Opinion on younger players?

Gmac98

Just curious to hear other people's opinions on younger airsoft players? I'm 15 and have been playing airsoft for over a year now, I play regularly and get along great with older players. I know that some older players(very few) aren't very keen to have younger players on their team. Just curious to hear opinions

S.E.A.L.s

This is one of the best questions I've seen in a long time and hope many reply

In my opinion, younger players can be a real asset, depending on their ability to take instruction, follow the plan and keep moving under fire. However, the same can be said about any Airsofter regardless of age and can say, having younger players has been useful for us

On the other hand, many will point out that younger players are less likely to take their hits, which can be true and I've seen that, again this can be said about any group of Airsofters regardless of age

Personally I have a positive opinion of younger players and for this sport to grow, we need new players, so should help and encourage all who have an interest in Airsoft

Untamedlemon

the only way that this sport will live on is if the older lads give the young guys a chance to play. if the young lads see that they are being frowned upon then they wont want to play.
as for taking hits, there will always be some people who dont take their hits but i find that a lot of the young players do respect and obey the rules.
honestly my attitude doesnt change in the slightest if im with a younger guy or an older guy just so long as they are following rules im happy with them.:)

Darth Phoenix

Agreed with posts above, No matter what the young generation of airsofters are the future of our hobby.

They have to learn somehow and by learning good habits from experiance player's they in turn will pass it down to the next generation and keep the good aspects of the hobby alive.

No point turning your back on them, that's where they may feel discouraged and may develop bad habits from watching less than respectful players.

Best to take them under your wing and do your best to show them the do's and don't in a skirmish. Basics of looking after their equipment, teamwork and respecting other players in and out of the field.

No point in taking airosft extremely serious, after all it's only a game.


DP

Lemming

S.E.A.L.s wrote: »

On the other hand, many will point out that younger players are less likely to take their hits, which can be true and I've seen that, again this can be said about any group of Airsofters regardless of age

In all my time marshalling, I find that little myth to be the most unfair levelled at any collective group of airsofters. And why people keep perpetuating it by saying it irritates me greatly.

It is the character of the person playing that will determine how likely they are to call their hits (oblivious exceptions aside for whatever reason the hit wasn't felt or heard), witnesses or lack therein about, not their age.

S.E.A.L.s

Lemming wrote: »

In all my time marshalling, I find that little myth to be the most unfair levelled at any collective group of airsofters. And why people keep perpetuating it by saying it irritates me greatly.

It is the character of the person playing that will determine how likely they are to call their hits (oblivious exceptions aside for whatever reason the hit wasn't felt or heard), witnesses or lack therein about, not their age.

I agreed with you 100% and had to post this, in hope of dismantling the argument in advance

As I believe the generalisation is a complete lie, that has no place in Airsoft

Southern Dandy

I've seen grown men act more like children than children.

Like Lemming said it is entirely down to the players attitude young or old. I don't mind Kids playing long as there is a bit of respect for the rules and play fair.

brenak47

I gamed with some new players a few weeks back between the age 13-15 and they played better than some of the older guys i gamed with in the past. It has been said a few times cause its the truth its down to the person no matter what age. You will get young guys not calling hits aswell as the older more experienced airsofter as i've witnessed first hand.Without new young players the sport won't last.People just need to step back and realise we were all young once.

Mark#1

Hi all.

I'm glad I came upon this thread. My son is 12 and has become very excited about playing airsoft. He's been asking me a heap of questions about it, and I'm very happy to research for him. One question was how are kids perceived and treated by older players - naturally, he won't be keen to play if there are older guys roaring at him and having a "get out of my way kid!" attitude.

I imagine one factor in the success of younger players making good airsofters might be their familiarity with war/military video games (my son seems to favour the GRAW series over the other more common big-name FPS games).

Anyway, he's gotten me interested now too, so I might be joing him in a few games too... :-)


Mark

Inari

Kids do get a rough time, but then again every stereotype does. The key is not to hold individuals accountable to that stereotype, and you're fine.

We have all played with good guys, and not-so-good guys; age has very little bearing on the matter.

Personally I couldn't care less about ability...as far as I'm concerned, this is a bit of fun. All I want to do is run around and shoot things with cool looking guns, while pretending I'm Martin Riggs doing my best Three Stooges impressions. As such, I'm happy as long as people are on the same wavelength as me - that goes for old, young, male, female etc. The game is the enjoyment for me; outcome is meaningless - it doesn't change the experience, only your perception of it.

T4RGET

Mark#1 wrote: »

Hi all.

