The Wild World of TB!

Been delaying in writing something, that I actually would put on here, for some time now. Probably several reasons for it… One, I have a tendency to say very little when I think it’s just not going to matter. Two, I was rather unsure if I was even going to be playing paintball this season. Three, there were a lot of things bothering me about paintball and I've prefered to be a doer, not a talker. Four, I have a habit of writing and then overanalyzing what I’ve written and never thinking it’s good enough. The last one is a common theme in my life but I digress.

Well… for whatever reason, I changed my mind and decided that I am just going to type what I’m thinking and see what happens. When I get tired, I’ll just stop submit it and pick up where I left off the next time… or not.

What to write about? I’ve said this several times to myself and up until recently kept coming up with things that were definitely on the negative side. What I choose to write about can be taken both ways… it can be a complaint about what I feel is lacking in sports, paintball, our kids, schools and people in general or… for me it will be a reminder of why I have chosen to play sports my entire life, the attitude that has made me extremely successful in all those sports and the philosophy I use when coaching and training athletes. I guess those choosing to read it can apply it whatever way they see fit.

The topic I decided on is competition. I guess under the topic of competition would fall several things that I will probably end up mentioning…winning, losing, training, attitude and a host of others things.

Competition, to me, has always been about trying to be the best. It has been about setting goals, training to achieve those goals, working hard and succeeding. It’s involved a tremendous amount of self reflection, objective reflection, and being very hard on myself. The realistic reflection is probably the most important because without it a person will never improve. I believe that most people who are successful do the things that I have listed above… it doesn’t mean they will end up being “the best”, but they will surely be “their best”.

What competition has not been is… an exercise in deluding myself, convincing myself I am something that I am not… talking instead of doing… trying to dumb down the level of competition to something that I can beat… making excuses for my failures. What I have just mentioned will result in someone never reaching their potential and surely failing to be “the best” or “their best”. I have often wondered what satisfaction someone could possibly get from the above behaviors and how a person could be content, happy, feel good about themselves, have respect for themselves and gain any sort of satisfaction in deluding themselves and others. When these people go home and look in the mirror, what do the see? When they lie in bed at night and think about themselves and what they have accomplished, what do they think? To me it’s real simple… you either are or you are not good, you either are or you are not “the best”, you either win or you lose, you either accept responsibility or make excuses.

What I see as an educator, as a coach, as a trainer and as a high level athlete… is a disconnect in what people wish to achieve and what they do. I see a small few develop the mental and physical skills for success. It has been an absolute enjoyment to teach, coach and train some of those few individuals and teams… it has also been rewarding to have played alongside some teammates that are and to be one of those few.

So why do some succeed and why do some not succeed… when it comes to education and the success and failure of a child, there are several factors:
1) Parents… I will start with the kids that are not succeeding. There are common threads among these children that I see and others see, as educators, coaches, etc. (I know some of you will immediately say divorce causes most of the problems. Divorce is a tough thing to deal with, I come from a divorced home, but a good single parent or divorced parents that cooperate, work together for the best of the child and instill good qualities, will still be very successful.) Parents of these kids constantly make excuses for their children, protect them from anything negative, never want them to fail, tell them they are always a winner and want to be their friend instead of their parent. They question everything that teachers do and blame everyone else for why their child is not succeeding. This happens in countless cases and countless situations… you can substitute a number of words for teacher, when it comes to those that are blamed, including; coach, referee, game promoter, official, the other team and the list goes on and on. All are blamed for failure instead of accepting responsibility. We wonder why we end up with adults that are beyond delusional and live in a fantasy world. No wonder people can’t take criticism and are incapable of looking at themselves realistically.

Kids that do succeed… tend to have parents that teach them about responsibility, teach consequences for actions, allow their kids to both succeed and fail… they realize that failure and how you cope with it, is an important part of the learning process. They explain that not everyone can be a winner or “the best”, all the time… that it takes hard work to be successful and that it is worth that hard work to achieve that success. They are parents first, friends second and realize that they are responsible for helping equip their children for the real world. They do not “over protect”. They teach them about respect, honesty, hard work, discipline, caring, teamwork, dedication and self reflection. These skills do not just apply to education but are ones that apply to sports, work, relationships and life in general. These are skills that can be reinforced by teams, organizations, companies and in countless other facets of life or… they can be diluted by the same.

that's it for now, getting tired, need to get some sleep...

