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2024 World Cup Recap

zenandtheartofpaintballLeave a comment

Failure is a harsh mistress.  One that, if you aren’t careful, will continue to show up at inopportune times. Especially in the world of professional paintball.  You’re only as good as your last performance and after our 2nd place Las Vegas event, where the team gave the PB world a glimpse of what we can do when we execute, the New Orleans Hurricanes have consistently fallen short of our capabilities. Especially on the goals front set by the team at the beginning of the season.  We didn’t meet a single set for this season after the first event.  But sometimes, we can get so focused on winning, that we fail to recognize the lessons learned from the losses.  It is said that failure can improve resilience, incite innovation, and even generate creativity that may not have occurred otherwise. And I thought that’s what we accomplished in preparation for this event. That being said, you better have resilience if you continue to under perform and play like we have.  The lessons may start to get old and finding that tenacity, tapping into that “dog” in you, can start to become difficult.  Well, not really… not if you are a true “dog” … a real warrior. And my guys are the real deal. But something is wrong. And we have to fix it.

Disappointed doesn’t seem to have the full connotation or essence of what I am trying to convey regarding my guy’s performance (and mine) at this year’s World Cup.  This is now the third year in a row that we have gone 1-3 at the final event of the year, losing matches we should have won.  We knew how to play this field.  We knew the keys to the kingdom so to speak.  We knew the set ups, we knew best where to close from and how, we knew where to push, where to create pressure, had good adjustments planned and prepped.  We had good understandings of read offense and our opponent’s stack.  We just simply failed to execute after the buzzer.  We weren’t ourselves and frankly we haven’t been since Atlantic City.

And that has to rest on my shoulders. That’s where I failed.  With most of your top teams in professional paintball, paintball is the priority. This is not the case with my Canes.  Paintball is a passion.  The priority is our families and jobs.  Since going pro 3 years ago, we knew it would be tough and that we were in for tremendous difficulty if we wanted to be competitive and relevant in this league.  So, my job was to figure out how to be competitive and relevant with limited time and assets.  My job was not just to help them prepare, but to draw that great performance out of them… Each member of this team had a point at World Cup this year.  Unfortunately, it isn’t individual performance that makes the dream work in this sport.  It has to be a team effort, which I have always felt was our strength. And we were just discombobulated.  As the leader, I take accountability for not having the words and/or wisdom to draw better performance out of my guys.  This season is going to haunt us, I’m sure.

VS Brooklyn Bears

Point 1 – We knew the bears would play a similar match to us.  I felt between the two squads there would be aggression on all three fronts of the field but that we would win the day with guns on the break and better comms.  And it looked like I was right in point one.  Even though Drew Bell was team killed off the rip by getting shot in the foot by a teammate, we shot the Bears’ snake runner on the break with our pocket shooters.  Britt Simpson took ground d-side and Nic Ripple was in the snake 50 by himself all within 15 seconds.  Daniel held the Bears out of the snake, Stuart spread behind Britt.  We are in excellent field position.  I am smiling in the pit because this is the set up we want (granted I wanted that 5th body as force multiplier but…still).  I knew we were going to win the point.  But then things start to deteriorate. Nic picks another body off but we lost Britt.  We are now 33 and this field has turned into an island drill.  Nic got dinked making it a 2 on 3 but Stuart Ridgel steps up dorito side and peels another off. 2 on 2 now after we had blown the advantage.  Daniel Camp zones up and sure enough catches the Bear’s dorito side making it a 2 on 1 with the snake corner the only body left.

It was the first point so I wasn’t concerned.  First point jitters kind of stuff maybe.  Nothing prepared me for the continuous drop off in performance the rest of the match. 1-0 Hurricanes

Points 2- Should have been a 4 on 2 favor to us mid-point.  We bounced three of them this point. However, the Bear’s paint did not bounce when they had their shots. 1-1 Tied

Point 3 – We won the break shooting the Bears snake runner but we let them fill out.  We were once again in position to close out the point and win.  We had the snake side stacked, and I’m ready for Nic to go do the guy in front of him.  Instead, he retreated and got dinked out.  Stu and Sakaguchi trade in the snake, so now both teams had 2 bodies dorito way, and one body each in the snake.  Aaron Pate won the snake war decisively! Again, I’m thinking to myself, great job, we’re gucci. But then he got picked up by either one of the greatest or luckiest shots from the dorito 2 retreating back to home… it ends up in a one on one with Drew Bell.  I felt good about the odds but… no. 1-2 Bears

Point 4 – Bears win the breakout, we are down bodies and time is low.  I concede. 1-3 Bears

Point 5-7  Bears play paintball and we forget how.  The end. 1-6 Bears

*Point 8 – We got a major in the point before.  Bears are on the power play 5 on 3 off the break.  We hold. 

Big wake up call. We had now put ourselves in a precarious situation and it was just the first match. No worries. Stay positive, understand the mistakes, get it together. Absolutely no reason we shouldn’t and couldn’t win out.

VS Ronholt Dynamite

Ronholt are a Norwegian team and I really like those guys.  But we needed to hang it on them, so we set out to do that.  They were predictable, not the best laners, and I knew we were better gun fighters .  They normally have 4 weeks on a layout so I felt confident they weren’t as prepared as they would be for an event in Europe. We knew what they were doing, we didn’t need to adjust anything to beat them.

