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The Importance of the Pre-Game: Communication |
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Sunday, 02 September 2007 |
The final installment of these articles is communication. This is the lifeline of any scenario/woodsball team. Games can be won or lost purely on how well a team communicates with each other. Before each game the team needs go over every aspect of communication with each other. The last thing that anyone wants is one person being eliminated because they were on a different page, communication wise, than the rest of the team. There are three types of communication that will be gone over including; silent or hand signals, verbal, and radio.
Silent communication can be anything that does not involve any form of sound. This is usually hand signals. These are most likely used when traveling in enemy occupied territory where stealth is a key issue. By having a set group of hand signals and going over them with the group the team has a much better chance of succeeding in such situations. Nothing is worse than every one on the team dropping to hide and one guy is standing because he did not understand what the hand signal for drop and cover was. The key to this is everyone needs to understand what each hand signal means and how to give them. Anyone at any time could be running the point and need to give the hand signals that the rest of the team needs to understand. As a team, just go over each hand signal, what they mean, and how to do them. Doing this will get everyone on the same page and ready for action.
The next aspect of communication is verbal commands. This is the simple act of telling something to someone else on the team. For this terminology and plays should be gone over as a team so everyone understands what is happening and can react together as a team. One very simple example of this is that when a player is reloading their marker they should yell out loading so that everyone on the team around them knows that they can not give any form of fire. This is especially helpful in cover situations. So if a team has certain commands that mean certain things in certain situations they need to be gone over before the field is taken. Even if everyone already knows everything it is always a good idea to go over each command and reinforce them.
The final aspect of communication is the radio. Being proficient at radio commands is what sets apart the good teams from the great ones. When you all of the sudden are taking fire from three directions at once and then it all stops at the same time and you look up and your flag is gone you know that the other team has superior radio communication skills. The biggest part about communicating over the radio is to speak clearly and slowly. When a person speaks fast over the radio it only sounds like gibberish. In your own head it may sound like you are talking normally but when it comes out in the midst of a firefight it is too fast. If you slow down you will have to repeat yourself a lot less as well. One other tip is to lean how to press the talk button and then talk. Nothing is worse than only hearing the second half of what the other person had to say because the spoke at the same time as pushing the talk button. With practice you will become so good at pressing the button first that it will not even feel like you are doing that way. The next aspect of radio communication is radio code. In a scenario button people are always listening for the other team’s radio communication. Nothing is worse than telling a group to do something only to have them ambushed and taken out then finding out later that the other team could hear your every command. Take the time and come up with a code system. Do not use one that is already common but rather make up your own. Not only will it be easier to remember but harder for the other side to understand. Give each player and each group of players a code name that is unique to that group. Use code to represent locations, movement, and actions. This way instead of saying that your group is low on paint and potentially giving up that info the other team that has you pinned down they have no idea what you just said or that a re-supply group is on their way. Nothing is more impressive that listening to another team talk on the radio and it sounds like complete gibberish yet the other team is functioning at a very high and tactical level. Once all of this is in place be sure to go over it with the team and make sure that they understand everything. If a team member is having trouble remembering the codes give them a Quarterback Wristband that has the clear window for plays. Then instead of football plays put the radio codes in the window. This way it is legible, weather resistant, and will not fall our and get into the wrong hands. Once a team has the radio mastered they are at a whole new level.
The basic idea of the Pre-Game is to get the team, as a whole, on the same page as one another. If a team makes a habit of having a Pre-Game at the beginning of the day and a smaller one before each game they will be a much more cohesive unit on the field.
This is a Special By:
Josh Goedl
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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