Well some have asked and others still want to know when Dave is going to post something. Well here is the start, the questions you may have always wanted to know about Dave Cilio but were afraid to ask. So without further ado, here we go:

1. How long have you played paintball?

Played my first game in 1986 or 1987. Subtracting out breaks for various sports and the Army... I'd say about 15 years in total, probably over 130 games.

2. What was your first gun?

The first gun I purchased was a Tippmann Pro-Lite, followed by a Grey Ghost pump (I absolutely loved that pump), then Pro-Team Micro Mags... which lead to my obsession with the 13 Mags I have... Trracer Pumps, PGP, Sniper II and a Carter Buzzard.

3. What do you shoot now?

I shoot a Smart Parts Ion, Epiphany internals, Smart Parts Black Heart board, Deadly Wind DTI3 body with BOB, Deadly Wind Duress clamping feed neck, Deadly Wind Pro On/Off ASA, Deadly Wind Fibur CF barrel with Smart Parts Stainless Steel Freak inserts. The gun is fantastic, extremely accurate and smooth... The Deadly Wind barrel, with Smart Parts Freak inserts, is the best barrel I've ever shot.

4. What do you do in the 'real' world?

I'm a Physical Education/ Health Teacher, have a personal training business (Results Fitness and Warrior Training): Specializing in Sports Specific training for pretty much every sport... Wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts, Body Building, Soccer, Baseball, etc. I train regularly in Mixed Martial Arts... a combination of Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Kick Boxing.

5. Anyone special in your life?

I’ve been dating someone named Michelle for a while now, we’ve become rather serious. She’s fantastic and doesn’t have any issues with me participating in the rather extreme sports/hobbies that have.

6. You were the team captain of Knightmare Tango (easily one of the best teams ever in scenario paintball)...can you tell us what that was like?

It was enjoyable but time consuming. We were a small team but a very, very serious group. I addressed every aspect of the sport in the running of and building of Knightmare Tango... teamwork, skills, strategy and physical fitness. It took a lot to develop a team that knew what each other were going to do before it happened and even more to constantly improve. The people who played for Knightmare Tango were a very special breed and a very different type of player. We all had the same goal and the same mind set… we gelled like no team I've ever seen in paintball.

7. How can you be on a team like Thunderstruck (since mid-2005) after being the captain of KT? I mean they have no team captain...

I was captain of a team for long enough, 11 years... I just want to be a player. Everyone on ThunderStruck brings something to the team... leadership, shooters, support and command/control. Everyone knows what they need to do and how to win. In general, it’s hard for me to follow someone… there’s very few people that I have enough respect in their abilities to follow their orders and have faith in their decisions. ThunderStruck has several players that I would follow without hesitation and they trust me to get the things done that they ask.

8. What do you like about your 'new' team?

I like what I mentioned in the previous question... not having to be captain and all the different skills that players bring to this team. The players on ThunderStruck are good at what they do, very good. They are intense but honest players. They want to win and do what it takes to win. We enjoy playing together, usually ;-), and have a great time.

9. Care to share anything you don't like about your 'new' team?

I tend to be the type that does the vast majority of my talking through my play on the field…I've always been that way in all the sports I've done. There are a number of players on ThunderStruck that, let's just say... have powerful personalities and are rather talkative. Not my style, but to each their own. I do respect that they say what's on their mind and are more than capable of backing it up.

10. I notice you post on PBN on occasion. How do you feel about the 'internet posting teams' (teams who do more posting on public forums than playing paintball) who post there?

I feel that talk is cheap in general. It's much easier for someone to talk about how great they feel they are, than to be able to do the work that it takes to be great.

