It depends on the environment. I was an avid paintball player for about 7 years, as was my dad, and he always managed to outclass a lot of the people on the field. He wasn't the fastest guy with the ability to dump the most paint on the field, but he was tactical and could cooperate well. After the first or second game of the day, people were vying for him to be on their team, even if they'd shrugged him off as some old fart before.

I figure this is natural. I figure it would have been the same way in video games, if it wasn't for:

1: twitch reflexes are important

2: the cost of practice is zero- no risk, no $$$- so kids with lots of time can log massive playtime. Traditionally being older meant more experience, but now because of the growth rate of games, a young kid has more experience with modern fps's than an older player

3: there's no physical risk to the player. I feel this changes the landscape a lot; in the real world, say in the army for example, the chance of death changes everything.