Your Kid Plays Paintball? (Part 2)

Chapter 2

The Attraction to Paintball

Competition for All

“Of all human powers operating on the affairs of mankind, none is greater than that of competition.”

--Henry Clay

What You’ll Learn In This Chapter

• Why we’re drawn to paintball
• How paintball is like chess
• Why we love games that are physically and mentally challenging
• Your son or daughter can jump right in

By nature most people are at least mildly competitive. You may not see yourself or your children as competitive but virtually every one of us has played some type of sport or game in our lives that has fed the need to compete. I bet even your kids play video games, board games or some level of sports. Whether it be playing high school football, vying for first chair in the middle school band, working towards a promotion at work, or playing chess—the spirit of competition lies somewhere in all of us and these things bring that spirit to the surface.

Physical or Mental?

Some games allow us to be physically competitive. Sports like running put a premium of physical fitness and less of an emphasis on the knowledge side of the spectrum. Other than having a basic concept of how to run safely and some basic knowledge of the type of disciplines you may be running in, there’s not a lot of thinking involved in the sport. Games like chess are 100 percent brain oriented with virtually no physical aspects. And no, I don’t consider moving the chess pieces physical activity—unless you’re playing with those human sized chess pieces in Salzburg, Austria.

Both, and There’s a Kicker

Like football, baseball or basketball, paintball combines both the physical and mental aspects of sport. Being quick on your feet is great, but being able to think quickly on your feet is even better. Smart often wins in paintball, yet smart and physically gifted is the best combination. And there’s a kicker with paintball—unlike some sports that require months or years just to be able to play at the lowest level, anyone can play paintball literally five minutes after showing up at the field.

It’s likely your son or daughter will be able to compete, even if just a little, on their first trip to the paintball field. By “compete” I mean they’ll probably shoot somebody (sorry I don’t so politically correct so well) sometime during the day. Maybe the person they shoot will be the big, strong football player type, or the brainiac middle aged guy that they thought would be able to out think them. Maybe your son or daughter will secure their opponent’s flag and be the hero.

For many kids that are overmatched in other sports or games, paintball can provide that sense of accomplishment in athletics and competition that they’ve never felt before. And the best part just might be how friendly, accommodating and helpful their field’s staff and patrons will be. Paintball players are a welcoming bunch by nature. I guess that’s another part of the attraction.

A true story…

My oldest brother is not exactly the athletic type. God blessed him with the brains of the family and me with the athleticism. I remember when I was about six years old and he was sixteen or so, he tried to play soccer with some friends. It was probably a month into this new sport that he came home with a broken toe. That ended his soccer career. Later he and I took karate lessons together and virtually every time he kicked anyone or anything, all of his toes turned purple. Did I already say he was not the athletic type? So when I began playing paintball in the mid 1980s I got him to join me in a day of paintball at Skirmish USA. About half way through the day, which was going just like his other days playing sports, something happened. He was hiding (and I mean that literally) behind a big, fat tree while the opposing team was inching closer and closer to us. He was so dug in that one of the bad guys walked right past him without ever seeing him. When he finally figured out what had happened he jumped up and fired one shot into the player’s back. Realizing he eliminated one of their last players he was so excited that he yelled, “I got you. I got you. I got you.” He was so excited. For one moment in time he was the best, smartest player on the field and he knew it. He competed and he won. Finally.