11. Thunderstruck; a team sponsored by Smart Parts. How can you be sponsored by the most evil company in paintball?

"Evil", wow... interesting choice of a word. I can tell you what my experiences are with Smart Parts and I would characterize them as far from "evil". Since the time that Smart Parts has sponsored ThunderStruck, 2007 season, they have been to a good number of events that we've attended. I've seen them set up a booth and give help to anyone that stopped by… didn't matter what gun the player had, if they could fix it, they did and happily. They gave out parts, batteries, you name it. In my opinion... Sean Scott, along with others, represent Smart Parts very well. Those that I've met from Smart Parts have a winning attitude, and to me the word win does not have a negative connotation. They are intense in what they do and compete to win… that fits right in with my personality.

12. How do you feel about being consistently discussed as one of the top scenario players in the game...ever?

It's up to others to decide how well I do and whether I am, "one of the top players in the game". I'm not going to say that I don't want to be the best, I try to be the best at whatever I do. I put in the time, train hard, stay in great shape and do my job on the field... I give everything I have. I'm my own toughest critic, I'm never content... I'll keep working at it and I’ll let others decide.

13. Besides paintball, what do you do for fun?

I guess it could be called fun... I do Mixed Martial Arts (Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Kickboxing), workout at the gym and train athletes to win. Spend time with my girlfriend.

14. Do you think Thunderstruck gets the respect they deserve?

I think there are many that are publicly resistant to giving ThunderStruck, "The respect we deserve". We're a team that is not shy about wanting to win and also doesn't come across as a "feel good" team because of how vocal some of the members are. We treat this as a sport, win games and many awards. When there's a winner in life, there also has to be someone that lost to that winner… most have a difficult time being that loser. If there's one thing I've learned from the many sports that I've competed in... it's that most find it very difficult to give credit because in giving that credit, they feel that it somehow diminishes themselves.

15. What is your favorite field to play?

Sherwood Forest Adventure Games, located in Indiana... great field, great staff, great reffing and great players. I’ve had many of my best memories in paintball at that field.

16. What is your most memorable experience in scenario paintball?

There are so many incredible experiences that I can not begin to think what the most memorable would be. I’ve been fortunate enough to have played with some of the most intense players in the sport... been in some of the most intense situations that could be imagined in paintball and came out on top in the vast, vast majority of them. Most wouldn’t believe the stories if I told them.

17. Ever played any other genre of paintball (tournament, speedball, recball, SPPL)?

Speedball during the winter months and also mixed in throughout the season. There’s nothing like run-through’s, bunkering someone and “up close and personal” play.

18. Which do you prefer more, playing during the day or at night?

I like them both... If I had to pick, I'd probably say during the day.

19. What do you like most about scenario paintball?

The marathon game, the war of attrition, target rich environment and winning :-)

20. What do you hate most about scenario paintball?

The whining, excuse makers and sore losers... although I guess that's in every sport.

So some of you guys have been bugging me about when is Dave Cilio going to post here. Well the truth is who the hell knows. However while updating the team website I noticed that Dave had won quite a few MVP's this year along with the MVT's that he helped win. As most of you that read this know Dave Cilio, you have heard him called the 'machine' and that he isn't human. Well I was watching you tube the other day and watched Chuck Norris read the 'internet facts' about Chuck Norris. It made me laugh and think of Dave Cilio, so enjoy these Cilio'isms!

Chuck who?

If you ask Dave Cilio what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds 'til." After you ask, "Two seconds 'til what?" he shoots you in the face, tactically transistions and drops your base.

When Dave Cilio sends in his registration, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Dave Cilio has not had to pay entry, ever.

CNN was originally created as the "Cilio News Network" to update Americans with on-the-spot paintball ass kicking in real-time.

The opening scene of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on paintball games that Dave Cilio played in the second grade.

Dave Cilio has two speeds: Run and Kill.

Faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... yes, these are some of Dave Cilio's warm-up exercises.

Dave Cilio is the only human being to display the Heisenberg uncertainty principle -- you can never know both exactly where and how quickly he will drop your base in a paintball game.

