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Also in 2022 we have a new series of articles for you in the issue. This time we are dealing with some of the most famous and traditional German paintball teams of recent years. We introduce you to the team and its players, their career and sporting successes. In this issue we have focused on the Braindead Emsdetten team. The traditional North German team is probably known to almost every paintball tournament. The team is currently competing in the 1st Bundesliga of the DPL and is in 7th place at the winter break. Shortly before the start of the second half of the season, we met with team owner Ingmar Eichner and head coach Maik Brauschweig for an interview and wanted to know how Braindead intends to catch up with the top of the table again in the second half of the season.
"BRAINDEAD… MOFA POWER…" echoes across the playing field. Every player on site knows immediately what that means. The crazy guys from the Braindead Emsdetten team, around their coach "Disco" Maik Brauschweig, who is now well-known throughout the tournament scene and practically enjoys cult status, is getting ready for the next point.
Braindead, this name says it all. He not only stands for demanding tournament paintball at the highest level, but also for a lot of fun and one or the other fooling around off the field. A team that knows what is important, that shoots a hard ball, but never takes itself too seriously and has nevertheless always played at the top of German tournament paintball for over 10 years. At times the team had five squads in the DPL at the start. Starting with the beginner class in the district league, up to the professional level of the first federal league. We had the opportunity to get to know the team and to interview both the team owner Ingmar Eichner and the coach of the “Disco” team, Maik Braunschweig. Disco and Inge, as they are called, have been there from the start and have kept the team on the road to success for years.
PBS Magazin: Inge and Disco, nice that you are taking the time for this interview today. Tell us how it all started back then. How long has Team Braindead existed and what did you do in your first tournament season?
Disco & Inge: The team has been around since 2006. Like most people, we started out in the forest back then. At some point we were then invited to the Supair by the Templars, who were still called the Honkx at the time. From then on there was nothing else for us, the tournament sport had simply fascinated us.
We then quickly set up our own SupAir playing field. A farmer in our area was kind enough to provide us with a piece of field for this purpose. Unfortunately, the thing was closed to us fairly quickly for building law reasons. We then simply made a moped race track out of it. *laughs* And at the same time it was the birth of the legendary moped gang.
Like most teams, we started out in smaller fun tournaments and then as the first small series in what was then the DNL in Borken. We were really up for that shit and really wanted to get better and more successful. That's why we approached the field of play more professionally and opened one of the first German reball halls at the time. There we were able to prepare perfectly for the league and spent practically every free minute skilling in the hall with the team.
In our first season in 2008, we then competed directly in the regional league. At that time the team was still called JE-Factory and was initially a merger of our own players and the Dutch Buddha Bandits. Both teams knew each other from training, but had too few players for their own team in the league. So we joined forces. All the reball training was obviously worth it, because we were promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga as 1st place in the regional league.
PBS Magazine: Great story, thanks for that. It's been a long time since the early days of your team. What have been the biggest challenges for you in recent years? How do you keep a team on the road to success for so many years?
Disco & Inge: The biggest challenge in paintball tournaments is to fill up the squad year after year and make or keep it competitive. We do a lot of youth work for this. Our good name as a successful traditional team helps us recruit good players from time to time, but unfortunately we also experience setbacks time and again. You put a lot of time and work into the team and when strong players quit here and there, change or just don't feel like it anymore, there are always gaps that we have to close somewhere. Good tournament players are currently hard to come by. In addition to passion, commitment and patience, you also have to have a healthy dose of nonsense to feel comfortable in our team.
PBS Magazin: It's definitely not an easy time and as a coach and team owner it's almost a full-time job, isn't it? In the current season you and your team are now in 7th place in the table. What are your plans for the second half of the season to attack again at the top? Have you changed training over the winter or made any personnel changes? What can we expect from you in the second half of the season?
Disco & Inge: Well, to be honest, the training intensity is definitely higher. But that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. We now place more emphasis on high-quality training. Class instead of mass. We've found that with less training, you burn fewer players. Too much training makes the boys tired at some point. But we want them to be hot when the season kicks off.
There are no personnel changes with us. We are convinced of the current squad and its level of play and are now trying to continue to grow together as a team and in the last games to annoy one or two of the *other* big teams.
PBS Magazin: Now let's talk about the plans for the future. Where do we see Braindead in the upcoming season? Do you already have plans for the future of the team? The DPL has announced some changes. How does that affect your planning as a team?
Disco & Inge: We take a consistently positive view of the current changes. It's really great that after such a long time a fresh breeze is blowing in again. We like event paintball and it was time to change something. The sport has to open up in order to get more teams up to the 1st Bundesliga level again. Of course, the new concept will in all probability mean a weakening of the league, but in the long run it will do the league and German paintball good. We are sure of that.
PBS Magazin: Thank you for these exciting insights. How can one apply to you as an interested junior player, for example? Do you do tryouts?
Disco & Inge: We haven't offered tryouts for a long time, because we actually take anyone who is interested in paintball and doesn't have an extreme attitude. That's all it takes to be part of our team and have fun. New people are always welcome, so don't be shy! Despite all our ambitions, we don't let the fun of sport on and off the field be taken away from us.
PBS Magazin: We take this statement directly as a fitting conclusion. Many thanks to both of you, Disco and Inge, for your time. So if you're interested in tournament paintball and think you can play with the pros, you now have the opportunity to prove your skills. Who knows, maybe we'll see one or the other of you running onto the field in the Braindead jersey in the future.
That was today's contribution to Team Braindead Emsdetten. We wish Inge, Disco and the whole team a victorious second half of the season, lots of success and of course lots of fun. Until the next issue, then we will introduce you to one of the current pro teams from the German paintball tournament scene.