Point 1 – we went aggressive and win in 45 seconds.  1-0 Hurricanes

Point 2 – same thing but it slowed down a bit. Pate shot the first body, someone shot Dynamite’s snake, then Pate shot the rest.  Pate gets a 4 pack and should be in the running for Prelim move of the event. 2-0 Hurricanes

Point 3 – Dynamite found there guns on the break but we still should have won the point. 2-1 Hurricanes

Point 4 – we won the breakout, made our closing spots, clean close. We are on our way to do what we needed to do to erase the first match. Or so I thought. 3-1 Hurricanes

Point 5 –  I got a little concerned on this point.  It took us way too long to close this point out, especially since we knew the situation and where they were.  I feel our dorito side should have been in the fight sooner.   Searight should have felt comfortable coming to Dynamite’s side as none of the three were in position to slow his progress.  Dynamites mini wall can’t go anywhere.  Drew Bell has to be a little more careful than Searight as he had to push the S2 in before he can go but once through, it should have been over.  I feel like we should have won that point with at least 7 minutes or just under still on the clock.  4-1 Hurricanes

Point 6 – One player had to rush to the box and is pulled for leaving early… he wasn’t shot. That’s on me. I had no idea there was a gun issue and frankly, there shouldn’t have been. Next body looks into a ball… d side was blown. Its 5 on 3, Dynamite’s advantage but Nic got to the 50 snake, and peels not one, not two, but three bodies off before he dies.  He did everything he could to save the point. This left us in a 2 on 2. Unfortunately, my two last bodies didn’t know where the two bodies were and it costs us.  Blind shot on Drew Bell costs him his body. Trade at the end with Daniel Camp in the snake and Dynamite is on the board again. 4-2 Hurricanes.

Point 7 – We win the break and they got a penalty I think.  They concede with 2 and a half minutes left.  We needed to win by 5 just to get back to 0.  So we need to get on the board in about 1 minute 15 seconds or so average to make me happy.  That would not be the case. 5-2 Hurricanes

Point 8 – We just couldn’t stay alive.  I don’t know what was going on…  5-3 Hurricanes

Point 9 – We stay alive but Searight drew a minor.  The “hit” on his pack was obviously rub from one of the bunkers but it is what it is….  We burn the clock.  Game.  We did not accomplish our goal to win by at least 5. This would haunt us. Match should have been 6-1.

VS AC Diesel

We scouted Diesel and were ready for them (or so we thought).  We knew they liked to use the pocket, and press the snake action.

Point 1 – They break as we anticipated but they still win it.  4 on 5 advantage them but we beat them to the snake.  We bait Godlman into a gun in the snake making it a 4-4.  However, we lost Dorito containment and got sloppy in our bunkers. Cortez makes Britt pay for it.  While that was happening, Nic kills the god and was on their side of the snake.  Cortex shoots Pate, Nic has no idea what was going on, they hit the buzzer. We shouldn’t have lost that point.  1-0 Diesel.

Point 2 – I wanedt to use the center on them because I had a sense they would go snake corner and weak d side.  They did.  Unfortunately, they made their first shot on Pate count.  While that was happening, Britt had made it to Diesel’s side of the field.  But he decided to over gunfight.  We were just giving them bodies.  We had fed the snake so I decide to give it some time to see if we can eek one out.  Sure enough Drew Bell makes a moving cross field shot from the D side on Mouse in the snake!  He then shoots the D side one!  We have now evened the body count up 3 on 3.  Daniel Camp shoots the D side 2 cross field!  There we go!… But Clint Johnson sneaks one in on Drew.  It’s a 2 on 2 and my guys later reported they didn’t know where Clint was… we dropped the ball again.  2-0 Diesel.

Pt 3 – The next point was a cluster. Get this, they shoot Camp on the break but the ref next to the one calling Daniel out, thinks the other ref is talking about Nic!  That’s right, Nic was clean but the ref kept yelling at him to get out so he did. So Diesel gets a free one thanks to a ref not just taking a beat to understand. We got one back and Britt is on their side of the field in their Doritos.  He missed his first shot and now they know he’s there.  But Pate picks up Clint Johnson.  It’s now a 3 on 3 again.  A minute goes by, Pate feeds the snake but then… both Drew Bell and Britt Simpson come walking off.  I don’t know how.  It’s a 3 on 1 so I concede the point.  3-0 Diesel

Pt 4-  We were pretty confident they would spread and they do save for the 1 dorito side who went a little further than we thought.  Drew Bell asks for a paint check on his back.  The ref called him clean.  As he progressed up the field another ref found the hit the first one missed.  Penalty… I had to concede. 4-0 Diesel

Pt 5 – we finally play hurricane paintball 4-1 Diesel. Too little too late. Game.

VS Aftershock

We scouted shock and had a great understanding of their game plan.  They literally had one play they ran 80% of the time with two guns up and 3 heads down running.  We would try and take advantage of that.

Point 1 – Well, those two guns up were good.  1-0 Afteshock.

Point 2-  Same.  Except this time, we shot two of theirs shortly after.  2 on 3 but my two are Drew Bell and Searight, so I let this go a bit.  Drew gets in the snake, shoots Hosky, Searight shoots Cory Hall!  Drew put a ball on Thomas Kim’s neck, we all saw it from the pit.  The ref calls him clean.  Searight should have shot him as the ref was checking him.  Anyway, one on one, Thomas Kim wins it.  2-0 Aftershock’

Point 3 – 4 on 4 break which quickly became a 4 on 2, Aftershock advantage… I concede. 3-0 Aftershock

Point 4 – I have officially left stoic demeanor and am now in putting my foot up everyone’s butt demeanor.  We know what they will do and want to do.  If we can live past the break, quit giving our bodies away, we will beat them!  We shoot two on the break (finally),  Arod threw his body away, 3 on 1 advantage us. We were on the board finally playing the way we knew how to. 3-1 Aftershock.

Pt 5 – We lost the break but get the advantage snake side when Danimal took Hosky off the board.  Searight pressed the issue dorito way as well and he eventually worked his way to their side.  He shot their god, they send a body to get him, that dude got diced, we close out. Another point where we are looking like ourselves!  3-2 Aftershock

Pt 6 – We know they will go back line and we decide to go short snake way (snake way shooter was hot).  The read was right and we shot their 1 dorito way and their 2 snake way who drew a minor. Corey shot Britt but Nic caught Corey, 4 on 1 advantage us.  I don’t think we knew about the minor and were looking for a second body. At the very least, this issue was better than the issues we had been having. Good close considering. And a third point in a row where we played to our potential.  3-3 Tied

