I also think that the sweet-spotting is vital. To do this correctly, you must anticipate which bunker the opponent is going to run to, and put a stream of paint just before the bunker so that the other player runs through it. On a wooded field, this can be difficult but not impossible. Look for shooting lanes into the bunker that you think they'll go to. See if you can put a player in a position to shoot into that lane and not take a hit in the process. Reading the field is vital, as it is for every tournament. You must asses the field and find out whether you can push hard off of the break, take the chance of going for midfield off the break (think about the other team sweet-spotting) or set up defensively. Do not just pick a bunker to go to, and wait to see what happens. Be the team that initiates the play and you will have the opposition reacting to your movement instead of carrying out their own plans. If you pick a player off in the break-out, exploit that as fast as possible. I was playing some 3-man this past sunday. On one break-out, I was playing the right tape. The guy in front of me was shot off of the break. I was already at about the 40-yard line and immediately went to the snake in the center. The game was over in under a minute. I was able to crawl the snake and side-shoot the remaining two players. In another game, I was again the right tape, but on a different field. I was able to shoot my opposite guy, their middle guy shot me, and my left-tape guy shot out theit middle, all off of the break. Did we win the game? You bet. With good communication, even a team with some average skills can hold off better players who don't talk to each other. Come up with some basic codes for the zones on the field, when you are moving, when you need to bunker somebody, and for when your gun is down. These are very important things for your team-mates to know. Also, when walking the fields, attach a name to certain bunkers that you feel will be dangerous if the other team occupies them. This way, when the opposition get to that bunker, you can easily tell every person on your team that the bunker is occupied and the player must be eliminated. Also, since 3-man in virtually center flag, and flag points are worth more than elimination points, have a code to determine which team has the flag. If you can't max a game, at least get first grab in a desperate situation. These few points may be enough to get you into the next round, even if you don't survive the game. Good Luck.
