True, there is that “deathmatch” mentality.
Some “teams” use noobs as bb bait to boost their egos...others actually do as you said, “train, practice and coordinate”.
Combat veterans know much more about what I’m about to say, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. But those who haven’t engaged in actual combat (like me) really have no idea about what one goes through when trying to take an objective while getting shot at by determined foes...
It was eye opening to see how easy one can get shot...and the need to recognize that concealment vs. cover are not the same thing and independent of each other...even though the bbs couldn’t penetrate some concealment. You can and will get get shot in real life if you try to use a bush as cover. What should be apparent, sometimes isn’t.
It’s all about mindset. The first time I played, the adrenaline and apprehension were 2 of the first things I noticed. Even though as a kid I used to engage in bb gun “wars”, this was different in a sense.
I’ve learned to look at it from a different pov. A real shooting war is going to test people in a lot of different ways. IMO, this is about as close as one can get to it.
Most of us were all done with our real-deal time. We were a group of mostly ex-military and law enforcement people, and we hosted a tournament event or two. We had no illusions, it was a hobby to us. The only way it was training was to remind you to work with your team and keep your eyes open and moving. We were older than the average airsofter and when we’d host an event, we’d grade pretty hard- but come up with good, imaginative scenarios that were really challenging. We had some fun with it.
The facility that we played at often hosted law enforcement training events, which was a mainstay of their business.