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Monday, September 30, 2013

East Coast Cup & Videos!!!

So this has been a CRAZY weekend. I think it would be best to start from the beginning and then work our way up to Cup. So sit back and enjoy the adventure.

So while my car was in the shop, I picked up a rental car for the trip. I got a pretty amazing Mazda6 with all the bells and whistles which ended up being a HUGE help getting to Westminister, MD. So I drive up on Friday and head straight up 81. I made the huge mistake of trying to make a pit stop in Harrisonburg, VA right by JMU at around 5:30pm on a Friday. Millions of people everywhere and it was a zoo. So pass on through, cut through West Virginia and Maryland. Ended up in Pennsylvania pretty randomly and as soon as I cross over the state line, huge wall of fog rolls into the town onto a little league game, which I though was a little weird. So pass through a few small towns and make my way to Westminister, MD. My teammates hadn't arrived yet, but some of the other players were at the hotel so we all hung out for a bit and waited for Justin and Jennifer to get in which they did around 11ish.

The following morning, we went to Gettysburg since we had never been before. We walked all around and visited Devil's Den. We got some awesome photos and I posted the good ones on my Facebook, so check them out. As we were heading back, we stopped at the Maryland Microbrewery Festival. This is just as amazing a concept as it sounds. So we had some great beers and had a good time. We then went to the field in order to get plays figured out and get an idea of how we were going to be playing matches. We then headed back to the hotel and waited for the rest of the team to show up and when they did we all went to Ruby Tuesdays for team dinner. When we got back to the hotel again we all kinda just hung out at the hotel, cleaning guns, worked on basics and just kinda chilled for a while.

We got up around 5:30am to head to the field for the event. I just feel like we should never be awake before the sun, but whatever. We got underway with the tournament and off the bat we start getting plagued by penalties. This went on all day and not just with our team but all of the teams. The refs were doing a good job but also at the same time making some pretty bad calls. We fought hard all throughout the prelims but with some pretty bad tournaments, we didn't think we were going to advance. Some of our players had already packed up when we got the word that we were advancing. So we get into the quarter finals and it came down to a 3rd point to decide if we would continue. We won by the skin on our teeth and moved on to the semi-finals. We lost the round of the semis but we would be able to play for 3rd place. This means we can either go home with a medal and prizes or empty handed. I knew that I wasn't playing my best so I took over the role of coach. We won the first point and the team was eager to finish this event up strong. We won the second point and earned 3rd place. This is a huge accomplishment. We have really started to play as a team and keep pushing each other to do better. So after the tournament, I had the long 7ish hour drive back to Bristol and I got in around 1:30am, longest day ever.

With the end of the season here, its amazing to see how the team has grown even with the little amount of time I have been apart of it. We will be advancing to D4 next season, and this will present new challenges for us. We will have to grow and practice harder. We will be getting some of the core players back from deployment so it will be a fun 2014 season. So I will keep y'all posted on my off season activities.

Here are the videos from the event! ENJOY!

ECC 1
ECC 2
ECC 3
ECC 4
ECC 5
ECC 6
ECC 7
ECC 8
ECC 9
ECC 10

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Week Before Cup

So a few things have been going on this week. We had a blast at the VI Paintball day. Though there were only 5 of us, we had a good time playing with the local ballers. I was working on running and gunning along with diving. I did manage to lose the button shroud of the UL frame on my DM7. So I had to call Dye on monday and place and order for another one. With Cup coming up next week, I have been trying to get everything ready. I had my birthday two days ago and I got a decent amount of money, so I might order new parts or just save up for my Luxe. So many options to consider. I finally got my Spring Ramp for my Spire today and got it installed. So this is the preparation week and making sure everything is going to be good to go.

I have also been looking to join the Paintballers 4 Autism group. I will be trying to get into touch with them this upcoming week. I know they are based out of Mass, but I want to see if there is something we can get started down here in VA. It is a great cause and it is something that I really would like to be a part of. So keep an eye out for updates on that front.

