Equally as important as wearing your safety equipment, is the necessity to be a good sport when you play paintball.

Bad sportsmanship can come in a lot of forms; it can come in the form of screaming at other players, throwing your gun, wiping off paint or denying being hit. Paintball is supposed to be fun and not make you angry. If you have newer paintball players on your team have a little patience with them. It takes more than a couple of games of paintball to learn the various nuances of the bunker ball and woods ball games. Sometimes, new players will accidentally shoot members of their own team because they're simply so excited to be out on the field. A player is eliminated no matter who paints them. Do not wipe off paint just because someone on your own team marked you, that is an example of bad sportsmanship. Instead, teach new players to look for the armband or other team identifiers before they shoot. This will teach them to be a little calmer on the field and you'll wind up with a lot less "friendly fire" incidents.

Another great way to make sure the paintball games are better coordinated, especially if you have new players, is to have everyone on your team wear a matching color paintball mask. This is an easy way for new paintball players to learn the ropes.

You can also set a good example on the playing field yourself, be a gracious winner and be just as gracious if you don't win. Congratulate the other team on a good game. Play by the rules of good sportsmanship and if you didn't win this round, you'll have your chance to come out on top next time as well as having a reputation as a great paintball player.