More than likely, if you’re reading this article you already know the thrill of paintball. You’ve been there when three rounds fly inches past your head at 300 feet per second. You’ve taken out your fair share of opponents with well placed (and some that were just lucky) shots. You’ve even taken a few rounds to your chest and felt the double sting. The first sting is that of the paintball, but the second one hurts more. It’s the knowledge that, that splat of paint on you has taken you out of the game. The rush of adrenaline felt in those situations is often hard to explain to someone who’s never played. So, just for you, I’ve come up with three great interwoven reasons of why we love paintball that, if presented with a good attitude, will even get grandma out to play. So, just for you, I listed three less obvious, but very real, reasons to play paintball... It Promotes Team Building On the field, someone occasionally decides to be an army of one instead of a teammate and he usually ends up getting shot early and definitely has less fun than the rest of those who play as a team. Many companies spend thousands of dollars to promote “team building” for their employees because this is not always instinctive among people in the workforce. However, on the field, team building is almost a natural, unforced extension of play. With several people gunning for you, you’re forced to rely on your buddy to watch your back and he’s relying on you for the same. Communication before, during, and after the game is essential to good play. So, before the game, teams strategize. This planning allows everyone to express their thoughts on the best way to win and develops communication skills. You also need to talk during the game. Even with an excellent plan, things change. Your team may get flanked, a player on your team shot, or you run out of paint. Keeping your compatriots informed of your situation and what you see will make a huge difference in your performance. After the game, it’s nearly impossible not to talk about the other team’s techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. This game analysis is more than just fun; it promotes critical thinking. I don’t know anyone who got shot playing paintball and didn’t have a theory as to why it happened. We love to hypothesize. It Gives Everyone Something to be Proud of They Can Share With Others All the hypothesizing does something else. It gets people talking long after game day. While this is somewhat related to the paragraph above, it’s a bit different. Now you have two people building memories together. Think about a day or two after you play paintball. I’d be willing to bet when you run into your buddies one of the first things that come up is the paintball game you all played a few days prior. This allows for some bragging from everyone and just good conversation about the game and when you plan on playing again. However, think about this. As paintballers, we’re not just talking to the people we played with. We are talking to people who weren’t there at all and some that have never played. This is the time where the war stories come out and the storyteller’s accuracy gets just a little better than it truly was on the field. There are two great results from this. First, the person telling the story gets to feel like the cool guy for a while and secondly, his enthusiasm may draw new players into the game. Paintball Gets People Off Their Computer, Away From the TV, or Off Their Lazy Butt and Active! You may not have noticed, but our society is exercising less and less. Personally, I hate to exercise just to exercise. Running laps around a track or through the neighborhood does not do it for me. But, get me on the paintball field and I’m Carl Lewis. I run from the first whistle to the last. I’m sure you do the same. The federal government is spending millions of dollars trying to get today’s youth to exercise and become less sedentary. Paintball is more exercise than many sports. Golf? There is an opportunity to get a long walk, but come on. No one golfs without a golf cart anymore. Fishing? You may reel in a 15-pound catfish and it may even take 30 minutes to do it. Guess what. I carry more than that for three hours playing paintball. Soccer? Ok, bad example. Those guys run a lot. Anyway, you see my point. Paintball is good for you. Now finish shopping at SplatDogs, log off the internet, and go play paintball! What?!?! You’re still here? Ok, then send me an email at: marty_may@hotmail.com. I’ll write back—Scouts honor! Would you like to write an article for SplatDogs? Send us an email with a sample article. Email *\In*trin"sic\ 1. Inward; internal; hence, true; genuine; real; essential; inherent; not merely apparent or accidental; -- opposed to extrinsic; as, the intrinsic value of gold or silver; the intrinsic merit of an action; the intrinsic worth or goodness of a person. |