Pt 7 – We know they will do their standard break out. Two at home, one body short dorito way, god and snake corner.  They did.  We missed our shots though.  Both teams for the first time this match are 5 on 5.  Arod missed his shot on Daniel who is on their side of the snake but we didn’t.  Arod takes the walk.  We shoot Parrish D side, and I remember thinking, it is 5 on 3 with just over two minutes.  We got this.  I’m thinking Daniel will launch and stab out Hosky.  Instead Hosky went highway.  Then a strange thing happened… a ref throws a minor on my player who asked “whats on his head?”  Hosky had a BUNCH of paint on his head and there did seem an instance where it looked like he took a lick in the snake. We were going to win this point and potentially the game… but a ref had inserted himself into the match, on a talking penalty no less. Oh well. Control what you can control. I have to concede the point with a minute forty left.  4-3 Aftershock

Pt 8 –  Arod gets away with one this point. We watched him get shot from the pit.  He was hit, he realized it, and launched before a ref could get there.  Stu points at Arod asking for the penalty and they throw a penalty on us for pointing… pointing everyone. Nic trades in the snake making it a 2 on 2.  But Drew Bell and Danimal pinch the home.  Drew trades with Parrish. Daniel waits to hit the buzzer until about 6 seconds.  4-4 Tie.

Overtime – Aftershock takes the win after we lose the break and team kill one of our guys.

So what did we learn here?  We have learned that you have to be at your best every moment of every point of every match.  You better hit your off the break shots like you were at practice.  And you better close cleaner by checking in and realizing your down count because there was probably a guy doing a job… and if he isn’t there anymore doing said job, that is bad… more so when you don’t know it. The Canes are known for two things – guns on the break, and disciplined team work. We had neither at this event.

The New Orleans Hurricanes started this season off well with a 2nd place finish in Vegas.  We had two goals this season, neither of which we met after Vegas.  Make every Sunday and win an event. I have a lot more to say on this and maybe I will write another blog later this month to cover all of it.

But first…

Seneca taught that “Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.” And he is absolutely right. But I’m not a perfect stoic yet.

…But I am always trying. With that in mind, I will avoid commenting on a “distraction” that reared its ugly head the day prior to the event. Now to work on that Christian value of mine regarding forgiveness, too. That one will be tough. To the “source” that fed the lie? Pray I don’t find you.

The rumor of our demise is greatly exaggerated. We have work to do.

Be water my friends. 

2024 Windy City Open ReCap

zenandtheartofpaintballLeave a comment

After starting the season off with a 2nd place finish in Vegas, I find myself sitting down to write about yet another disappointing and subpar performance by the Hurricanes.  This marks our third event where we went 2-2 and missed Sunday.  We are now 11 and 8 on the season (61-68 for/against).  If you had asked me if we would be in this position after Vegas, I would have confidently and perhaps with a little defiance, stated no.  One of the goals we set for this season was to win an event.  We have missed that goal so far.  Since Vegas, we haven’t hit one of our goals set for the season, one of which was continuous Sunday appearances.

I think we have proven we are adaptable and can play any game, whether it is fast and bloody, slow and disciplined, or a mix of both.  We are a team that beats you with team paintball.  Our process and successes have been from our ability to process data as a team and play selflessly.  When we have the information, when we can connect on the layout, we are very dangerous.  However, the layouts as of late have proven that you must be comfortable going forward without all the data and in some cases, none. It’s about risk taking and our processes have been about risk mitigation.  Breaking that mentality we have ingrained in ourselves to punch and counter punch based off data has been difficult to say the least.  Our processing speed and read offense has always been data based… if A then B… If B then C…. that has not been the case as of late.  And that’s on me.  Our system was good enough to get us to the pro division.  It was good enough the first two years to keep us competitive and a threat.  It was good enough for Vegas.  But good enough isn’t good enough anymore.  It is time to adjust the system.  To sum this event up, we knew how to play this field. We were ready and the game plans were solid. The issue was simply a lack of consistent execution. My ones applied pressure but were just getting “dinked” out and my twos were inconsistent on when to apply additional pressure and follow up.  Don’t get me wrong, my guys played some good paintball… some of the time.  The inconsistency bug has struck us again.  That falls on me.  Time to rework and readjust the system.

Vs Ironmen

The first point we wanted to attack and attack hard, to make a statement.  And we did.  We went aggressive D side with a relentless push from Britt Simpson with a plan for Stuart Ridgel to follow up quickly and apply pressure.  We would get Nic Riippel in the snake as well to show we were coming from both sides.  We lose Stu on the break but Drew Bell knows the drill and quickly plugs the hole d-side.  Britt trades and on the Chaos, Drew takes the Ironmen’s side of the field.  I feel Britt could have got two but I will take his aggression just as well. Drew peels one but misses his second opportunity on a kill.  Drew catches a penalty as he gets a skimmer pack hit.  This leaves Nic in the ironmen’s side of the snake in a 3 on 1…  0-1 Ironmen.

We showed we would attack and be a threat on both sides the first point so I wanted to show we could do that AND be a threat in the center as well.  Stu just missed his shot on Ironmen’s snake player who ends up shooting Mike Brown cross field in our dorito side.  Drew Bell quickly filled the gap though and with Justin Bailey containing, was able to mount a second offensive on that side.  Drew crosses onto the Ironmen’s side and shoots snake corner, snake 2, and their home.  He them went to trade (unnecessary but I dug it).  At this point, Daniel Camp is on the Ironmen’s side of the field snake side and we still have Stu and Bailey to close out, which they did. 1-1 Tied

Point three,  I felt we were in the driver seat off the rip.  We were the aggressor again and had the snake 3, snake corner for support, and the dorito 50.  We were in better position and I felt confident we were going to take the point.  Daniel Camp gets out of snake corner to support Britt Simspon in the snake 3 so if there is a trade, we don’t lose the ground.  I felt we should have been out of that can dorito side to support Nic who was in the dorito 50 way sooner.  Especially since Ironmen’s snake was applying no pressure.  We got out to the first dorito though and I once again, felt confident.  Britt got into the Ironmen’s side of the snake which made me doubly happy… I thought he is going to go trade eventually and then Daniel will be in position unseen.  Instead, Britt got picked off by a bounce shot…and the Ironmen got out of the snake corner and join their own two man team in there.  Then Stuart Ridgel got caught.  We are now in a 5 on 3. Nic got peeled next. 5 on 2.  Daniel makes a move, got 1 but…4 on 1 and I want the time.  Conceed. 1-2 Ironmen

