loaded up with 60 cases of paint, 6 people, the clothes on our back and enough caffeine to fuel a jet we headed south on I5. Along the way we managed to dodge the Fuzz and average good time, making the trip down with 1 stop in about 10.5 hours. Most of us didn’t sleep much the way down, I got about 2 hours total. We arrived at the hotel at about 7:30 am, and hit the field at 9. The weather was crisp and clean, overcast and cool. We played from 10:00 to 1, ate lunch, and played a few more hours. Fuzion is a good team. A squad had a rough start, but by the afternoon they had ironed out the wrinkles.

View Larger Map

All 11 of us stayed in a two room hotel, so it only cost something like $13 each a night. A team favorite is Panera bread, which we ate for dinner, and then spent the rest of the evening watching the Winter Olympics. The following morning we hit the field early, and started playing by 9, and finished the day by 1pm. Between the two days, we shot about 55 cases of paint. We had already checked out of the hotel, so we grabbed Panera (again) and cruised on back home. Thank god for onboard DVD players! We watched everything in the car the way back up, arriving back in Puyallup at around 2am. From there I jetted home to catch a few hours of sleep, and dragged myself up to go to work at 9…

55 cases of paint

23 hours of driving

11 hours of sleep

80+ games 

Salvatore

Test from phone

NEW LOGO

Top Secret- But coming soon

CEPP Video- Thanks to Ovrpaintball

Capital Edge Paintball Park 2.21.2010 from OVR Paintball on Vimeo.

More Practice Pics

Pics from CEPP in California

More at http://splatphotos.com/images/PaintballPics/CEPP2-21-10/index.html

Weekend Update:

Hello All,
We are back from California. Trip review and pictures to come later today. Good to be back.

Woodsball tips-

For those of you who like woods ball, here are some tricks I’ve learned over the years.

Don’t shoot at people you can’t hit. This seems like an obvious tip- but it draws attention to your position.  Often times out of reach players will unknowingly get in range, or you can flank them without being noticed.

Shoot at other players when they’re shooting at someone else. They won’t know where you’re at, only that they’re being shot at.

Not moving can work as well as camouflage. Eyes are sensitive to motion. Just freezing in dense foliage can conceal your position, as long as you have some coverage.

Be quiet when moving. Being heard is as good as being seen. This means not shaking your hopper, not talking, not shooting your marker. Avoid splashing puddles, crunchy leaves, and rustling foliage. It’s better to quickly walk than to run, if it’s the difference in giving your position away, especially behind enemy lines.

Carry a strait shot or a pull through squeegee. They work better than swab, you’ll have time to use it.

Shoot bright filled paint. Yellow and orange are easier to see. This means the guys your shooting will have a tougher time wiping. Woodsball players love wiping too!

Wear ankle support. Rough terrain will roll your ankle eventually.

Wear knee pads and elbow pads. Rocks and hard and sharp, and so are sticks. They’ll get you too.

Take the high ground. High ground is hard to take from an opponent. Take it while it’s unoccupied .

Use a quiet hopper. Hoppers that run when they’re on empty will- and give away your position when you don’t want them too.

Crawling low- works.

Check to see if it bounced before you go out! Enough said.

Ambushing people can work better than taking them head on. It’s easier hide and let the other team pass and shoot them in the back.

Salvatore Santamaria

The Breakout: Part 3/3

By Graham Arnold
Part 3/3

Executing the Breakout

“Shoot-shoot-shoot, kill-kill-kill, win-win-win”. The Ironmen had it right with their pre-game chant. If you are not shooting your paintball gun you cannot eliminate you opponent. Seems obvious enough, but many teams do not follow this principle. They often have only a few players laning and the rest running. Every player should be shooting off the break. This is where all those hours of running and gunning drills bear fruit. Becoming proficient at running and gunning can raise your breakout to a whole new level. It is simple probability. More people shooting off the break = more paintballs in the air. More paintballs in the air = an increased chance of eliminating opponents. More opponents eliminated = a greater chance at victory. The point of paintball is to win…right? Another result of shooting off the break is containing your opponent. Even if you don’t eliminate your opponent you can force him/her to improvise in order to escape the rain of paint bearing down on them. This dominance can trap your opponent in the middle of the field, leaving them in a dire situation. There are no downsides to shooting off the break. If you are able to safely make your positions why not run and shoot? If you cannot make the position while running and shooting then practice, practice, practice. Running with your gun down should be a last resort. Limit these instances as much as possible! Use your guns to control the breakout, and ultimately control the game.
With sideline coaching in the RaceTo format, lining up in a nondescript formation is also a necessity to achieve maximum confusion of your opponents. Line up the same way every time. Even while executing a snake run, line up as if you are going to run and shoot. This may be awkward at first, trust me, but with practice it will become more natural and fluid. Angle Fragoza of Dynasty, one of the most prolific snake players in paintball, is a prime example of this technique. Watch his breakouts and you can this technique in action. This simple change in breakout execution can give you a must needed edge over your opponents.

