the problem rather than just pointing out
the obvious – no one likes to be patronised!
Knowing your players and their behaviour can
also help; by delicately manipulating players’
behaviour traits you can direct the flow of
a game and prevent a rout that might lead
to some players becoming disillusioned.
This is also a good way to help diffuse tense
situations that can get out of hand.
ran straight into cover behind a group of small
structures but enemy fire pinned them in this
area for a significant period of time and they
lost momentum. But when the game was
reversed, Yellow Team made exactly the same
mistake. Thanks to my position outside of
the game, though, I could witness these and
make a mental note not to make the same
mistake at that site in future.
Criticism
Humour
Being able to give criticism in a constructive
manner is vital. As previously stated, the
manner in which you point out a player’s error
can seem patronising if not done correctly and
this can lead to a bad relationship between
players and marshals. It is equally important to
be able to take criticism yourself; listening to
feedback from players will enable marshals to
develop further.
No one wants to play with unfriendly
marshals. By displaying a good sense of
humour you will show players that you are
approachable and friendly and this in turn
will help to foster a good relationship and
encourage them to return. I witnessed the
exact opposite at a large airsoft event in the
south of England where the demeanour
and behaviour of the marshals made me
determined not to return to that particular site.
In a time of recession and austerity people
are careful about how they spend money, so
airsoft sites are competing for a limited pot
of money and, ultimately, the sites with good
games and friendly marshals are likely to be
the long term winners.
So my final message to all marshals out
there is this: you’d better have a sense of
humour! n
Observation
An alert marshal is able to continually monitor
for cheating or issues that may damage the
flow of a game. Marshals must adapt as a
player by learning from the mistakes that
others make and avoiding repeating them. I
learnt this valuable lesson when I marshalled a
night game for the first time.
At the beginning of the evening, Red Team
“The moment that he put a
G&G G300 with under-slung
grenade launcher in my hands
I knew that I was hooked!”
096
Xmas 2011