This next point was difficult for me to watch.  We knew what has to happen on this field.  We had to be first, create pressure, and get our twos in the game to clean up.  I called the play knowing we had made a small mistake with point one.  Both teams went aggressive.  We were in the snake and first to the corner.  They were first out in dorito 2 and 3 but we were first into the dorito 50.  Nic got to the snake 50 and eliminates dorito 3 for Ironmen.  Daniel Camp fed the snake again behind Nic to be gain ground and be a force multiplier.  Drew Bell (Home) and Stuart Ridgle (dorito can) now had some freedom to force multiply and increase pressure.  We were now in complete control of the field.  But we lost Britt out of the dorito 50… Although, at the same time Nic had improved his position to Ironmen’s snake side and I am positive he landed his shot… ref didn’t see anything though…Omara moved to snake 3 and shoots Nic… I feel like Nic needed to stay posted that way with Drew Bell now in the snake side center wedge on overwatch.  Stu was at dorito 50 but repositioned back… not sure that was the play.  Camp gets into Nic’s former spot and missed the shot on Omara. Had this landed, Stu could have taken ground, eliminated home, and we could have closed tieing the game.  Time had dwindled to a point where we were committed as there was just about a minute left.  The personnel I had out there I trust to make it happen.  When Drew went to center, I thought, okay… wait… major penalty.  The rest is history.  Two opportunities squandered.  3-1 Ironmen.

Vs Xtreme

We had scouted Xtreme well and felt confident in our game plan.  We would emphasize dorito guns, pressure their box to not allow them free reign back there, and concede/contain snake.  This paid dividends on the first point as we shot two and they got a penalty.  Jeri is left alone in a 5 on 1.  He gets one but we closde him out.  He would get his later though.  1-0 Canes

We went with a designed play similar to the first but with one adjustment.   Stu would shoot his shot, then reposition out to dorito side to support Britt’s dorito push and filter Drew Bell up to where Stu was showing (Dorito brick).  Nic and Daniel would contain and when given the opportunity feed to have snake presence.  We landed our shot dorito way and landed a second which causes Xtreme to draw a penalty.  D side is blown for Xtreme and we had position.  Interestingly enough, we scored a shot on Jeri too.   5 on 2.  Britt crawled to their dorito side, got the cross field elimination, and Xtreme concedes.  2-0 Canes

We didn’t come off the gas.  We got Britt into dorito 3 to wrap for any center presence. We got Nic into the snake 2.  We also got our two snake way out quickly.  Zone control snake side is on point as we shot snake corner and the fill.  5 on 3 advantage us.  We were in control, I anticipated Xtreme to concede when one more body droped.  Then it happens.  I actually saw it coming… ask anyone in the pits.  I say out loud, “We have no snake containment!  Holy crap…somebody notice.”  A simple statement from my 3 or 2 snake way changes this (“I got this, you get that”). Jeri Caro takes the risk at the right time with the right seam and makes us pay.  I hope Jeri got the $500.  2-1 Canes

After a conversation about the last point, we were back on task for the next.  We were winning the breakout and I didn’t see a need to make any radical adjustments.  They shot Daniel on the break but we took Jeri off the board as well.  Drew Bell filtered snake way since Nic is alone and Xtreme has a body in there with Nic.  Xtreme was actually in better field position here but our spread was set so that we could absorb a push and counter.  Once Drew got out to the corner, he could push Nic forward.  Stuart began to press the issue dorito side since Xtreme seemed hesitant over there.  Mike Brown was in reserve behind Stu.  My guys are communicating well so I felt good about them not repeating mistakes.  The point began to drag on, again we are in position to absorb knowing Xtreme has to come being down 1.  Mike Brown let Nic know about Canter in the 50 snake and Nic lands his shot.  Kraft makes a good move but Nic canceled him out with a trade.  Stu got caught but Drew drops the hammer snake way knowing he had the side to himself.  Absorption… counter.  3-1 Canes

We felt confident Xtreme would shift their emphasis to the center in some manner.  Unfortunately, we missed our shot and lost the first body but get one back when Drew Bell shoots Jeri again.  Stuart makes a great fill outside dorito way and got the kill on the dorito side brick.  Drew took the opportunity to fill underneath Stu.  Josh Taylor for Xtreme went offensive and took the 50 dorito but Drew knew he has to go and sacrifices himself to get him Taylor off the board.  Kraft came through the center next and Daniel was in the snake 2 but on the wire.  Nic was telling him but I don’t think Daniel heard him.  Fortunately, Nic squeezes a ball in on him giving us a 3 on 1 advantage.  We didn’t know the count but luckily Daniel picks up on the last body (Canter) who had left the snake and went into the center.  Stu drops leaving us in a 2 on 1…Nic spread luckily, Daniel traded and we get the last point.   4-1 Canes.

I’m thinking about spread now… so we had to study our opponents well heading into the next day of competition.  Our opportunity would come with Revo who seemed to struggle with their first two matches.  And based off scouting of the Legion, they were predictable.  But there is a difference between knowing what a team will do and executing the game plan to stop it.

Vs Revo

We were unable to watch tape the night before to reassess our own matches much less watch our next day opponents as the webcast had issues with uploads.  So we studied our paper scouting sheets and developed what I thought would be the best approach to Revo.

The first point Revo shot 4 of my 5 players on the break.  Ever the optimist, I let Justin Bailey know that he hit his shot on the snake corner runner.  0-1 Revo.

