Thread: Burnout - what to do, what to do..

hey all - some food for thought on the dreaded burnout..

discussion & comments welcome.
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Burnout - what to do, what to do..

here are a few tidbits on burnout Ive uncovered in my tenure

1) Balance - If you play serious all the time, you will burnout sooner rather that later. Try and balance "serious" with "just for fun" - both as an individual and as a team. (I have found when playing scenarios games with a team at a serious level, I should play at least 1 "fun game" for every 1 "serious game". If the team is getting stressed over little stuff up the ratio to 3 to 1.)

2) The new players are the most excited about the game. If you hang-out with them, their enthusiasm rubs off on you. (Don't insulate yourself with old friends - keep making new ones and make time to mentor the new friends)

3) Loose the dbaggage : jerks, cry babies, and cheaters ruin the FUN for everyone in ear shot. Remove yourself from their space. (this is the top reason so many veteran ballers who play outlaw prefer outlaw)

ADD PERSONAL CHALLENGE -- see below

4) Dump The Semi. Pump play is much more challenging - especially if you go stock class and/or limited paint. Gear DOWN not UP.

5) Stack The Odds Against You. When my friends and I play, we go 3 on 8 as a normal ratio just to get the juices going.

6) Call Your Shots - don't take the easy shot, sneak in close and go for booty. Call your cheek.

7) New Dirt - play new and unfamiliar fields where you don't have every bunker, angle, spider hole, & fire lane memorized. I always get a little rush when playing an unfamiliar field.

8) New Games : Many fields play the same old stuff over and over - frequently because the kids running the games have never looked into different games - or are lazy or don't care about variety or challenge. Dig up some old classics and try them out. If it sounds hairy, its probably fun.

Take a break from the game. Not quit, "I'm selling off my gear" stuff, just take a few months off and do something else.

That is what I'm doing now. Work Load and playing steady for over 20 years has worn me out on paintball. So I cleaned and packed up my gear and put it in the closet. I expect to do nothing with paintball [other than the forum] for the summer at least. When I come back I'll be ready to participate again.

this is why i dont hardly play during the winter, its my down time so ill be hungry for the good weather.

I take time off from paintball in the summer.However, I will probably take my pump out a couple of times.

Play the Game for Fun not because its "Cool." Play Fields that are Fun not Just "Cool". Get a life do other things don't play every weekend.

I play for the fun of playing and try not to take the games too seriously. Yes I want to win and play hard, but winning is secondary and I never lose myself in the game. when I am not having fun anymore I will pack it up for a while, I do not play all the time so that is way off for me. I have thought about tourney play or sppl, but I know that when I do that I will become to serious and I want the enjoyment I have with the games and my junkie friends to continue until I am too old and decrepid to play anymore....any day now..

Good list thumper.
Always trying to find ways to keep away from burnout.

I honestly just took a break. Now I try and play every other week. Switching up my play style defiantly helped me get back in. Whether it was semi to pump to full auto. Keep it new..

if your a serious "speed" baller or tourny baller, play a scenario, night games especially, the atmosphere from alotta the guys on here helped me to relax and have fun in the big games....again take the time to play a completely different form then your used to, it excersises your mind and really makes you work for paintball

∙Take a break (this is quite easy for me, as I have no money)
∙Get a new marker
∙Design a marker or two...
∙Get sponsored
∙Play new things.
∙Play new places.
∙Play new people.


Do not try to get yourself surrounded by paintball.
Everyone things it would be awesome to live and breathe paintball, but it's not. It gets to a point of "nothing is new"


If you really want to know how not to get burned out on paintball, ask Reese Stewart.