We Won Our First Tournament This Weekend!
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118427)
Gainesville, Florida
April 10, 2019 7:52pm CST
Many of you are aware through previous discussions that I play professional paintball. This past weekend we played in a tournament in Orlando, and our team won the tournament! It's our first tournament win of the season. There were 31 teams in the tournament, including several national powerhouses.
Unfortunately, I was not able to play due to my recent knee surgery, but I helped coach the team over the weekend, hobbling all around on my crutches. Not bad getting a tournament win in my coaching debut! haha
We discovered an amazing strategy on the field that almost guaranteed us a win in every game we played, and surprisingly, not other team figured out the same strategy or picked up on our strategy throughout the weekend. And nobody could figure out a counter strategy to stop us. It was brilliant.
Anyway, that was my exciting weekend. We're already looking forward to our next three tournaments in May, one in Dallas, Texas, one in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and one in Paris, France.
Due to my ongoing rehabilitation of my knee, I may not be ready to play in the Texas tournament, but I will definitely be back playing in the Ft. Lauderdale and Paris tournaments.
32 people like this
31 responses
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
11 Apr 19
You've got a cool bunch a guy's out there Jeff, congratulations and best of luck in the coming tournaments.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
Thanks! We have an amazing bunch of guys They are as good of guys off the field as they are on the field.
4 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Apr 19
@resukill22 I am very thankful for all of them. We are a group of guys that are very close to each other. They are like family to me.
2 people like this
@resukill22 (25052)
• Las Pinas City, Philippines
21 Apr 19
@moffittjc that is good to have a good bunch of friend like them, be thankful
2 people like this
@ShyBear88 (59282)
• Sterling, Virginia
11 Apr 19
I’m glad it’s all going well for you!
2 people like this
@ShyBear88 (59282)
• Sterling, Virginia
11 Apr 19
@moffittjc it’s been good! I’m going solo tomorrow night with the kids. The first time in like 2 months.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@ShyBear88 So you're going solo? Is hubby out of town?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
Well, it's going well for the team, not just me. I'm on the injured reserve list! haha
But yeah, it's been a mostly fun journey so far!
How are you doing? How's your week so far?
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (457918)
• Switzerland
11 Apr 19
You scared me for a moment when I read "we played in a tournament...", I am glad that you only helped coach the team. Congratulations to your team. Are you going to Paris? In May it can be warn and beautiful or it can be dark and rainy, unpredictable.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (457918)
• Switzerland
12 Apr 19
@moffittjc Be careful and do not play if you do not feel 100% sure that it's safe for you.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
My goal is to be back playing in time for the Ft Lauderdale tournament, which is a few weeks before the Paris tournament. But my ultimate goal is to be back playing for the Paris tournament.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@LadyDuck I promise I will be extra careful!
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
11 Apr 19
Wow! France?!
But I am glad you got to be there.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
I'm excited about France. I missed the tournament in Barcelona two weekends ago because of my knee injury, so I really want to make sure I am healthy again for the Paris tournament. There are also tournaments scheduled in Prague and Amsterdam, so hopefully I will have a chance to play in those as well.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
I'm 99% sure I'll be playing in Paris, unless something goes wrong with my knee rehab along the way (or if I get hurt again in the Dallas or Ft. Lauderdale tournaments). But I am being very cautious and conservative in my path back to full health
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
@NJChicaa I'm doing my best to be patient and let my body do it's healing. But the athlete in me wants to get up and go and get back to doing all the things I love. But I am being smart about this.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (115972)
• United States
11 Apr 19
@moffittjc good to hear that you are being conservative! Don't rush it!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (155957)
• United States
11 Apr 19
Congratulations on the win! Hope you will be better soon or at least in time for the Paris tournament. How exciting!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
I'll complete my rehab on my knee before the Dallas tournament, but I still most likely won't play that one because I won't have a chance to practice and get ready beforehand. So I'm just going to be patient and make sure I'm ready for Ft. Lauderdale and Paris.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Apr 19
@LindaOHio My local paintball field had the new Texas field layout set up today, so me and a handful of other pros went and did some walk-around practice on it to start figuring out game strategy. I may not be able to play just yet, but nothing says I can't start preparing mentally! We figured out some very good strategy today, and tomorrow my team is going to practice some of that strategy in a scrimmage against another team from New York I won't be playing of course, but I'll be out there helping coach and fine-tune our game strategy.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
11 Apr 19
Yay!! Congrats! I'm so excited for you and your team! =) I hope your back playing again in no time. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
Thank you Jennifer! We are so excited to get a win so early in our careers. We are a very young team, and have exploded onto the national paintball scene this year! This win all but guarantees an invitation to the World Cup in November. And we hope to carry this momentum into the next tournament.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
22 Apr 19
@moffittjc when is the game in Texas?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Apr 19
@simone10 May 3-5 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Apr 19
Thank you Sharon! Each day my knee is getting stronger, and I have slowly been adding in strength and flexibility exercises to help with my physical therapy. It looks like I may be ready for our next tournament in Texas, so I'm a little ahead of schedule on the rehab. But I'm not going to push it for the sake of playing. If I'm ready and feel comfortable, I'll play. If not, I'll help coach.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Apr 19
@DianneN We just received an announcement from the tournament officials that the tournament has been moved to Orlando instead of Ft Lauderdale. So, unfortunately, we won't be heading down to south Florida this tournament season it looks like. Which is a shame, I was going to take a few extra days and visit family and friends while I was down there.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
That's awesome Dianne, I would love to see you there at the tournament. I'm about 50/50 on being able to play in that tournament, but even if I don't play I'll still be there to help the team. I do have to warn you though, it's s tough game to follow as a spectator!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Apr 19
@just4him I'm really hoping that in the near future, they start hosting major tournaments in Australia, because that's where I really want to go! The league has already established itself locally in Australian, and is starting to offer regional tournaments there, so I'm hoping that it won't be long before it offers a major tournament there.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Apr 19
Besides the World Cup in Orlando in November, Paris has been the tournament I have most looked forward to!
