Sorry, not sure why this didn't make its way into the newsletter, but it is a good read none the less. enjoy
INTERVIEW WITH STONER
The AA division has been one of the most successful divisions in FA. Being active for about a year and ever expanding its roster, its a very good example of what this clan strives to achieve, both competitively and communally. We recently caught up with Stoner, SL/WL of the AA division and asked him a few questions.
Please give a brief description of yourself including your role in the clan, experience, and personal information.
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I am one of the AA division's two warlords (myself and Iceblade). I am 16 years old, and live in Michigan. Surprisingly enough, i have not been in FA for as long as many of the other members of my division, less than a year. I've done many games for other clans until i came upon this one. I've had TWL/CAL experience in a lot of games, most notably BF: Vietnam.
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The America's Army division is considered one of the truely active divisions within FA. You guys compete in ladders, and are having tremendous success. Only a year or so ago there was concern over whether the AA division would die out. What do you attribute to the success of the division?
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I think the reason for success is me....J/K
We have a good base in both the US and Europe, and are steadily expanding. Most of the success comes in the form of recruiting as much as we can, so that we can train as many people as possible to perform in league play.
The success of the division doesn't lie with the leadership, it lies with the members of the division. You can find someone online or playing at almost any time of the day.
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Are you comfortable with the AA divisions success, do you think there is alot of pressure on you guys to perform?
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While i suppose there is always some degree of pressure to win, it doesn't exactly come from wanting to be the best division. When we go in to compete, we go in as hard as we can for every round. Pressure is natural in those kinds of situations, and it seems to come from everywhere and everything.
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What is the current lineup for the AA squad?
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We play in at least one match per week, and a usual lineup will be based off of skill, dedication to practices, and (if needed) Seniority. Either Iceblade or myself will always be present for the match to lead the team, along with the most skilled players on our matching roster. It changes week to week, depending on what map it is on.
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How do you prepare for matches? Do you guys do something different on match days?
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We have at least two designated practices each week, usually one on that week's map and one going over another map with strategies and skills etc. Anyone in the division is welcome to join us, even if they are not in any league matches. On match days, we usually try to show up about a half-hour early to go over the strategies, but its only a refresher. We all know what to do.
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If you could, please go in detail over the matches you have had so far this season and highlight these matches.
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Our first few matches were very rough. We had to start out against some very strong teams and got beaten quite badly.
Around the Third match, we started to click together, and our teamwork was greatly improved. We beat the defending 2nd place team, 7-5, and then plowed through the next 5 teams standing in our way, making our record 6-2. Since then, we played the Reigning top two teams in the league, losing two close matches (7-5, 7-4 respectively)
We have a match today (Sunday) that I am quite confident about.
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Is there any plan to change the way you guys prepare in the future? Any changes to the team?
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I like what we are doing now, but as we start up another team for next season, we will most likely be holding an extra practice per week for just the people that are skilled enough to be on that team.
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Iceblade recently asked for clan help in renting a 14 slot public honor server for the AA division. How do you feel this will help the AA division?
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This is something that we have been working towards for a long time. Having a public honor server means a lot not only to iceblade and myself, but to the division as a whole. Having our own server will allow us to have a place to recruit as much as we please, and play matches in.
Currently, we only have a 10 man private server, which we can only use for matches and practices. The larger server would help us out, because as of right now whenever we hold practices, our server is almost always full with members.
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Where do you see the AA division next season?
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We'll most likely have two different teams, one with strict skill requirements, and one that everyone can play in and just have fun and improve. We will have an honor server (hopefully with 14 or more slots), and keeping a positive record in all leagues that we play in.
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Thank you for your time Stoner, any last words?
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I just want to thank you for being interested in our AA division. I would also like to thank the members of this division, because i am proud to be a part of this team.
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EDIT:
Small revisions - KhaoZ