Chop Shop - Chronic Factory Team

CXBL Event 5, Gananoque.

posted by Admininja @ 6:36pm, Thursday 11 September 2008.

Well, after a few days of rest, I finally have found the time to write about the last Exhibition CXBL Event of the year. It had its fair share of twists and turns, but in the end, Barrie Chop Shop prevailed over Windsor Lockdown convincingly 17-5..

Making the trip to Gananoque for just one match is always a haul for the most of the team. Aside from Jared, the ride is atleast 4-5 hours up out East. We all rolled in to the field around 5 o'clock and proceeded to walk the field. Justin and myself arrived a tad late, so I didn't realize how long people had been there and after only going over primaries and some coordinating, we headed off to grab some Italian food.

That night, Jared, Malcolm and myself decided to camp under the stars, despite the protests of the rest of the team. :) It was a good experience and after hectic school times, it was good to hippie it out for an evening and just relax without worrying about cockaroach infested motels in seedy ole' Gananoque.

We were scheduled for an 11 o'clock start, and we needed a win by any margin to secure a position in the Darien Lake Finals. After our typical pregame rituals... stretching and gearing up, everyone on the team was focused for a win.

Lockdown, for the 2008 season, is a middle-of-the pack team. They have good support and some really talented up and comers (and former teammates) that I have the pleasure of grinding with on a weekly basis. Players like Varant and Doug not only have tons of drive and love for the sport but are quickly becoming killers in their own right. I knew we couldn't underestimate a team that had a balance of seasoned veterans and young guys. Penalties had always been a weakness of Lockdown, and I was sure that if we could stay out of the box, we could just roll down the field on power plays.

But it didn't really turn out that way..

Both teams ended up receiving their fair share of penalties. There is really no excuse for playing on, but we had tough luck on a few calls. For instance, Malcolm's marker randomly started firing 17.5 BPS, which resulted in an immediate major.

Even if Chop isn't playing up to its potential, we always manage to put the clutch players on the field in those crucial moments. Jared, Noodle and myself managed to crawl out of three consecutive points when we had two players in the box and Lockdown had a full lineup. So even when we were down, we were putting up a successful fight.

Needless to say, we started winning points easily when we got into our groove. We laned effectively and gained dominance of the tapes and centre 50 nearly every point we won. Lockdown was shorthanded for the majority of the game and that proved to be their downfall.

Thanks goes out to Vic and Dale for snapping Photos (coming soon), Jay and Ken for their support in the pits, Emerson for his diligent pod snatching duties and the rest of our young pit staff that keep up clean and podded up.

Anyway, with Houston next week, NAX Finals vs Parkland and Impact the week after... the defining moments of the season are just around the corner.

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Practice Update: TCP Practice in Michigan.

posted by Admininja @ 4:09pm, Friday 5 September 2008.

With the fourth leg of NPPL fast approaching, Chop needed to change gears from the XBall Format and focus on 7-man. What followed was a very successful two-day grinder in Michigan at Magnum Sportz Park.

Chop Shop has been very fortunate to be able to link up with the Semi-Pro team TCP Machine, and this was the third occasion we have travelled the grueling 7 hours to ball it up with some great competition.

Saturday morning, Vic hauled the team van across most of Southern Ontario, Jared, Breezy and I met Vic and Krushyn early that Saturday. Truth be told, I couldn't really see straight as I still was fighting a killer hangover the night before. But there's nothing like a good round of ball and a 7 hour mission to get rid of that. I slept like a rock.

After several double doubles and linking up with Travis, Ryan Dowling and finally Princess Noodle, we were finally underway, pumping ourselves up with DerDer vids and war stories, all while making Noodle's life hell.

After meeting up with Cody (our Sault St. Marie champ) and his family, we geared up for a 5 oclock start. We nearly 40 cases of Xball Bronze to blast with, games quickly got underway. Saturday was nearly a total blowout, TCP knew the field and pushed the snake on us hard on the JT field. We were losing games left and right, but as the day progressed the games became longer and finally we pulled out a secure win with 6 alive. The great thing about the day was that the TCP guys were always helpful. Unlike many practices scheduled, there was no BS, and no cheating. If we were doing something wrong, TCP would let us know and show us what to work on. Even though it sucks getting beaten down, all the Chop guys are used to it in practice.

Nearly every practice we have taken part in all season, we've been on the short end of the stick, but this always pays off for us in the end. Shawn Ireland would always tell us it's better to bleed in practice than in a tournament; you only grow and learn from your mistakes. We always take what we did wrong in practice and turn it around when the Events come around.

Anyhoo.. After some horrible Pizza Hut (American food just isn't the same) and some chilling, we all hit the sack and prepared for another day.

The second day fared very well for the team. We won the first game 6 alive, convincingly. After that, TCP adapted and games went back and forth, yet we still were losing our battles and losing dominance of the ever-important snake. Team Farside joined in the mix as well, and we took what we learned and had some good games against them as well. After beating them convincingly 3-4 times, Farside snaked a win after Travis, Noodle and Breeze held off a 6 on 3 for the better half of 5 minutes.

When the day was all said and done, the team ate quickly and headed home to get ready for the 5th CXBL event in Gananoque.

Shout outs for Vic Grape for the support, organizing the van and teching guns like an engineer. Without him the whole weekend couldn't have happened. Not to mention the sweet photos (coming soon!) Thanks to Jay for linking up the paint, as always. And also a shout out for Ryan Dowling for coming out last minute, agg.

Also to the Hojem family for their support and help, and bringing Hunter, who is absolutely jokes to be around.

Finally, Thanks to TCP Machine for the help, and great competition.

-- Stefan

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So what is team Chop Shop?

posted by Krush @ 6:40am, Thursday 28 August 2008.

So what is team Chop Shop

Chop Shop isn't just another team, it has quickly progressed into a family. It is a single, driven unit. Living up in the far reaches of Canada, from the Toronto Area, to Wasaga, to Sault Sainte Marie, Chop Shop players hail from vastly different corners of Ontario. Despite this, their will to succeed at every endeavour brings the team together every weekend to grind for that elusive podium finish. Ontario paintball has never had the attention that is expected of its large player base, teams are formed and disbanded by the season; it is rare that a team can develop the teamwork and generate the support and organization needed to compete at a National Level while maintaining a rigorous practice schedule.

In 2008, Chop Shop would change all of that.

Chop Shop underwent a drastic change in the 2007 off-season that called for a completely new team dynamic. Several young, hungry players from the Ontario scene were brought to supplement the existing talent and they have been developing every since. Aside from promoting the sport at home through clinics, Chop Shop has been able to compete consistently in the NPPL at the D1 level as well as excelling in the CXBL for the Barrie Franchise. In only under a year, the team exceeded many expectations. It has been able to make Sunday on a consistent basis and the chance to play in the Richmond Cup Finals looms overhead. All of it could not be possible without the unwavering support of dedicated staff, coaching and organization, and with the support of sponsors such as CHRONIC, ProCaps, VForce, Redz Comfort Gear, NXe and tdotballers.com.