Dave Cilio can hit your base so hard that he can actually alter your DNA. Decades from now your descendants will occasionally put their hands up and yell "Can we have our base back now, Mr. Cilio?"

Dave Cilio doesn't wear nightvision to see in the night, he has natural thermal vision. He wear's nightvision to give his opponents a fighting chance.

Dave Cilio doesn't have to shoot his opponents. The paintballs jump out of his opponents hoppers and eliminate their owners out of fear.

Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Dave Cilio.

When Dave Cilio falls in water, Dave Cilio doesn't get wet. Water gets Dave Cilio.

Dave Cilio’s house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.

Newton's Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Dave Cilio shooting you out and dropping your base.

Contrary to popular belief, there is indeed enough Dave Cilio to go around.

If you Google search "Dave Cilio getting owned in a paintball game" you will generate zero results. It just doesn't happen.

When Dave Cilio is in a crowded area, he doesn't go around people. He goes through them.

Dave Cilio once worked as a weatherman for the New Jersey evening news. Every night he would make the same forecast: Partly cloudy with a 75% chance of Pain.

A high tide means Dave Cilio is flying over your coast. The tide is caused by God pissing his pants.

There is in fact an “I” in Cilio, but there is no “team”… not even close.

Tom Clancy has to pay royalties to Dave Cilio because "The Sum of All Fears" is the name of Cilio's paintball autobiography.

If, by some incredible space-time paradox, Dave Cilio would ever fight himself, he'd win. Period.

Dave Cilio is currently suing myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.

Dave Cilio doesn't step on toes. Dave Cilio steps on necks.

Once you go Cilio, you are physically unable to go back.

Dave Cilio doesn't play god. Playing is for children.

Dave Cilio is the only person in the world that can actually email a shot in the face and a perfect tactical transitioned base dropping with a hot insertion.

Wo hu cang long. The translation from Mandarin Chinese reads: "Crouching Dave, Hidden Cilio"

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Dave Cilio can actually drop your base yesterday.

When J. Robert Oppenheimer said "I am become death, the destroyer Of worlds", He was not referring to the atomic bomb. He was referring to the Dave Cilio jersey he was wearing.

If at first you don't succeed, you're not Dave Cilio.

If Dave Cilio were a calendar, every month would be named Ciliotober, and every day he'd drop your base and shoot you in the face.

Fear is not the only emotion Dave Cilio can smell. He can also detect hope, as in "I hope I don't get shot in the face from Dave Cilio."

Behind every successful man, there is a woman. Behind every hot insertion, there is Dave Cilio.

What’s known as the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, doesn’t use its full name, which happens to be “Ultimate Fighting Championship, Non-Dave-Cilio-Division”.

Most boots are made for walkin'. Dave Cilio's boots ain't that merciful.

Dave Cilio destroyed the periodic table, because Dave Cilio only recognizes the element of surprise.

Nothing can escape the gravity of a black hole, except for Dave Cilio. Dave Cilio eats black holes. They taste like chicken.

As President Roosevelt said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And Dave Cilio."

Dave Cilio does not own a base or shoot players. He walks into random bunkers and people call themselves out.

Dave Cilio doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Dave Cilio uses a Tac light. Not because Dave Cilio is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Dave Cilio.

When Bruce Banner gets mad, he turns into the Hulk. When the Hulk gets mad, he turns into Dave Cilio.

Maslow's theory of higher needs does not apply to Dave Cilio. He only has two needs: killing people and finding people to kill.

Kryptonite has been found to contain trace elements of Dave Cilio's urine. This is why it is so deadly to Superman.

Refs refer to people in the dead box as "ABC's". Already Been Cilio'ed.

Dave Cilio doesnt wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

When Dave Cilio works out on the Total Gym, the Total Gym feels like it's been raped.

The square root of Dave Cilio is pain. Do not try to square Dave Cilio, the result is death.

There are two types of people in the world... people that suck, and Dave Cilio.

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed... unless it meets Dave Cilio.

And finally...........

When you say "no one's perfect", Dave Cilio takes this as a personal insult.

I mean look at this photo and tell me what you think?