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129391)
• Israel
17 May 19
@moffittjc
I am so happy for you and proud of you and your team. That is great news after what you have gone through you deserved it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 May 19
Thank you! We played in another tournament this past weekend, and we took first place! We now have two tournament wins on the season We're very excited at the accomplishments our team is achieving.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 May 19
@Hannihar Thank you! We're now playing a tournament in Chantilly, France (just outside of Paris). We're 1-1 in today's matches, but sitting in 1st place in our bracket.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129391)
• Israel
21 May 19
@moffittjc
Jeff, you are welcome and I am so proud of you all. That is great.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@nela13 You should come watch me play! How far are you from Paris?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
Every time I get impatient with my knee rehabilitation, I just remember that Paris is the goal, and that helps me re-focus. I want to get back out there and play so badly, but I know if I do I may endanger the rest of my season, including the Paris trip.
1 person likes this
@nela13 (55698)
• Portugal
12 Apr 19
@moffittjc that's right, you must focus on Paris so you won't push your knee.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
Thank you for your condolences, it's been a rough week for me.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@CarolDM Thank you. I'm taking things one day at a time.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203454)
• Nashville, Tennessee
12 Apr 19
@moffittjc I am sorry, I can so relate. Take some deep breaths.
1 person likes this
@MommyOfEli2013 (81963)
• Rupert, Idaho
11 Apr 19
Congrats on your team winning, sorry you couldn't play but that is good that you helped coach! That's awesome!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@MommyOfEli2013 I'm going to go out to the field this weekend and shoot around. No running or anything like that, I'll just do walk-through drills. Mostly I just want to work on shooting skills, to keep my aim sharp while I'm recovering. It will feel good to get back out there, although I will have to slowly ease into it until my knee is fully rehabbed.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
Thanks Courtney! Although I would have rather been out on the field playing, it was kind of fun to coach. Helped me see an entirely different side of the game, which will help me when I get back on the field of play
1 person likes this
@MommyOfEli2013 (81963)
• Rupert, Idaho
11 Apr 19
@moffittjc No problem! And I definitely can understand....but that is good that it will help you to coach in the meantime :)
1 person likes this
@kareng (54599)
• United States
12 Apr 19
@moffittjc And I imagine good exercise too!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
The fun part is when you win, but during the tournament, it is all business! It is a very fast-paced, grueling sport, but it is also very rewarding.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@kareng Too good of exercise! We burn so many calories in the tournaments, it's not even funny.
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90722)
• Philippines
29 May 19
@moffittjc Everyone should go step higher . 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 May 19
I love being a player in this action-packed sport, but in a few years I would like to transition into coaching full-time, and help develop new teams and players into professional champions.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
13 Apr 19
Congratulations well done you and the team
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
13 Apr 19
@moffittjc lol sounds like a job I would be good at lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Apr 19
My teammates did all the hard work. I just stood around on my crutches as a coach and yelled at them a lot! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Apr 19
@BelleStarr Well then, we should get you out to the field and let you boss us around a little bit! I hope you're good at strategic planning and tactical implementation, because you'll have to be quick-thinking on your feet! I think you could do it though!
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Apr 19
It was slightly frustrating for me not to be out there on the field with my guys, but we all strongly believe in the team concept, so even if not on the field, I was contributing to our team's success in a different way through coaching. We believe everybody on the team has an important role, no matter what they're doing.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@jaboUK Our motto is "next man up." That means if one guy goes down, another is ready to step up and fill the role. We practice every possible scenario during training, including substituting players into roles they normally don't play, in case the need every arises for them to step up.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (79678)
• United States
11 Apr 19
That is wonderful news for you and your team. Hope your knee continues to heal so you can play in the future tournaments.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (79678)
• United States
12 Apr 19
@moffittjc it must be very hard not being able to participate
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Apr 19
@Marilynda1225 It drives me absolutely crazy to see my teammates out there and I'm not able to join them. But coaching the team and helping in the pits has also be very rewarding as well. It has helped me to see that game from a totally different perspective, which in turn will help me when I get back out there on the field.
@resukill22 (25052)
• Las Pinas City, Philippines
21 Apr 19
Congratulations to your group, always keep up the good work, have you plan for parties to celebrate your winning?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118427)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Apr 19
@resukill22 Thank you! The national rankings were just released on Friday, and our team is ranked #2 in Florida and #11 nationally. We continue to climb in the rankings we each new tournament we play in.