I didn’t think we needed to do anything different, just get out alive.  We did but we don’t completely when Bailey gets clipped repositioning to snake corner.  We were first to the dorito 50 with Britt who clipped out Revo’s snake corner, but they took Daniel Camp out of snake 2 just before.  4 on 3 advantage Revo but Drew Bell got into the snake undetected.  And with Britt and Stu applying pressure D side, he got the drop on both Revo players in the snake before the dorito side for Revo gets a ball on him.  We were now in a 2 on 2 with both teams dorito side.  Stu slipped out of the doritos into the center.  Unfortunately, he does the jump- jump- jump maneuver and it cost him.  We get a gift from the PB gods though as a Revo player decides to leave the safety of his bunker and into Britt’s gun and Brit wins the next gun fight.  Individual play and mistakes by Revo saved the point for us. 1-1 Tied

Revo wasn’t showing me anything spectacular and after two points I’m not seeing any adjustments from previous data we had.  We spread the field and pushed Britt into the Dorito side snake on the rip.  Our guns paid off and we have the ground in a 5 on 2.  Revo conceded which made me happy because I want to play points for margin. About 10 and a half minutes left on the clock. 2-1 Canes

I decided to push the snake side now as well as doritos.  Both my ones made it in and once again Britt was first to the 50 dorito wedge.  Revo was in front of our pits and I watch as the first snake player goes in and Stuart dropped a ball in on him from home.  They feed the snake again from snake corner and I again watch Stu put a ball in the same zone which caught the player’s foot.  So did the ref.  Running ref finds the hit and it’s a minor.  4 on 2 our advantage and we closed out clean.  3-1 Canes

Revo hasn’t shown much aggression once they made it out wide dorito side.  We felt that would change as this is when they would probably push it or try to slow ours down with a dorito center brick. We spread and decide to try and use the god to check off inside.  We get a body on the break and we knew that they were already down 20% with the dorito brick waiting on a shot.  We knew they made the snake though so Drew tries to use a shot to contain.  Daniel had direction that if the shot didn’t pay off, get in the snake and go to work.  He did just as Drew lands his shot on Revo’s snake player.  We just had to wrap and trap now which should allow Daniel to go all the way.  Revo tried to fill and we picked him off.  Stu launched and dropped the hammer on Revo’s center.  Drrw traded with last body.  4-1 Canes

Revo attempted to flip the script and take a page from our book going straight to dorito snake and snake on the break.  They also shot Dnaiel on the break.  Stu got caught trying to fill out.  5 on 3 but Nic took Revo’s player out who had crawled to our side of the snake.  I’m thinking okay, we Gucci… then Nic got clipped and I saw a flag go up on our side of the field dorito side… 4-2 Canes

Revo saw success with their last play and knew they have to press the pace.  So, I wanted to take the dorito out of the equation and get in the snake.  Stu lands his shot on Revo’s dorito attacker and Britt takes the Dorito snake.  Daniel shot his mirror in snake side Aztec on the break.  At the same time, Nic made the snake, wraps on the Revo home player who was playing too tall.  Stu launched forward looking cross field for the snake that Daniel called, finds him, then turns just in time to catch Revos 2nd attacker Dorito side to trade.  5-2 Canes

I wanted to get guns up so we spread the back.  It worked out well as we shoot the snake corner and the dorito 3.  This also helped us with visual acuity so we knew where the bodies were.  Stu launched through the center as we peeled off their bodies from snake Aztec and home allowing Stu to snag Benny Carrol’s back. 6-2 Canes.

To say I was happy with how the match had gone up until this point would be an understatement.  I was pleased with how we had come back into form the last couple of points.  We were imposing our will and I was confident we had seen all that Revo had.  Just over 5 minutes left with a 4 point lead.  My hopes for a high margin were being met.

But it can never be that easy… not in this division and certainly not this year…  We were now in X-ball and without going into all the detail, let me sum up the next 4 points.  The first point comes down to a 3v3 but we fail to know the situation and got dinked out.  The next point, we won the break but end up in another 3v3 and don’t know the situation and get dinked out but bring it back to a 2v2 thanks to Daniel Camp.  However, he missed a cross field shot and then got caught retreating leaving Nic in a 2v1.  Nic did a great job getting out to the dorito side which bought him some time from the snake player.  But it isn’t enough.  Revo won the break on the next point and then its just a charlie foxtrot… I told the guys “Its time to be among them” and we send Stu up the gut and we win the point.  It’s 7-5 now with just under a minute left.  We shot two quickly making it a 5 on 3 and I’m thinking, “yes, get me that last point”.  But no… dink, dink, dink… 7-6 Canes. 

Vs Red Legion

We have played the Legion 6 times now in our professional career.  The first time we met was in our pro debut event in 2022 at the Sunshine State Major. After going down 6-1 and on the verge of being mercied, we clawed back making it a 6-4 match with 3:35 left on the clock.  Plenty of time to come back to tie.  We go up 4 on 3, had them trapped, but didn’t press the d side attack quick enough on the last point. 

We would pull them again our first year at the Windy City Open.  We would go down again early on 4-0 with just under 9 minutes left if I recall.  We came back and scored 4 points unanswered points with Aaron Pate hitting the buzzer with a few seconds left to take us into overtime.  We would win in overtime 5 to 4.  We were the ONLY undefeated pro team out of the prelims that event and it would be our first top 5 finish.

We would meet them the following year at the 2023 Lone Star Open. They would be our only loss in the Prelims with a grinder of a match 3-1.  The score does not denote how close that knife fight was.

We would pull them at our disastrous 2023 World Cup.  Ironically, they would be our ONLY win that event as we would edge them out 5 to 3.  Though, if we are being honest, penalties killed them, otherwise they would have most certainly won.

We would pull them at the Atlantic City Major of this year where they just seemed indomitable. And yes, the put us away 8-2.  We could have made Sunday if we had kept it close but we didn’t.  We died on our swords trying to play their game.

And here we were about to face them again.  We had done the math and we knew if we kept it close with Legion, we would be on to Sunday.  We needed to stay within three…  We had also done our home work on Legion and felt confident in the game-plan.  We knew where they wanted to be on the field and we knew where we needed to be to intercept them.  But you have to hit your shots.  The first 6 minutes in, I felt good about where we were.  That would not end up being the case.  We would be mercied again by this team who has essentially evolved the game of old into a new statistical fast attack.  You want to beat the legion?  You have to hit your shots.  We had opportunities and we let them slip through our grasp.  Legion 8-2… again.

