Rocky Cagnoni

Rocky Cagnoni is one of the most recognizable players in the game.  He’s been playing since the very beginnings of the sport, and he’s one of the first players to get sponsorship support from major manufacturers like WDP and Crossfire.

The recently retired Cagnoni is now passing on his skills to the next generation of players by holding clinics all across the country.  The “Break Out” Clinic held at Break 50 Paintball in Tarpon Springs, FL is just one example of what Rocky is doing.

This clinic was held in the morning, in deference to the late July heat.  For this clinic, Rocky was assisted by Doug Malesko, coach for the Jacksonville Raiders NXL team.  Malesko has been playing nearly as long as Cagnoni, and continues to participate at the highest levels of the game by coaching teams like  Detroit Strange and the Jacksonville Raiders.

Players were run through a series of drills designed to build their marker handling skills, running and gunning, and snap shooting.  Cagnoni and Malesko started at the very beginning of the game, throwing out tips for field walking, the Break Out, and diving to game ending skills like the Run Through.

One of the drills employed was the “Civil War” drill, also known as the “Pain Game”.  The Pain Game involves players lined up across field from each other, and take turns taking one shot at each other.  What this is intended to teach is staying on target under fire, losing the fear of being shot, which leads to more effective play because the player isn’t flinching as he’s being fired upon.

Doug Malesko

Rocky also talked about “Club Rocky”, a project currently under development that basically works as a fan club for Rocky, with the aim being to promote fair, “straight up” play.  Benefits for joining the club could possibly be discounts for Club Rocky members, a T-Shirt, and a voice in the paintball community.

68Caliber.Com photographer/reporters Dale and Jamie Ford were on site photographing the clinic today, and Ford noted that despite his 18 years of experience playing paintball, he walked away from today’s clinic having learned something new.  For more information on Break 50 Paintball, and to keep up-to-date on when the next “Break Out” Clinic will be, go to www.break50paintball.com

Photos from today’s session can be seen HERE

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