Conclusion

It is critical that the importance of the breakout is understood. Whether you are investing thousands of dollars into playing a national event, or are just playing in a local tournament, nobody wants their investment to go down the drain in a matter of seconds. A properly planned and executed breakout will increase chances of victory significantly. Consistent “victory” in the first eight seconds of the game can directly translate into victory on a larger scale, in the form of championships and glory. Plan your breakout, practice your breakout, execute your breakout, and win. It as simple as that.

California Practice Checklist

Luxe
Hopper
Charger
Kneepads
Elbowpads
Pants
Jersey
Goggles
Cleats
Zune
Phone
Air mattress
Cash
1 change of clean clothes
Costco Pack of Diet Rockstar's for 10 hour drive
Desire

Supergame XXXIX in Oregon!

http://www.supergame.tv/index.html
Supergame dates are out. These games are always a blast with 300+ players per team. April 30-May 2, 2010 in Oregon. I've played 6 of these and hope to make this one as well with Gino.

How I got here, part 3: OTC

In 2006 I graduated WSU and was eager to begin paintballing seriously. I had already been playing for years, but mostly in the woods. I had traded my Angel Speed for an Ion so that I could play over the summers, (using the extra cash for paint!) The first check I got, I went out and bought an 06 Ego, brand new. A friend of mine came out to play one summer weekend, and he brought with him the rest of what would be OTC.

This was at Hole in the Walls new field in the Maple Valley area. We decided we’d make a team and play tournament paintball, and entered in a tournament a few weeks later, at Black and Blue Paintball. We won, but only because there were only three teams (including us!) in attendance, and it was a very relaxed day. It was a hot day, and we brought beer, much to our and the other two teams enjoyment.

Afterwards, we decided that we would compete the next year for the entire 2007 season. Later, I would find out that only because we’d actually won the tourney did the team stick together. During the fall we practiced hard at the best place that I had found, DBS’s indoor field during Thursday nights. We liked Thursday nights because the competition was stiff, and we still had our weekends to goof off, work, or recover from wicked hangovers. It was at that those Thursday nights I met most of the DBS Kidz, and a lot of other good paintball friends.

The roster for OTC consisted of Ryan Burgess, Justin Hylen, Brandon Gee, myself, and my brother, Gino Santamaria. Ryan, Brandon and Justin had all known each other for years, and were mutual friends with my good friend Andy Lake (who unfortunately never played tourney ball again after the Black and Blue win) We had a rough start the 2007 season. We got beat handily at the NWPS, but managed to eek out wins at the Smoking Guns series. At the time Smoking Guns was handing out cash for prizes, and it was nice to walk away with some dough in our pockets. Losing at the NWPS kept our drive to practice high.

We kept practicing Thursday nights, but our team focus was quickly turning from paintball to drinking. In retrospect, we really were a drinking team with a paintball problem. But it’s what paintball is really about, having a great time with your friends and replaying the memories over and over in your head at work the next week. Getting up at 5 am to drive across state to adventure at some mud pit, and sharing dreams with tired eyes and friendly faces. The pain of losing, the joy of winning, and being able to loudly talk it over with too much beer later that night.

The Smoking Guns series had ended prematurely and we had ended up on top, but we were having trouble in the NWPS. We were essentially tied for 1st with Syper. We managed to finish ahead of them in the tournament, and played them best of three for the series. We bended the rules to play 5 man since both teams had 5 players, and the format was 4 man. Winning meant a lot of respect, and win we did. We were ecstatic.

On the way home, Justin Hylen quit paintball forever. He left on top.

