Three qualities of top teams.

I was ambushed on my 18th birthday. A team known as "Wolf Corps" threw me a surprise birthday party ...and forced me onto their team. Not that I didn't go fairly willingly. But I wasn't good on their team, and these past few weeks I haven't had much fun playing on a team. Then just a few of us started playing, staffing, and chilling together. Today we quit wolf corps and started a new team. Mutiny Airsoft.

Teams can be the most important and defining part of your airsoft experience. The teams I consider best have three qualities:

1. Friendship –Airsoft teams are about fun. Our team does other activies then airsoft, such as bowling, watching movies, and just hanging out; cuz we're losers and don't have any other friends....

Anyways, team mates should be friends outside of the game because it gives them a sense of warmth, unity, and positive attitude that’s needed to play the sport well. New members should only be added if everyone on the team likes them for more reasons than their player skills. Honestly, recruitment should be avoided.

Otherwise a “high school mentality" will come out, where a bunch of people who only sort of like each other, are put into a group and expected to cooperate. Drama, jealousy, passive-aggression, you know the drill.

2. (A lack of) a rank system – Teams with the least amount of rank tend to be best. In airsoft, rank within a team isn’t needed because most teams are small and inconsequential. They should be focusing on competing as a unit, not competing with themselves. A team that can be communicative and efficient without a rank system is a true success.

3. Real world application and practice – The more often a team plays structured games together, the better they will be. Practicing hand signals, communication, and basic maneuvers can help, but teams should focus mainly on learning how each individual operates, and how to cooperate their various skills on the field. This ‘silent communication and trust’ can only be learned in real games and operations.

A few more things.. (I know I know, I'm surprised you read this far, too.)

Teams shouldn't strive to be champions of the sport. This isn't paintball. You can't really rack up your kills or count your victories. The best teams are mainly about building a strong bond with each other. They help develop the airsoft industry into a more honorable and friendly community.

Members of teams will be judged by the actions of their fellow mates, so it’s important you trust them with your (airsoft) life. If one member is seen cheating, they have all cheated. If one member gives up, it can lead to an entire team failure. Still making the decision to join a team is not as important as the decision to stay on a team.

Just like a random dude at the airsoft field said a few weekends ago, "Finding a team is a lot like having sex with a chick, try it, but sometimes it doesn't click. Then if your an asshole like me, you just leave. You can be nicer about it too, though."

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Honor, skill, maintenance.

ThatGirl