World Cup is over and Pr1me ended up 6th place. We missed placing in the Top 4 by 58 seconds. You may be asking yourself, "What do you mean you missed top 4 by 68 seconds?" Its simple really... we were up 3-2 and needed to kill 58 seconds to make it to the finals. We knew what we needed to do. Heck, we even knew what the other team would do (pretty much). However, we didn't execute our game plan correctly. We lost two on the break and the remaining 3 didn't hold well. This has haunted us since October and we realized that we still had a long way to go.
We followed up Cup with the final event of the CFOA season, X-ball #6. We already had the series title locked up but we wanted to make a statement. We went into the finals, playing for 1st (never play for 2nd) and we dropped the ball. We took 2nd at the event. We checked out somewhere between the beatings we laid down in the pre-lims and the next morning. Holding a big series Cup abated some of our disappointment.
Mike Paxson pictured with team PR1ME. Pictured from left to right: Cameron McDonald, Jake "JP" James, Steve "Griff" Griffin, Mike Bianca, THE Mike Paxson, Evan Manners, Mike "Mikey" McGowan, Daniel Jones, and Chris "Smoker" Roark.
Pr1me is a team that never sits back and is always striving to get better. When we first started this team, we said we wanted to be like the Image of old. You never knew what they were going to do but you sure knew you were going to have a fight on your hands. Never trash talking but letting our game speak for us. We were a well "oiled" machine at Cup... but we needed to be more than that. We needed to be a well "timed" machine and we are far from that. We were firing on all cylinders at X-ball #6 but then forgot to put gas in the tank at the end. There is always room for improvement and we recognize that. And that doesn't stop in the off season.
Like most sports, Paintball is 90% mental. Its a chess match. You've got to get your pieces out early, hit hard and protect real estate. You've got to be multiple steps ahead of your opponent. Pr1me is evolving. In order to evolve, you have to have the right amalgamation of components to create an environment in which to generate that evolution.
We just had our first round of try-outs at the very beginning of the off-season. I feel we have added another dimension to our game with these pick ups. New blood, new looks, new skills. All good components. Couple that with the experience, familiarity and skills of the core team, 2011 looks very promising.
For me, personally, the off season has consisted of me spending time with my family. Getting up on Saturday mornings and cooking breakfast with the wife and watching cartoons with the kids has been something I have thoroughly enjoyed these last few weeks. I have put myself in a state of peace. The calm before the storm, if you will. But I am still training. I dropped 20lbs during the 2010 season in order to improve my game. I have since dropped an additional 5. I run intervals and stairs to increase my explosiveness off the line and increase cardio. I have been to the doctor regularly to track my improvements in health. I'm eating healthy. I work focus mitts with the children and shoot skeet to improve hand eye coordination. I hunt to tap into that killer instinct. I do all this because I am bringing my A game in January. I want my mind sharp and my body ready to be pushed to its upper limits. When I am on the field, that is all that matters, that is all that exists. That's my world. That's Pr1me's world. There is no off season... there is only the game. And if you draw us at an event... you can bet your sweet ass you're going to know you were in a fight.
Bianca pictured at center along with other members of team PR1ME shortly after defeating a very game NC Hammer to take 1st place at CFOA Xball 5.
Special thanks to PBUprising and KonorMedia for the ill photos.
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