We did well the rest of the season, playing about 16 tournaments total, including Ninjaball and Survivor series. At the end of the year, we had actually made a few hundred out of winning the tournaments, which was really great. 2008 was our rookie year. Our record for the previous year included two series wins and numerous 1st in partial series we had picked up along the way, but trouble was ahead in 08…

Next week: The Death of OTC Paintball

DBS Kidz- Heading to Phoenix soon!

Best Game Ever - Philly vs Russians WC09

If you want to watch some of the best paintball entertainment I recommend buying the 3rd game of finals Philadelphia Americans vs Boston Red Legion. Only $2.99 at http://pspstore.mobilerider.com/store/index.php

Both of these teams are so much fun to watch and even more fun if you recognize who is on the field, here is a quick rundown of each player.

Philadelphia
Tim Montrossor- 140 points 0 penalties, enough said.
Jason Edwards- Single-handed-ly cut Russians doritio side down in the first match of this best of three finals. He was shooting lasers.
Ryan Moorhead- Great player, didn't shine as much as he usually does, but it is hard when you are playing the Russians.
Chad George- Most underrated snake player in the game. I can't wait to see where this kid is in a few years.
Sam Monville- Another up and comer. Definately made a name for himself in these finals matches, crazy to think we used to play against him back in the day. Too bad he didn't have anything on DBS Kidz back then.
Konstantin Federov- Philly's go to guy when they need a game breaking play, couldn't put it together against the Russians thought, they had him mapped out.
Pat Roberts- Great support put him anywhere on the field and he will push his front player and fill in if needed.
Steve Dabilis- Its too bad Philly won't be together to watch Son mesh with his new team.

Boston
Kirill Prikhidni- Quickly filled in Federov's shoes as the Russian's MVP. If you blink he will be in the 50 doritio shooting your team in the back.
Visiliy Panteleev- Great snake player but better support. You see him first into the snake a lot, but I would like to see him play behind Jrab. He is a strong consistent player and good person to have on the other side of the field to Kirill.
Justin Rabackoff- I would like to see him play more points. He is a ton of fun to watch and amazingly cool under pressure, can't wait to see where his career takes him.
Aleksander Berdnikov- This kid is a machine! Watch Maloy off the break he looks just like a robot and plays almost every point.
Dave Bains- Strong back center, heavy gunner, and from the interactions I have had with Dave seems like he brings the level headed thinking and calmness every team needs.
Matt Blonski- Consistent and smart player. One of those guys that is always alive when the point is won.
Sergey Solnyshkov- Great all around player, he plays all over the field which is hard to do at this high level of play.
Mikhail Knyazev- Russian's #2 killer. If Kirill isn't putting in the work, or needs a breather, Mishka is down the other teams throats.

Breakout Theory

Breakout Theory

The below field is the Chicago 2009 field. On every field, there is several possible breakouts, but for this article I am focusing on just 1. The green lines represent running routes of 1 breakout. The goal of a tournament is to win, and to do that, a team must win games. A critical portion of winning games is taking valuable bunkers, and a good breakout is key to that. Paintball is a game of angles, with the steepest angles obtained from taking the ‘50’ bunkers and beyond being ideal.

Keeping an opposing team from taking critical bunkers is another key component of winning games. The below breakout is designed to take the snake on the break. The snake player runs up the middle of the field using the Medium Dorito as a blind to hid the players movement safely. His goal is to shoot in his mirror, (the opposite center Medium Dorito) if there is one, and diving into the snake in one swift motion. This must be done in the first 5 seconds of the game, as the opposing 2, or center back Small Dorito is most likely laning high for corner runners to the small Dorito.

The probability a cross field shot from the back can bunker is low, because the can player will most likely be laning for a back corner runner, or at his mirror. Shooting for the snake run is a wasted resource of a lane to shoot every game, because this play will not be run every game. This play is a trick play, designed to catch a team off guard. Additionally, a fast snake runner should be able to beat his lane; the opposing can player will be running, and the lane is long.