As we head into cup, we have our worked cut out for us.  We are currently ranked 8th (My goal was to be higher than that at this point) and we have a hell of a draw.  Heck, no draw is easy anymore.  We have one final goal for the season that MUST be met and that is to actually do well at World Cup for once in the pro division (our last two were disasters).  It will take a lot of work, a lot of commitment, a lot of understanding, and a whole hell of a lot of heart.

But if I know my guys, we are up for it.  Roll Canes.

Be water my friends.

P.S. Good to see our friend Grayson up and about, inspiring all of us to never give up! #fightlikegrayson

2024 Lone Star Open Event Recap

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“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own . . .”
–Epictetus

I would imagine there are some people out there who, if they were in my shoes, would be upset about following up a 2nd place finish at the Las Vegas Open with a 13th place finish at the Lonestar. Whereas, I am certainly not happy with our performance, my personal attitude is not one of anger or distress. I am quite aware of the opportunities we missed and the mistakes we made. The key is how we will respond to what was controllable and what was not. If we let single events define us, we wouldn’t be in the professional league today. The success the New Orleans Hurricanes has seen in this sport is due to our ability to assess and adapt to obstacles and adversities placed in our path. Yes, some of those are self inflicted but those are usually the greatest lessons. No one should allow negative emotions or reactions to bad performances become a weight around their shoulders…

Additionally, no one wants to remind themselves of mistakes. As I stated above, the key is to understand why that performance happened. Identify the issues and take a proactive step in addressing them. A prime example would be our performance at Cup, our work to correct issues from there, and our performance in Las Vegas. I think most would agree it was night and day. Consistency is key, especially in the pro division. That consistency, whether it is with the team or an individual player, is paramount to success. But when it falls short on both levels, you will not have a good event.

It’s been said by great men that success is “neither magical nor mysterious.” It is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals. We were not anywhere close to consistent in our execution of play at this event. That falls on me. I failed to lead my men out of an off malaise… I will work on that.

With that said, this event recap may be a little different from others. I will address the matches we lost in detail and briefly comment on the matches we won.

That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance? Such thinking would make you a laughing-stock to the true student of Nature, just as a carpenter or cobbler would laugh if you pointed out the sawdust and chips on the floors of their shops. Yet while those shopkeepers have dustbins for disposal, Nature has no need of them.”
–Marcus Aurelius

PREPARATION

I think we prepared well for this event. We had a great practice partner, we worked the right aspects of the field, and we had a good game plan headed into the event. I know this because, when we did execute the game plans well, we won. That’s all the proof I need. We knew this field came down to four things:

  1. Win the break. As with all layouts, a numerical advantage off the break usually pays dividends and for this field, I felt it was multiplied. I also felt our guns were dialed in and ready.
  2. Be first to create opportunities from your secondaries to shift guns and/or get crafty and set traps.
  3. Get lost/crafty to create hesitation and uncertainty with opponent during mid game scramble.
  4. Close clean with a good stranglehold and good clock management.

We had shown a good understanding of how to do this and practiced it significantly. However, when we got to the event, we struggled with recreating that success…

VS Aftershock

I felt confident heading into this match. There was no doubt in my mind it would be a match similar to many knife fights we had endured before. But I knew if we could put Aftershock away, no matter the score, it was going to be a good event for us. We also knew that, with their roster, no matter the performance at the last event, they would be prepared. So we were definitely looking at them as a great test.

Pt1 – We went pocket and Aftershock beat us to the Center punch. We got the first body though with good zone control shooting their snake player. But we gave them one right back from our home. A-rod may have been first in the center, but a slow patient probe in the center by Stuart Ridgel paid dividends when he took A-rod off the board and staid alive. We gave them one back again though in our attempt to take the snake. Came down to a 3 v 3. Another attempt at craftiness cost Stu his body (it’s first point, I like the idea just not how it was attempted). Drew Bell got sneaky but got caught and Searight made me proud pushing forward. We squandered that point. 0-1 Shock

Pt2 – Strong guns on the break, which was prevalent during our prep, show up on the second point and we made smart fills to our secondaries in support of the goal. We were in control from the break and start our stranglehold. A good point. This point was, in my opinion, indicative of how the field would play and how the Canes would play it. 1-1 Tied

Pt3 – We set up with the “Big 5” in order to get eyes on snake, increase guns, and position ourselves to take center when necessary. Shock went pocket save for a d-side wide asset. Shock was first to the center, not with one, but two assets. Again, our secondary is just behind Shock’s but we determined at practice that being first isn’t always best in that center. The two bodies though was an effective counter to the theory. What made me happy was our composure during the scramble. A disciplined understanding of the situation. 2-1 Canes

Pt4 – Aftershock had shown a tendency to crash the center and then expand (a smart approach as most teams would leverage this tactic including us). It was time to use that against them though and beat them to the punch. The goal of our play here was to take the path of least resistance to the center d-side (Aftershock was leaving that hole available), try to snag the center kill, and take anything additional they give us. Hopefully, the chaos would draw attention (at worst trade), and we would build off that crash to take snake and dorito wides. We were rewarded with the play developing better than I had hoped as Stu got two kills immediately, AND we made both wides. We were now set up to kill clock with the lead. Shock helps us by sending a body to trade with Stu. It was now a four on two situation, we owned the spots… Shock smartly concedes the point with just under 4 minutes left. 3-1 Canes

Pt5 – Internally, I was feeling confident in our game plan and was pleased (save for that first point) with the execution up to that point. Shock had shown mostly center push then expansion, where we had shown mostly pocket. The play call was to risk the snake on this one to counter their center push and/or meet their anticipated snake run. Disaster strikes. Our high risk runner made it and my lower risk home died followed quickly by two more from our pocket. This was the point that was the deciding factor for the match in my opinion. Had we survived this break for just 30-40 seconds, we would have won in regulation. Woulda coulda shoulda… 3-2 Canes

