Developing Fast Decision-Making Skills in Paintball

Developing Decision Making Skills for Intense Team Sports 

High intensity sports such as paintball, softball, tennis, and baseball are fast moving physical work outs that engage you mentally forcing you to make decisions while constantly in motion.  Most of the decision-making task falls on coaches, but in order to do your best, the player’s responsibility adds to the success of the team. https://www.paintballusa.org/

These sports require fast thinking because the plays are constantly changing. Keeping up with the flow of the game and staying alert is key to winning. Not everyone has the same great decision-making skill level. Some of the simple decisions you make in your everyday life are;

• Deciding what to wear in the morning. 
• Planning out your day.
• Making a choice for your meals throughout the day.
• Coming up with alternatives to transportation if the issue occurs.

Decision making skills usually develop from age eight to sixteen years old. By at least fifteen, teens show a reasonable development to make appropriate choices for simple life tasks, problem solving, and that actions always have consequences. 

Although it’s quite normal to assume teens have developed good reasoning, there are some that experience limited attention spans and are slower cognitively which can result in slower decision making. 

Still, others are just really poor at making any decisions whatsoever. Aboulomania is an emotional abnormality that creates anxiety and tension when faced with making even the simplest decisions. 

Decision making isn’t something you are born with. It can be practiced, refined, and even mastered. A person with good decision-making skills can flourish in paintball and also in their job. In the work place, this person can assess the facts, understand how to become an asset to the company by deciding how to obtain the goal choosing the best course of action to take.

Being able to make fast decisions is a skill that one acquires from repetitious scenarios. For example, the more you play paintball, the better you will become at making fast decisions during the game that will achieve your goal to win. When you master that skill, it will enable you to become the captain and lead your team to victory. https://www.paintballusa.org/welcome-information

Some key strategies to become quick at making decisions;

• Make a game plan.
• Take command and lead the team through the game plan.
• When there’s a change in scenario, decide fast on the next move.
• Be assertive and communicate on the playing field. 
• Stay in perspective to obtain your team’s goal.

Remember that replication of the game plan can happen in practice, so always make time for team practices before the main event or tournament. Implement changes during the game so players are not caught off guard should these arise. Keep a level head and leave your emotion out of decision making. 

• Try to improve your decision-making skills by speeding up the game during practice. 
• Make your practices to simulate real games.
• Conduct player reviews and make position adjustments as needed. 
• Be patient with players that are not as efficient in the sport as others. 
• Take responsibility for poor decisions you make.
• Decision making is also problem solving, so train your players.

If you are not a quick decision maker, rest easy and just enjoy paintball. The sport is so much fun. Leave the leadership to someone else and do your best. https://www.paintballusa.org/about/paintball-facts