The Maya player uses the pills as a blind, shooting at the opposing pills, and laning the corner runner. His secondary is the large Maya tower, which is a short bump and a powerful standup bunker, as it shoots effectively at the Dorito side, protects the snake player, and can bump into the snake if needed. This player is hard to lane on break, as he doesn’t run through open, lane-able ground. The center back player can lane either side, and then has four options: fill the small Dorito corner, fill any players who have died, move up the center to the center Dorito, or stay in the back center small Dorito. This last option is the least desirable, as the two is a small bunker, and doesn’t have many shots later in the game. Additionally, moving up the field is key, as (obviously) moving up the field leads to better shots on opposing players. My position in this tournament was to lane, and then to move up the field to the Dorito bunker, and to lock down the Dorito side. This was extremely effective, and allowed our Dorito side players move up (relatively) uncontested., with the exception of the opposing team following the same play.

The can and cake players move shooting out to the their bunkers. The corner cake bunker is small, but relatively hidden. On this field there is a few crafty shots from it, it is the corner, and the widest point on the Dorito side. This player will need to move up to the Maya or Dorito side Aztec quickly, as moving later in the game will likely result in the players elimination. The can player can shoot the snake side, or, most likely assist the cake player and moving up the field. Once in the fifties, the Dorito and snake players can pinch out the remaining opposite team players.

This is only one play for this field. A good PSP team will have several plays they use to win games. Using the same play repeatedly against 1 team will result in a counter, leading to the loss of the match.

Salvatore Santamaria

Video Update

The team took some barrel cam footage yesterday. Look for footage in the near future.

Practice pictures from 2/7/10 (Thanks Dave)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035489&id=1012056733&ref=nf

Big thanks to Dave Hills!

Communication 101

Paintball is a very simple game once you know the location of the opposing team, the first two steps to have a successful line of communication is using common codes with your team and then the add and repeat method of communication.

First i will explain a few tricks to gathering all the important information

• Always be looking down field, whether you are running and shooting, sprinting or sliding you should always be looking for the bad guys.
• Come up with basic codes for important information such as Kill count(both teams) and any bunkers that don't have an obvious name.

If you're having some trouble with codes here's a few that I've heard over the years

For eliminations you can use calls as simple as one word then a number. Ive heard things such ball1, smash1, G1, K1, Kill1, Burn1 and strike1. Go ahead and be creative just make sure its not a tongue twister. Words like Mississippi, razzmatazz, and kangaroo are not recommended.

As for naming bunkers i would suggest not getting to fancy it can cause your team mates to get confused, using city or state names is a good start.

Once you have some information then you can begin to implement the add and repeat method that will explain next.

Add and Repeat

For example you have players in both corner bunkers and the back center the conversation should go something like this

Back right player would say “1,2, and right 30”

When the back center hears this he should respond by repeating what he has heard and also adding any extra information he gathered. The back center or anyone in the middle of the field needs to be a relay point for important information from corner to corner, Snake to Doritos and ect...

Back center player “1,2,3, right 30”

And once the information is gathered and relayed by the back center player, the back left player should repeat and add, the information should flow sideline to sideline seamlessly all game long because as players are being eliminated and moving around the info changes.

That's all for today, here is a great quote that I once read in a magazine.

"If you're not moving, shooting or talking you shouldn't be on a paintball field"

If you have any questions feel free to email me Dusty@doodlebugsportz.com

Check back next week for Teamwork 101

New Video! From the January 31st Practice

DBS KIDZ Pick up Exalt!

Exalt is providing us with cleats, feed gates, threads, and other goodies. Check em out at
www.exaltpaintball.com

Sponsorship - Part 1

So, you want sponsors huh… Ok, I will sponsor you… wear my logo and promote my brand. Deal done right? Wrong! I take it you want something too?

Sponsorship is a two way street and it will always start with the person looking to get sponsored. The first obligation to your sponsors is to make them look good. Make sure that when you are away from the field you are talking up paintball, your home field, and their products. Paintball fields crave new players. The more new players you can get to the field, the better. When you are at the field, utilize the products they want you to and be on your best behavior. I would encourage you to help everyone that is there, weather it be cleaning their barrel or mask, or giving them advise. You never know, the barrel you clean may belong to the next Ollie Lang, and they may end up helping you. You will find that your time at the field is not only more enjoyable, or that you will have more friends, but that you will get better at paintball much faster. You are not a master of a subject until you can teach it. As you try to teach it you will find the flaws in your way, not only helping your students, but also assisting you to perfect what you are teaching.