I will post again once I have more news to share along with how ECC is going to be rolling. Take care for now!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Post Grind

Hey friends. So what was going to be a chill 3-man tournament, turned into just a grind that we kept score for. This was a good way to for us to practice in a way that was more intense than just a normal practice. We picked up two new players for Cup and so some of us got used to playing with them. They should be good additions for cup and I think one of them is going to be sticking around for next season. We had enough players in order to run two squads for the grind. We started playing 3-man but then the teams decided that it would be more beneficial if we played 5-man so we switched to that for a few games. We ended up tying for 1st and we just kind of ran out of paint so we couldn't play any more. We played really well and jelled so we should be coming out strong. I preferred playing 5-man since that is what we will be playing more often. I got a few videos from yesterday but during Game 6, I took a hit in the microphone of the camera so the games after that will be more quiet than normal. I think I got it all cleaned today and I will check to make sure later on today. But overall a good practice and I'm getting pumped for Cup in 3 weeks.

Still waiting on people to pay for the school event on saturday which should be fun. I believe we are going to a have a full group, or rather I hope, but we will see here in the next few days.

I am also working on getting everything ready for Cup along with next season. I should be picking up my spring ramp for my spire tomorrow so that will help making shooting a lot easier. But other than that, not much to report on today.

Below are the links to the videos from yesterday. Hope y'all enjoy!!!!

3-man 1
3-man 2
3-man 3
3-man 4
3-man 5
3-man 6
3-man 7
5-man 1
5-man 2

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Virtue Paintball and more

So I wanted to take a second and talk about my most recent encounter with Virtue Paintball. First off, let me say, these guys are freaking AWESOME. My Spire loader was starting to get worn on the paddle of the nose cone. So I called them up asking if I could get a new one. I explained my issue and all they wanted to know was where I lived in order to send me the new part...for free. I love their lifetime warranty because they actually hold up to it. There wasn't a lot of red tape that I had to fight through. These guys make great products and make the customer service experience one of the best I have ever had. NOT ONLY THAT, they had me go through the board settings and after a few beeps and LED flashes later, they tell  me they are going to send me a new board as well. So thank you Virtue Paintball, y'all are freaking awesome!!! I will continue to use them for like ever.

I had a rare event happen to me this last Saturday. I was reffing at a local field when I noticed a player that looked awfully familiar. I asked one of my co-workers and he confirmed my suspicions. The player plays for Chattanooga CEP, a pro-level team. When things started to slow down, I was able to hop on the field a bit and play with him. Really cool dude and a great player. It was remarkable to see a top level player joining in on game with people playing for the first time and everyone having fun. You just don't see that with other sports. So that was a cool thing to have been a part of.

A few things coming up here in the next couple of weeks. First, Widow Makers are going to play a 3-man event in Chesapeake, VA on Sunday Sept. 8th. We are planning to run two squads and see how things go. I am going to use this as a glorified practice for East Coast Cup.

On Sept. 14th, I am helping to host the VI Paintball Day out in Blountville, TN at The Alternative Sport. We got people signed up today and I just need to collect money from them here soon. Hopefully we will be able to fill the sign up of 15 and get everyone out there and have a good time and help spread the paintball gospel.

Then comes the big event on Sept. 29th, East Coast Cup. I am so anxious to get to this event. We are going to come out strong and do the best we can. We will be fielding on the the best teams we have ever had and I am so stoked. Only a few more weeks to go. The event will be in Taneytown, MD which is about 6 hours from Bristol. I am going to be one tired pup come Monday morning haha.

Lastly, I have an invitation to play at World Cup playing 10-man with my friend and former captain, Jake Levy. I have to review my funds and see if i can be able to play but, on the flip  side, this will cause me to miss a decent amount of school, so I really need to weigh my options.

Thats all for now, I will post after the 3-man event and let y'all know how it went!!!