Pt6 – Naturally, we felt that Shock would want a combo of center with snake presence. We felt this would be an opportunity to take dorito wide on the break. Again, my high risk player made it but we gave them a home player… followed quickly by our snake side tower. Stu survived the snake attack while in the dorito tower and made a play to take the snake off the board. He succeeded. It was now a 4-2 advantage to Shock. I always give my guys time to win a gunfight or pull something out. They won a gunfight. It was now a 3-2 advantage for Shock. We had worked on the alamo scenario at practice. Daniel Camp knew he needed to make snake corner and did with about a minute and a half left. Again, we played this scenario out several times in preparation so my confidence is high. My confidence SOARED when we picked off another shock player making it a 2-2 with about a minute left and we owned dorito 2 and snake corner. Put it in the bag… or so I thought. A bad decision to gun fight over the top of the snake corner cost us this game in regulation with, you guessed it, 30-40 seconds left. 3-3 tied

Pt7 – We wanted to go for the win. We had a few different fast point plays in the ol’ playbook. The question was which one to use based off Shock’s (and Todd’s) tendencies. There was a little less than 30 seconds on the clock but there were a few instances at practice where we pulled off 20-25 second wins. In this particular case, it isn’t a full send. The plan was to attack hard center and d-side leaving Daniel Camp and Nic Rippel as contingency in case it didn’t work out. We would crash the center with Stu but used Drew Bell on a delay just off center d-side and let Jacob Searight wheel and deal wide. Stu crashed, took one with him, and then Drew cleared through getting two. Shock got a minor but with only 4 seconds left, Searight can’t make the buzzer. Close but as we all know, that only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

OT – We get a minor. On the break. Playing 3 on 5 with 5 minutes on the clock, against Shock, who owned the snake and center… not a high probability positive outcome. Barring a miracle, we just lost a match we shouldn’t have lost. No miracle arrived. The positive take away was, when we executed the game plan well and played as a team, we looked phenomenal. Consistency… we would have to increase that aspect and would be just fine…

VS Bears

We won this match and were in control for the majority of it. Our guns on the break showed up along with our zone control on every point we win. However, I do want to address the two points we lost in this match.

Pt2 – We had good guns on break to start the match shooting the Bears snake runner AND we made the snake. Gun fight losses will happen… but when it came down to a 3 on 3, we made a small mental error. Drew Bell attempted to spread to the d-side from the snake side since we had no presence there and the Bears did. We owned the center and snake which can contest the Bears snake and snake tower. One could argue, we could have used our Center to contest d-side aggression but I digress. I am not upset with Drew’s repositioning per say. More that he tried to push the envelope when it wasn’t necessary. We weren’t at a point where we needed to press anything or make something happen. Had he been content with making the dorito one, we more than likely would have been good. Instead, we forced the issue, gave the body away, and let the Bears back into the game with a short clock.

Pt6 – If just one of the two Canes players who played dorito can or snake side tower, either one, stayed alive, we would have won 4-1 in a 50 second point. Either one of them. But it didn’t happen, allowing the Bears to find the hole and put another point on the board with a 46 second point.

VS MLKings

On this layout and in this division, you can’t play 3 on 5 and expect to win the points much less the match. We were not hitting our shots in this match and if we were, well, we needed better paint management. We knew they were slow into some key bunkers and even when they did this in our match, we weren’t catching the body. We scouted them and expected them to play a little pocket, and we were right. Even knowing what they were going to do, we weren’t able to generate any momentum.

Pt1 – The kings shot two of us off the break and we gave them a third all within the first 20 seconds. Nope. Concede, reset.

Pt2 – Kings pocketed up and we took the center first with a delay out to dorito 2. We were in great position for this point. We shot Kyle Barry followed by the Kings countering through the center only to have missed their shot. We should have now been in control of the point as Stu repositioned in the center to counter their counter. But, once again, we gave them a body out of our backfield allowing the Kings to take snake. So, an advantage lost. Stu played sloppy and got caught. But Daniel Camp and Jacob Searight almost turned it around with Danimal getting into the snake to contest and Searight taking ground into dorito 4 generating a kill. 3 v 3 now. In a rare moment, Daniel missed a shot on the snake tower for the Kings which would have blown the point open since that player was stalling the d-side attack. When Drew Bell got out behind Searight, I thought okay… force multiplier. Then Drew called his shot on the snake player for the Kings. I, too, thought I saw it but, ref calls him clean. The big domino to fall was Searight getting clipped in the loader… I love Drew and Danimal trying to break things open but it doesn’t pay off.

Pt 3 – The Kings spread (that’s the best two bunkers to own to kill clock – Dorito 1 and snake corner). Again, no kills on break for us even though we set up for it. We lost a body again from the snake tower. Searight understood the situation and got out wide on d-side. We evened the count with a kill from snake side tower and then shot another from their dorito corner. We had a four on three body advantage but we gave the Kings the snake again and allowed Kyle Barry to play fast and loose in the center. The snake took Drew off the board. Our only hope was to win a gunfight or to have Searight clock in. Stu ended up getting a bullstuff penalty… it was bang bang. Kyle, like many of the pros, gets to talk after being eliminated and plead a case. I am not allowed to review.

Pt 4 – We were down by three with 5:40 left on the clock. Enough time to come back and win. But we had to execute better. For example, not hitting our shots and then hanging over the top for too long at the center bunker to get shot. Not how we do it. I said I would let the point go until 4:30 unless I saw life from my guys. Searight was in position d-side again (as he was apt to do most of the event) and Pate took the center. The boys bought themselves another 30 seconds. But then, we lost Searight…so no, you don’t get another 30.

Pt5 – At this point, I’m looking at the clock thinking, we need at least two points. Plenty of time to do it. But I wasn’t getting production out of any one of my starters really, save for Searight. A good coach knows what to say, how to say it, and when. This is where I fell short. I thought, let’s take a breath, get our guns up, don’t force the point, get a point on the board with a base play. We lost our d-side tower, Kings took dorito 3 and we don’t see it because of the elimination on the break (best eyes to see that move). Daniel Camp almost pulled off a heroic response attacking down the snake side but with his teammates dying behind him, it was a valiant effort between him and Searight, but not enough.