This year the DBS KIDZ are out looking for sponsorship… and money is tight in the sponsorship world. As much as our team is trying to separate itself from our home field/store (Doodlebug Sportz) in terms of sponsorship with other companies, the two will always be tied. Teams get deals for one reason, companies’ feel that whomever they sponsor will produce sales (or benefit them in some other way). If they put $100 into your team, they are expecting to make enough sales to cover that and then some. As much as the rest of the DBS KIDZ want to believe that companies sponsor us because we win events and represent them well, the bottom line is they do it because they feel it will lead to further sales because we add that personal, local touch to the product…

If your team competes at the highest level and wins with great sportsmanship then great… but will it produce sales for your sponsor? You can make them look awesome, but if you are not at a bare minimum getting more people in their door for them to have a chance to sell to, then they probably won’t sponsor you. On a side note, I would love to sponsor more players, but from a business perspective, it doesn’t make sense… Would you spend $100 on a magazine ad, or radio ad, or tv ad if you did not feel it would produce that same $100 and then some? I would love to dump money into teams if every dollar I poured into them produced me $2… Paintball is a business, and as much as these companies want to help everyone, if they gave everyone everything for free or for below cost they wouldn’t survive…

That is a simple break down on sponsorship and provides a basic business outlook on the topic. I hope this assist you and/or your team in getting sponsored. If you decide you want to wear the DBS logo because of what you have found in this article, email danny@doodlebugsportz.com and I will get you the logo.

How I got here: Part 2- Addiction

Salvatore Santamaria

The year was 2002 and I was graduating from high school. I had worked at Hole in the Wall paintball for a few years, and was looking for a new gun. The Spyder Compact 2000 I owened shot well, but it wasn’t fast, or cool. (The 16 inch All American barrel was pretty cool at the time though.) I wanted an Intimidator, or an Angel, but I couldn’t afford one. Then, Smart Parts came out the Impulse. It was fast, accurate, electronic, and, affordable. Up until the Impulse electronic markers ran easily into the $1000 range, and that was the low end. Actually, there was no electronic low end. $1000 was it.

I pickup up an Impulse, it a was a great little gun. I didn’t have much money, so I had bought it without eyes. Later I upgraded it with some eyes, or, at the time, eye, since it only took 1. I was hooked, and I played every weekend, although all of it in the woods. Speedball was fun but I didn’t have a local place to play. I entered in a couple tournaments, but I had no concept of speedball, and I placed a consistent last. I sought take first. Hole in the Wall had some great fields, but no speedball. Later, I bought a blue Angel Speed. It had the COPS system, which didn’t use an eye, rather a rod pushed onto a pressure sensitive pad. A halo hopper would break the sensor, so I used a Viewloader Egg hopper.

At that time I was attending Green River Community College. I started there in the Running Start during my senior year in high school. I transferred to WSU after obtaining my AA. Moving across the state meant only playing when I came back for the summer. Money was tough, so I sold my Angel for a Ion, and used the difference to buy paint. I planned to start paintball seriously when I graduated.


Next week: OTC

The Breakout Part 2: Planning

By Graham Arnold
Part 2/3

Every respectable team walks the field before a tournament. Walking the field properly is a necessity in formulating an effective breakout/game plan. This being said, many teams do not walk the field properly. It is obvious that naming the bunkers and checking out the lanes/angles are important parts of walking the field, but that is only half the process. When a field layout is released the first thing to do is print out a copy and spend a small chunk of time studying it and naming the bunkers. A ruler is a helpful tool to draw out potential lanes and check important angles. But sadly there is only so much that can be achieved from a two dimensional map, the next step is walking the field as a team. Identify the important bunkers on the field. Every bunker has a purpose. Some are designed to lock off the snake; others can have cross-field shots that stop the advance of the other team. Whatever the job may be identify which bunkers are crucial and which are useless. Start to design a game plan that stops your opponents from occupying these bunkers, and figure out how to fill those bunkers as well.

