Wednesday, July 26, 2006

<--Ottawa Mercenaries

The Mercenaries were a ruthless gang of paintballers, they were dedicated to winning and supporting the team and it was an honor to lead them. The Mercenaries was a joint effort between Quebec and Ontario to take the title of Canadian Xball Champions. I learned so much about team management organizing and preparing the team and its athletes for every event. The Mercenaries lost to Montreal Shock in the finals yet still taking the overall Ontario title. I got to admit that losing that match was one of my biggest regrets and I often get jealous seeing the CXBL championship rings on Shock fingers. In the end though, the Mercs have and still are my best and favorite accomplishment. Never have I seen so much teamwork in a pit or on a field as with the Mercs. The Mercs started with a couple of kids: Erni, Diamond, Massimo, James, Seb Deroy, Boule, Marco T. and me. We later added players and coaches from Chop Shop and Dogs of War. Like all teams we had player issues, team issues and the dreaded paintball politics. Thankfully, with the help and advice of the older players on the team I was able to overcome this and conclude the season. A lot of people wonder why I didn’t continue the Mercs. When I joined NRG I saw the opportunity to complete my own goals as a player. This had been something I had to set back with Ottawa as we were so disorganized in our first couple of games I had to restructure the pits so that our players were able to fully concentrate on the job ahead. I see a lot of similarities between NRG and the Mercs and I hope my new team will finally unite in a comme goal and effort as I know what a team with dedication and heart can achieve.

Photo of Ottawa Mercenaries Summer 2005

<--Mirabel Practice 23rd

We had a small reserved practice Sunday as we were unable to get the Laval Skorpions to come out and play. I've taken the task of filling the back centre position on our team as I feel the team is lacking in this department. I've got to say it is quite nice to be able to clean up and finish games from this position as you really feel you have the support of your team when doing so. I'm still working on my breakouts as they aren't as precise as I would like them to be. My communication needs more work as well but I believe it will come with time and getting to know my team. Overall the practice was good and I feel NRG got to deal with some of our key issues. As we were watching little Chris play from the control tower on the X-Ball field, Steven decided to beat up a little kid. Here's the pics for your enjoyment.

Photo of: Steven beating our supporters.