Pt6 – I’m looking at the clock, I’m looking at the score, and I am looking at my guys. None of those things looked good. Time to see what my guys who haven’t seen the field much can do. We have dug a serious hole in order to make Sunday now. Time to take the opportunity to see how bad my guys want to show me what they can do. I look to the bench and they wanted it. So they got the call. They go out and look better than the starters did the entire match. Searight, Mike Brown, and Ryan Williamson go out and play well. Searight and Mike Brown pressed the issue dorito way as they know the situation and gave me 200%. Ryan Williamson goes full send but we ran out of time.

VS Impact

Based off our scouting report of Impact, we had a good understanding of what they wanted to do. But you can’t ignore the fact that we were playing subpar… I had done the math and knew we weren’t making Sunday. I had a theory though on Impact which was confirmed and would make the difference in my opinion. That theory was confirmed when we went down 2-0, and then Impact conceded the 3rd point when they still had a player on the board. I knew they were playing for the margin. We were playing for pride and pride only. There is a difference. And it was the small edge we needed. My adjustment (besides personnel) was to adapt the game plan to the corners. If we could get wide either on the break or through secondaries, Impact would put us on the board with their aggression into our zone control. Granted, our zone control had been spotty all weekend but my guys are warriors. They knew what needed to happen. It would not go as planned but… it went. And I will take it. This was a great growth moment for the squad as a whole.

Pt1 – We shot their pocket shooter, expanded well and set the trap for Urena in the snake. Urena popped the top though and made a great shot on Pate. Not much you can do save for what I said in the pit, “Well… damn.” Mike Brown clocked in and got wide dorito. We now owned dorito 1 and the snake, so we aren’t in a bad position. Ryan Williamson, who stepped up for me, got clipped once Impact finally got through the zone dorito side. But Mike Brown got it back for us making a great shot on Cornell. It was 3v3 as we crossed the 5 minute threshold. A great shot by an Impact player caught Drew Bell, was returned by ANOTHER great shot by Mike Brown but in the chaos, Impact took the first point.

Pt2 – Both teams have the same breakout with Impact winning the break as we lost Searight dorito way. They then had some really crisp secondary expansions trapping us in the pocket. Daniel Camp, knowing we had to have that snake made it and actually got our first elimination. Stu tried to make something happen through the center but got caught. Drew Bell knew we had to be wide d-side and got out there picking up a crucial elimination on Impact. 3 v 3 again. But the wheeling and dealing went on too long and Drew got picked off. Pate understood where the hole was, tried to fill it but he and Daniel both died almost simultaneously.

Pt3 – We were down 2-0. I explained again the importance of having these corners and why Impact has to come. We risked throwing Nic at the snake corner to draw the gun deep with the intent to feed underneath from snake tower. It worked partially as we made the snake but Nic got picked off. It paid off though because impact must not have seen the feed as we caught their snake coming to our side. We have evened it up and Britt Simpson created an opportunity making dorito corner. We are now set up to let Impact die coming forward. We got some key eliminations, to make it a 3 on 1 and Impact conceded the point. Confirmation of theory and now we were on the board. The guys are all in now. We’re going to win.

Pt4 – It was time to take the fight to them while the guys are spirited up. “Crafty time.” We knew Impacts’ tendency now and decided to take advantage. Britt Simpson got the call and we shot him to dorito 3 on the dorito can route. This would shift at least two guns and allowed a center punch dorito side as well as got a second asset out dorito way. It worked. The penalty on Drew was bogus but hey, it didn’t matter as Britt Simpson and Mike Brown closed out the point with a great shot by MB dotting Urena’s eye in the corner.

Pt5 – One name. Mike Brown… We sent Stu to the snake side 40 wall to wrap and trap, to take a body, and draw a gun to allow snake to feed. We had d-side tower to position for center and be a force multiplier when necessary. Stu did not take a body and got picked up… but we made the snake. Britt forced the outside dorito move since he knew what I wanted and Bell got picked up. We were in dire straights now… it was 4 on 2 advantage to Impact. But Mike Brown and Daniel Camp said “not today” making it a 2 on 2! Mike Brown with his super power of survivability won his gun fight! Daniel heard this and in the chaos launched on Impacts snake player and trades! Mike Brown was still alive and Impact conceded. Mike Brown… way to be. He really has earned the nickname, “Clutch”

Pt6 – I wanted the corners on the break. Let’s just get there. And we made it. Very pleased. But then we lost the dorito corner shortly after. Drew Bell made a play to dig out Impacts center presence but got picked up. Even then, we were still in good spots to hold (snake, snake corner, and dorito can). We lost our dorito can and Impact has the bodies to trade. They hit the buzzer with 5 seconds left.
We wanted to play the point so we could work on game plan.

OT – Ride or die… it was time to get back to basics. We had had plenty of practice now… no excuse not to execute the game plan that we had prepared headed into this event. Time to make it work for us instead of against us. Full Circle… let’s see if we had learned. And we had. We shot interior while protecting wides. Paint broke on Impact’s dorito tower. 5-4 advantage Canes. Zone control picked up Mike Urena as he tried to force the snake move. 5-3 advantage Canes. Bell took the center, Daniel made snake corner, Nic took the snake, Searight took the dorito corner, Mike Brown contained. We would win this point barring anything ridiculous. Nic Rippel showed why he is a Hurricane by going down the snake to Impact’s side of the field. He got a three pack to close out the game leaving us with 4 bodies alive.

Not a bad consolation prize finally beating Impact and knocking a top team like them out of the tournament… but I would really like to have that Aftershock match back.

This event was strange. It’s been a few days now, and I still haven’t put my finger on what our issues were other than, we were missing/bouncing some shots on opponents, and I wasn’t getting production out of my starters. Several big moment mistakes by guys who don’t normally make them appeared to be the main issue. My initial reaction is that we were our toughest opponent this event. Not the teams in front of us… us. The goal now is to focus on our next practices and event prep with renewed optimism and understanding. We will assess our performance in order to improve our consistency and not dwell too much on the mistakes and missed opportunities from this last event. Back to the opening message about consistency… Consistency requires you to “be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.” To move forward, the Canes need to review our process, ensure we are emphasizing the proper things, and develop solutions.

And we will.

Be water my friends.