Joining a Team

[Stephanie ballard]

Hi all I’m after some info on my 14 year old joining an airsoft team he is a total novice but has a few guns and does target practise etc and is so interested in doing this as a sport any help in finding a team and any other advice given will be much appreciated

[GAMBLE]

Hi @Stephanie ballard! 👋

Give it time people will give their advice....
I would say for now, don’t need to rush, bring a few friends, who may be interested and then see from there? 
You don’t have to join a team right away, especially for a regular skirmish day! 

Have a channel covering a few things for beginners from my experience, hope this helps? 🤔

💷GAMBLE💷

Edited March 25, 2021 by GAMBLE

[Impulse]

@GAMBLEpretty much hit the nail on the head. I started airsoft around the same time as your 14 year old and the best way to start is just bring some friends that may be interested. For me, it was one of my friends in school who introduced me to it, then it expanded to a group of 4 of us and eventually all four of us ended up joining up with a team.

 

That beind said, you don't need a team in airsoft, at least not from a formal perspective. What will probably happen is your 14 year old will bring friends and/or make new friends at the local airsoft site and hang out/ work together with them through a skirmish day.

[EDcase]

Hi Stephanie,

 

I presume he hasn't played a game at a site yet?

If that's the case then he doesn't need to join a team to play.  Many of us (including me) started just by going on our own and meeting people during the day.

It may be a bit intimidating at first but most are helpful to new players.

 

I took my son when he was 14 and its a good bonding activity for father and son.

 

When actually playing, everyone runs in their own direction so he can just follow along with anyone.

The main thing is to obey the rules while having fun.  When shot, raise hand and shout 'HIT' so that he doesn't get shot anymore.  With hand raised to show he's out its just a case of walking to an area to respawn and join in again.

 

The most important elements are good quality eye protection (not mesh) and boots with ankle support (army surplus is good for this)

Good eye pro would include:

Bolle Tracker

Bolle Pilot II

 

And face protection like THIS

 

If you need to find a site near you then have a look HERE

It may be a bit out of date so some of the info could be wrong but its a place to start.

Alternatively search 'airsoft' in Google Maps around where you live.

Edited March 25, 2021 by EDcase

[Tackle]

Agree with all the above, plus rushing in to join a team, particularly one that's based at sites local to you has its pitfalls, if later on it transpires that you actually don't like or agree with the "playing style" of the team, leaving it but continuing to use the local sites may be awkward to say the least, much better to attend the sites, work on finding your likes, & observe the regulars, particularly any established teams, judge for yourself if they're any good, if they play honestly ?, or have a dodgy reputation ? (some teams are notorious for cheating), & eventually you'll know whether or not team play is for you.

In the meantime you'll have great fun & meet mostly like-minded decent people who just enjoy the game for what it is.

Good luck 😁👍

[Shamal]

5 hours ago, EDcase said:

 

 

When actually playing, everyone runs in their own direction so he can just follow along with anyone.

I was 'adopted' by a young newbie down the ucap tunnels one Wednesday evening. 

I think he was impressed by my loadout and assumed I was a one man killing machine.Wrong! It started off ok by my saving him from hitting his head on a low doorway which earned me some thanks but then things went downhill fast.

I led him into the middle of a fire fight where we promptly got rinsed from both sides.i got him blown up,lost, and soaked when he stumbled and fell down a step which I neglected to warn him about lol. This all happened in the first half of the game.Never saw him again.lol.

Regards  

 

 

[Druid799]

Just reiterating what everyone else has said , you don’t need to be in a team to play(and to be honest even when you are in a ‘team’ you don’t stay together for long anyway during the game , you only really see each other in the safezone !)hardly anyone who plays is in one , most are either single players or small groups of friends but on the whole very rare to see identifiable teams .

also need to remember as he’s only 14 he will need an adult with him to be allowed to attend and play on a gameday .

[Stephanie ballard]

Thank you all so much best advice given and defo listened to 

can I ask for everyone’s favourite gun please he has all the protective equipment and a few guns but would like to check what everyone else uses he went for his first experience on Saturday with his brother dad and a couple of mates for his birthday and loved it 

[GAMBLE]

Hi @Stephanie ballard! 👋

Glad he had a Great time on his Birthday, with his family and friends! 🔫🥳👍

Honestly when it comes to your “favourite 🔫”, it’s down to the individual player, could be any easy answer or difficult answer? 

Some of us buy a RIF, because of films, TV series and games! 

Go with the most popular ones (M4) or something different? 

I like going as the “bad guy” because I have a few AK platforms, plus a few different ones! 🔫🤪👍

Does he have a preference.... mention this a few times in my channel! 👍

Hope this helps? 🤔

💷GAMBLE💷

[concretesnail]

Favourites are quite individual, but if he has a prefered style of platform then it should be fairly straight forward to decide on a particular rif based on its features within a given budget. I'd also recommend trying to get to a shop or asking about on a game day, to see if folk would let him try it for size.

Some rifs look great but get heavy when your carrying them all day.