The Next Level by Garrin Clark

In the course of the last ten years, competition paintball has gfone from playing in the woods (running and crawling through bushes while wearing camouflage), to being played in venues like the Toronto Skydome (running, diving, sliding and hising behind air filled, vinyl bunkers while wearing loud clothing specifically designed for paintball).

The game itself is getting faster and more exciting every year.  Due to the elevation in speed and aggressiveness in the game, there are greater physical demands being placed on the athletes.  Competition paintball is no longer for the out of shape individual.

The Next Level is a training guide to help in crease the overall athleticism of the competition player.  In the course of a game, players might have to: spring repeatedly over short distances, power slide, dive, make very quick abrupt movements (dodging flying paintballs), hold awkward position (for minutes at a time), and be able to think and react rapidly.  To address all of the physical and mental demands of the game, The Next Level, with the use of clear diagrams and detailed descriptions, shows athletes how to increase their abilities in the following:

• Flexibility
• Explosiveness
• Running Speed
• Reaction Speed
• Hand and Eye coordination
• Agility
• Game Related Vision

Last, but definitely not least, all athletes aspire to the perfect performance, also known as, "performing in the zone."  The Next Level addresses the state of being, "In the zone," and theories on how to achieve it.

The Next Level by Garrin Clark
100pp, perfect bound
(ITEM NEXTLEVEL)

"Brimstone Smoke's Garrin Clark is probably one of the fastest runners in paintball."

Garrin Clark is a professional paintball player on the team, BRimstone Smoke.  Garrin, along with the Smoke were the 5 man Amateur Wolrd Champions in 2002.  The same year they won the largest cash payout in the history of competition paintball in a single event, $50,000 at the Draxxus International Open.  In 2003, thw Smoke moved up to the 10 man Pro/ Am Division where they won the Chicago Open and took third at World Cup in Orlando, Florida.  The Brimstone Smoke finished up the season ranking fourth in the world.  What is so amazing about those feats, is that the team was assembled in 2001.

Garrin has been playing competition paintball for about 8 years and has been an athlete all of his life.  Although he has been involved in many sports, his background in Track & Field has been the strongest.  He was an all state sprinter and helf three different high school records.  At the age of 35, Garrin still can run the 40-yard dash in less than 4.3 seconds.  When he is no competing with the Smoke, Garrin enjoys competing with the Champion, Ford Motor Company Track Club.

Garrin's vast knowledge of sport performacne and athletics also comes from his experience as a fitness consultant and personal trainer.

From the Author
"There are new formats which are more spectator friendly, more exciting because you get to see two teams go at it for over an hour (like in X-ball), lots of scoring, bunkering (eliminating an opponent at point blank range) and just flat out more action. There are penalty boxes, half times and some events even have cheerleaders. The game is changing, and it has to if we want the ultimate platform... television coverage. I've been playing competition paintball for about eight years and have been an athlete since I can remember. When I first started playing, it was strictly recreational. After a year, some friends and I started a team and entered a tournament, "and that was all she wrote!" Even though we didn't place, we beat half the teams we played. Beating those teams wasn't the most important thing that came out of that tournament, it was the thrill of competition. Like almost every paintball player I have met, the thrill to compete and win just sucked me right in. Watching the sport become more athletic over the years has furthered my motivation to get in tip top shape, so I decided to implement all of my training in Track & Field, Football and Basketball. Using the training techniques from these three different sports helped to make me more physically prepared for competition paintball, but they didn't cover all of the bases. There is a lot of sliding involved in paintball, I had never played a sport in high school or college that required me to do that. After injuring my knee once sliding incorrectly, I decided to research the proper technique for sliding. I also started studying yoga for stretching techniques and for the stamina to hold awkward positions. I did all of this; 1) because Ilike being healthy and physically fit, and 2) because I wanted to have an edge while playing paintball. Paintball has so many different elements, there wasn't one book I could go and get that would help me train for this specific sport. If you go to any large bookstore, you can find books on training for football, basketball, hockey, bodybuilding, etc. I even saw a book for miniature golf, but no paintball. I have put together a personal training schedule with exercises that have physically and mentally made me a much sharper, faster, explosive and agile player. 

Many that know me, know of my speed. When people approach me and ask what they can do to get faster, I never hesitate to share my knowledge. Because of the many questions I get from players on how to improve their performance, I saw a need for our own training book. The purpose of this book is a one-stop training guide for bettering your personal physical attributes for the sport of paintball. No matter if you are a front, mid or back player, a beginner, intermediate or advanced player you will be able to improve your game. You know, I only wish I had a book like this to use as a resource eight years ago."