Paintball’s back players

Back players in tournaments normally carry a ton of paint and have markers with long range ability. They normally carry a full case of paint in back pods and eliminate you from long range. But not everyone plays in tournaments.

On the weekend fields, the back players are usually the little kids who don’t know how to play. “Just hide back here, and if we all get eliminated, wait till they come, then take them out,” are usually the instructions they receive. Obviously this doesn’t work all the time.

If you are out on the recreational fields, you have to have a plan. Keep these tips in mind for your back players.

If you plan to play a more defensive game, for example if you have an uphill game to play, you are going to have to leave better players in the back. Send out the not so great players, back them up with the best players to direct them, and leave the above average players in the far back to defend. The front players will make some eliminations and the guidance and leadership of the best players with them should help them gain some ground.

If you want to play an aggressive game with a quick land grab, leave a few inexperienced players back, or leave no one back. Sometimes no one wants to play far back. Grab the land move up and eventually call up the back players and defenders to help the effort up front.

The lone back player is also a great defensive strategy. This guy hides somewhere way behind the flag. He is a last ditch guy. In case, all goes wrong and your entire team is eliminated, this guy hides and never makes a sound. Eventually the other team comes over hunting for the flag. He has two options, wait for them to get the flag and start leaving, then come out and eliminate all of them from behind. Or he can get out and take them out right away using the element of surprise to his advantage.

You can also opt to play a moving back. Huh? A moving backfield is back defenders that move up as the rest of the team takes ground. In this case, if your team is taking land and doing well, they can continue to back up well and scream out locations and instructions. If your team starts losing ground and retreats a little, you have a good backfield to lean on. They come in very handy in this situation.

If you play with a moving backfield, make sure you have the best and loudest players as your back. They have to know what they are doing, in order to organize and mobilize forward players.

The biggest back player mistake is when things are not going well and everyone retreats to the home base. If you started out with 25 players, and only 6 or 7 are left, the biggest mistake they can make is to run back to the home base and hide and shoot out of windows. All bases are open from one side or another, and you will eventually be surrounded and eliminated. The best thing to do in this case is retreat and spread out. Make it hard for the opposition to get double or triple eliminations. Don’t gang up behind a single cover.

Having no back players is another useful strategy. Is this possible? Yes, sometimes no one wants to play back. So don’t. Everyone just play up and depend on a pseudo-moving back strategy. Sometimes this is the best option, and usually some variation on this theme is how most games end up.

Do-nothing backs. This is a bad thing to do. We’ve all seen it. Your entire team moves up and is attacking the last few players from the other team, trying to overtake the base, yet your back base defenders are still hiding in the base. Why? No one knows. Sometimes they just want to “follow instructions” and be “good team players.” Sure, it’s good to follow the plan, but when you notice your entire team up front trying to get the flag, you have to move up and help. This is when your team will suffer major losses. You have to move up and help the effort to overtake the base and get the flag.

Back players play a crucial role in every paintball game, whether they are aggressive or slow, make sure you choose the right back players. If you are an experienced player, make sure you talk to your back players and teach them. They may need advice and help. Don’t be overbearing, teach with good listening and leadership.