Editing Bob Long (section)

== Ironmen captaincy ==

Long recalled that one of his first tournament trips with the Ironmen was to a New York Open, where the team placed fifth and [[Navarone]] won. At that stage, tournament attendance depended largely on which members were able to travel, and Long considered the Ironmen more of a social team than a fully organised competitive programme.[1]

During the following season, Long became captain and began recruiting players able to commit to regular training and national competition. After a poor performance at the 1989 Line SI Masters, the team began preparing for the following season immediately. The Ironmen won Jim Lively's Lone Star Open in 1990, which Long identified as the team's first major tournament victory during his captaincy.[1]

Long organised players according to tactical roles which he called hold, push and support positions. Training included running, shooting courses, flag drills, rehearsed movement and uneven-player scenarios such as three-against-one and five-against-three exercises. He used these drills both to evaluate players and to develop coordinated movement between members of the team.[1]

The Ironmen's earliest documented sponsors during Long's captaincy included [[JT USA]], which began supporting the team in 1989, followed by [[Worr Game Products]], Bullseye, Tiger Stripe and National Paintball Supply.[1]

The team's association with [[Bud Orr]] and Worr Game Products placed it among the early professional users of the [[Autococker]]. Historical research documents the Ironmen using Autocockers at the 1991 Lone Star Open. The team's tournament success subsequently helped establish the marker as an important professional platform during the 1990s.[3]

The Ironmen won the 1993 [[National Professional Paintball League]] professional championship. By May 1994, Long was both captain of the Ironmen and president of the NPPL.[1]

Detailed results and roster histories from this period are covered in the [[Ironmen (paintball team)]] article.