I'm glad I came upon this thread. My son is 12 and has become very excited about playing airsoft. He's been asking me a heap of questions about it, and I'm very happy to research for him. One question was how are kids perceived and treated by older players - naturally, he won't be keen to play if there are older guys roaring at him and having a "get out of my way kid!" attitude.

I imagine one factor in the success of younger players making good airsofters might be their familiarity with war/military video games (my son seems to favour the GRAW series over the other more common big-name FPS games).

Anyway, he's gotten me interested now too, so I might be joing him in a few games too... :-)


Mark

joining your son is definitely a good idea, especially if you yourself are a bit concerned on how he's viewed by older players. Also you get to spend time with him

I generally find that at most skirmish days 10% are rentals, so they tend to be from 14 to 17 or so years old, then a good 30% would be the 18+ players who game quite a bit but don't have all the gear and stuff, then the rest are pretty much made up of the younger and older 'gear heads' who have the camo, the vests and enough mags to last WWIII. I've always found, since i started that i never got hassle from older players. I'm 20 now and started when i was 16 and literally never had problems. Many younger players have this fear of not being liked when i usually find that it's the older 'experienced' lads that tend to annoy me more because they think they know it all and don't have to follow the plan the rest of the team is following. That's just what i notice myelf though.

In general I wouldn't worry about anything like this though, he'll be looked after and airsofters are extremely friendly on the field (whatever happens here on Boards and other places ).

Mark#1

Good to know guys.

I'm pretty sure he'd just steer clear of any nonsense - just like he steers clear of the twats in school - and just get on with enjoying his gaming.

We spent probably the guts of an hour speaking with Bren and a few other guys at Fingal Airsoft a few weeks back, and I was really encouraged and impressed with them all - Bren took my son out for 10-15 mins to watch some of the gameplay, which really worked a treat for getting him even more excited to get going.

I won't deny that I'm keen to get going too but I'm not working at the minute, so he's actually more flush than me, and I'm jealous of him kitting himself out! :eek:


Thanks again,

Mark

Gatling

Mark as you posted already about birthdays and stuff
Pick a gun for yourself even 2nd hand on here and build up from there ,you will always find gear for sale on the adverts on here ,
Before you know it you will have yourself kitted over several months to a year ,

S.E.A.L.s

Mark#1 wrote: »

I imagine one factor in the success of younger players making good airsofters might be their familiarity with war/military video games (my son seems to favour the GRAW series over the other more common big-name FPS games).

Anyway, he's gotten me interested now too, so I might be joing him in a few games too... :-)


Mark

Yes and no, as many Airsofters play COD and other less thoughtful FPS games, with poor regard for realistic details (the games, not people) and some emulate what they play

As your Son leans more to Ghost Recon, I'd say he has a high attention to detail and prefers thinking about / planning the next step, then again, I don't know him

Gatling wrote: »

Mark as you posted already about birthdays and stuff
Pick a gun for yourself even 2nd hand on here and build up from there ,you will always find gear for sale on the adverts on here ,
Before you know it you will have yourself kitted over several months to a year ,

Could not agree more, it's a great way to get started and how most of my team got their gear

Mark#1

So buying a used AEG needn't be a quagmire of chance?

I'd been assuming that an AEG wasn't really a product that could be bought used with any confidence?

I'll pop into the ads section now.

@ Gmac98 - I'm sorry for hijacking your thread dude.

Kashkai

Mate, the only new aeg I bought was my first one from Hobbyairsoft. The rest, and there are now quite a few:D, were all bought here on the adverts forum. I never had any issue with any of the lads I bought from, nor from the guns they were selling. In fact, I've had many a good natter and laugh with the sellers while buying a second hand aeg.

You can pick up a second hand aeg (but in my case, all in great condition) for half what you'd buy it new. So have a look at the adverts and if there's a gun that appeals, M4, AK47 etc, then put in an offer. If its accepted, go and view the gun and test fire it (in a private area out of sight of Joe Public of course) and if you like it, buy it. If you don't then just say no thanks and walk away. Most guys won't take offence if you're honest with them and say you don't want their aeg, as opposed to faffing them off with a "I'll think about it".

As for how your son would get on, tbh, there are some older guys who have an attitude problem with younger players, but then again, they tend to have a problem with older players too! Personally, as long as the younger guys play fair, take their hits, then I couldn't care less how old they are. I've been hit by kids hiding out in impossibly small gaps that I'd never fit my frame into but I just laugh and congratulate them while I walk back to the respawn area. Of course, I do then make it my mission in life to get the back . Well fair is fair!