Now that the bunkers have been identified and a game plan has begun to form, a standard breakout is easy to design. Design your breakout to satisfy two conditions. 1. Make the important primary bunkers safely. 2. Stop your opponent from making the important bunkers alive. Once a solid, standard breakout has been designed, start to make variations to serve various purposes. To be successful your team must have a variety of breakouts. If you execute the same breakout in every point/game a smart opposing team will adjust to counter your breakout. Don’t rely on a single breakout to be effective for an entire tournament. Putting all your eggs in one basket will allow the opposition to easily counter your game plan, subsequently, for lack of a better term, catching you with your pants down. In the fast paced flow of the RaceTo format changing up your breakout can be a great advantage. Confusing your opponent with an arsenal of effective breakouts will cause turmoil in their pits as they try to adapt to you. Do not be caught in a game of catch up with your opponent. Force them to adjust to your game plans. You do not have to make 50 different game plans, but simple changes to your standard breakout can go a long way. Also keep a few specialized breakouts in your back pocket for a rainy day. A defensive game plan can be useful when you are up on points and need to run out the clock. In addition, an X play can usually catch your opponents off guard and allow you to lock off a certain side of the field. With the likes of Alex Borromeo, Max Winderbaum and Brandon Olsen as snake players, a snake-off-break breakout is usually included in the DBS Kidz arsenal as well. Taking the snake off the break can help you win a quick point and establish the dominance against the other team that can turn a game around. With important bunkers identified, a standard breakout, and variations planned, you are now equipped with a myriad of tools to beat your opponent even before the buzzer sounds.

Running & Gunning: a Guide for Beginners

Can you hit a traffic cone from across the field?

Probably.

Can you hit a traffic cone from across the field while running perpendicular to your shot?

As DBS Kidz, this is something that we practice extensively. It allows us to be effective as killers when many players would not expect us to be. We can take the shots that our opposition never thought plausible. Running and shooting is a difficult art to master though, but I’ll do my best to start you out with the basics from the top down.

      First, take a look at how your tank is mounted on your gun. Do you have a drop forward on your gun? For the vast, vast, majority of paintball guns, this is not only unnecessary, but it also hurts your ability to play. Your gun should be far out in front of you and your arms shouldn’t be much less than 90 degrees when holding it. Most players on the DBS Kidz actually use just a drop down rail underneath their Luxes. This makes moving with our weapons much easier.

   Take a look at your gun and shoulder it. The way your eyes and the barrel lines up is very important. While paintball markers don’t actually have sights, we unconsciously use the barrel as a sight. Go ahead and test this, take your barrel off and try to aim at something and pay attention to your confidence in your accuracy. Put your barrel back on and shoulder your gun again, this time, take note of where your eyes are relative to the barrel. Ideally, you should have the barrel directly between both of your eyes or slightly below (an inch or so). With your eyes in this position, it should be very easy to see where your shots will land because you don’t have to do any of the guesswork that is caused by having your barrel away from your eyes.

     Now, when you shoulder your marker, the tank should be firm against your shoulder. Not on top! When I say firm though, I mean fiiiirm. I see too many players who are not holding onto there guns tight enough. The result is that it goes all over the place when they run & gun. With your tank firmly in the pocket of your shoulder, your upper body should be one unit from the pecks up. Your head, gun, arms, neck, shoulders and chest should move as a single piece.

     Now that your upper body has become a machine gun platform ready to target and shoot anything in front of it, you are ready to start moving this platform. The key to good running and gunning is to keep your upper body as stable as possible. A good exercise to do is to imagine yourself running with a cup of water held to your chest, how would you run so that the water didn’t spill out? The key is to shorten your stride so that you spend less time in the air and to never lock your legs. This allows your legs to always support your body and keep it from rising or falling. Another hint to help you find the right form, is to run lower than you would otherwise be running. This is more difficult but it is not like we are running marathons in paintball anyways.

      This is probably the hardest part of running and gunning. You don’t actually shoot at the thing you are shooting at. Why? Because you are running, and the velocity of your running is added to the paintball’s. In most cases, the velocity of your running will not be in the same direction as the paintball’s so you have to compensate. For the most part, this means shooting behind your target if it is stationary. The amount that you have to shoot behind your target is complicated though and you just have to get a feel for it. Off break though, this compensation can be as much as 20 or 25 feet behind your target if you are a fast runner.

The best way to get better at running and gunning is obviously a lot of practice. I would encourage you to get to your local field and practice as soon as you can. Especially in D5, D4, D3, this skill can easily be the difference between taking 1^st and not making the podium.