// You have to start somewhere, and sometimes you just need to get back to basics.

You need to have a solid foundation, even at the highest level of paintball having a solid foundation allows you to enhance other aspects of your game. Here are some basic training tips you can start implementing today and will help build your foundation. 

Running & Gunning: Keeping your shoulders square to the target while using your core to keep your barrel smooth with each step. The more your barrel and gun bounces, the less accurate you will be. Keep in mind that while building this skill it is more important to focus on accuracy, rather than speed. Once you start to gain better accuracy, increase your speed. 

Snap Shooting: The less you show, the less there is to get shot in. It sounds silly but lining up on the edge of a mirror can help show you exactly how much of your body / equipment is being exposed to your opponent. Minimize the amount of movement your body moves to just the waist up. Too many times we see players sticking their foot out first, making it harder to tuck back in. Only part of your body that should move is a small "roll" of the lower back, lowering the outer shoulder. Work on tucking in your elbow aka "The Chicken Wing." Sometimes players elbow is exposed because their gun set up is too short, causing an awkward bend in your wrist. Don't be predictable. Change up the location of where you're snapping out from to keep your opponent guessing.

Gun Battling: Once you gain dominance keep it. If you don't gain dominance within the first couple snap shots your chances of getting shot increase drastically.

Shooting on the Break: Work on, "The Whip." The Whip is simply the movement made from the barrel being down, to the barrel being up pointing down field. A great way to practice this is from the start position, whip you gun up and shoot 3 balls down field at a target without shooting the ground,  the W, or anything else besides the target. 

Communication: The more questions you ask, the more answers you will have. The better information you have, the better decisions you can make on the field. This is a key element in the sport that many people overlook. This doesn't mean just scream as loud as you can. This means talk with your teammates, relay information across the field, don't die with information.

Diving & Sliding: There are a ton of different ways to dive or slide but one thing remains the same, how fast you bring your gun up afterward. To work on this simply start with a short sprint into a drive or slide and bring up your gun as fast as possible and hit a target downfield. There are so many advantages to this when it comes to heads up battles and winning the breakout. Things to consider when working on this: Is your barrel pointing down field at the time of the slide or dive? Is your gun level, ready to take aim? How fast can you get your tank against your shoulder in the firing position? Are you spending time closing your lid after you hit the ground? If so, maybe you need to work on your sliding and diving fundamentals.  Also, if you have to switch hands on your way up after the slide or drive...chances are you aren't going to be faster than the person who doesn't have to switch hands! 

Left & Right Handed: Be able to do everything with both hands. Pretty self explanatory.