Speedball backman

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Paintball backman is a player position in speedball, a game type of the sport of paintball. Back players stay to the rear of the field to provide cover fire, direction, and information to players further downfield. The center back player also has the responsibility of deciding overall team strategy, and even specific movements, during a game.

A speedball backman scouting for opponents.

1 General
2 Center back
3 Parallels to woodsball positions
4 Equipment
5 See also

[edit] General

Back players are the eyes and support fire of the team. At the rear of the field, they are afforded a fairly unobstructed view of the action, and constantly communicate with the rest of the team. It is the back player's job to coordinate and move the front players down the field while denying the opposing front player's movement. These different goals cause rear players to use their markers in a dramatically different way than a front player, utilizing a near constant stream of paint to shut down movement paths, called lanes, for opposing front players. This same tactic is used against specific bunkers to force a player to tuck in, allowing a front player to move.

[edit] Center back

The back player who takes the centermost position on the field is akin to a chess player or football coach who is stuck in the middle of the game. The back player filters information between left and right, and has a direct line of sight to both sides of the field. This player will let everyone know who is supposed to be doing what, setting up objectives for the other back players, and by association, the front players those back players are tending, as well as firing large amounts of paint across the field.

[edit] Parallels to woodsball positions

No speedball position is truly mirrored in woodsball, but the responsibilities can be similar and useful for non-speedball players as a reference. Back players are most closely similar to a combination of both a commander and gunner.

[edit] Equipment

Back players enjoy excess. Bigger air tanks and more paint define the equipment decisions these players make. They use the largest pod belt they can find, and many back players use 68 to 72ci , 4500 psi HPA tanks to ensure they do not run out of air mid-game. Anything that allows them to pull the trigger faster is also considered a plus. Most competitive players use a 14" to 16" barrel. They usually carry enough paint for the mid-field players and usually have the power house guns on the team.