| IBC Solutions Public Safety & Community Advocacy |
| "The business of politics is everyone's business." Copyright (c) Andrew J. Perretti 2001 |
| 1347 398 9254 |
| Marketing - Advertising - Publicity - Political Consulting - Public Relations |
Home Loan Programs New News Automotive Market Place Real Estate Market Place Modeling Artist Gallery Limos |
| Metal Mania Metadox signs record deal |
| Inexpensive websites |
| Paintball Forum |
| Paintball |
| Forum |
| Quality Leather 2915 Middletown Rd. Bronx, NY 10465 (718)823-1297 |
| The Art Of Raw Cuisine |
| Broken Mirror Paintball 3432 E. Tremont Ave. Bronx, NY 10465 in Mauro Plaza (347) 398-9254 Discount Coupon |
THE BRONX PAINTBALL SOCIETY FORUM
By Hector Farrulla (August 17, 2006)
Paintball Zen And Doing The Right Thing
I’ve been playing paintball for quite some time now, and just about nothing
can surprise me these days. Although, every now and then, I come across
instances that both inspire me, and disgust me. Things that make me laugh
,and things that just make me mad as all hell. Some things makes me feel
that paintball is here to stay, and some things tell me that we, as
responsible players, field and store owners, and the paintball industry, as
we know it, does not stand the least of a chance. I’ve seen grown men act
like children, and kids confront challenges with the hearts of lions. I even
learned a few of life’s important lessons, all while getting bunkered behind
a dorito.
The paintball players that I have come across in my travels have usually
been kind, friendly, and generally helpful people, but, as in everything else in
life, there are the proverbial "bad apples"that make us ,themselves, and the
sport, look far less than favorable. Players raise their velocities past legal
limits, all to give an extra sting upon impact. Paintballs have been frozen
before play, regardless of the risk of shattered goggle lenses. Illegal
ramping boards hurls excessive amounts of paint toward opponents,
risking serious injury. Obscenities have been hurled at children in games,
all because these particular adults sucked at paintball. I once had a referee
snatch the marker from my hands in a middle of a rec game, just to
overshoot a new referee that he thought was of a certain sexual orientation.
The captain of a team that I once belonged to stole the teams money to feed
his wife’s scratch off ticket addiction. The team split, and a new ,strong
union was formed, based on honesty, trust, and the desire to compete.
While frozen paintballs, racial insults, excessive cheating, lewdness, and un
sportsman like conduct are some of the things that are witnessed in some
fields, the risk of damaging the integrity of the sport is diminished by those
who’s actions shine a positive light around it.
It is uncommon to see young and old, male and females share stories,
experiences, advice and guidance in between paintball games on any field.
Ill never forget the look on the face of a first time player, a kid, no more than
11 years old, when I replaced his rental marker with my shiny upgraded Bob
long Intimidator, and sent him on his way to play. He held it in his hand as if
it was a piece of gold. That, alone, felt better than any great shot, move or
play I made that day. In my first tournament, I had the pleasure of meeting a
young man,(I now regret not getting this gentlemen’s name) who was a
referee. I noticed that he walked with a slight limp and had his arm bent all
day. He was obviously sightly different than the rest of the people there, but
this guy zoomed around the field, pulling players, calling one for ones and
doing what refs do to keep a game rolling. A later conversation with this man
revealed to me that he was born with Cerebral palsy, but his condition never
stopped him from playing the sport that he loves. I wish that all people who
think that they don’t have what it takes to do what they love in life would meet
this wonderful man, and get a little inspiration from him. At a not too recent
practice session with my team, we ran across a newly formed team at the
field, made up of mostly young teens, And they all shot Ion markers. Many
serious speedball players don’t like Ion markers, because they feel that the
marker is a cheap version of the thousand dollar beasts that they carry . I
myself, was one of them.( Ion owners are some of the proudest people I
know.) Now, these kids marveled at our high end electros, but were not
intimidated by us one bit. As the day passed, we were the last two teams at
the field, and we invited them to play in the last of the remaining games with
us. I remember telling one of the kids that well go easy on them. Reluctantly,
they took their positions at the opposite side of the field. I reminded my team
to be easy and take this game lightly. Game Starts. These young men had
one of the most aggressive breakouts I have ever seen, and they all shot
their markers extremely well, shooting out one of our players from the break.
The bunker that I am hiding behind is bombarded with paint, and in my mind
im thinking that there is no way all that fire is coming from Ion markers. Rest
to sure, they were Ions! I could hear their yelling amid the pounding of my
bunker, and one by one, I seen my team walk off the field with their guns up,
some covered head to toe in paint. I peek over the side of my bunker, to try to
get a position on them. I couldn’t see a thing! These kids were so small that
the bunkers offered them the maximum protection when they hid behind
them. At Almost 6 feet tall, and 275 pounds thin, I had to actually learn how
to compact my large frame to be an effective player, I skill that I am very
proud to possess .But my skill, coupled with the fact that I totally
underestimated these determined young men, Did nothing to stop these
guys from pinning me in my spot, and ultimately hosing me and the rest of
my team to a defeat. These guys cheered and screamed and earned every
bit of their victory, but their cheers was not louder than the deafening silence
that emitted from my team in the dead box. There would be no revenge, and
we packed our gear with our heads hung low. You see, we had defeated
ourselves from the very beginning, to the cost of a valuable life’s lesson. We
live, we play, and we learn. On the field and off.
These days ,my team, The Bronx Paintball Society, plays each and every
game with the same intensity and aggression, as if it was our last game on
earth. Gone are the days of underestimating our opponents, and even in
practice, we play like we are competing in the NPPL. That is the mind set of
a team that plays to win. I Read many paintball magazines and I remember
something that I read stuck in my head. I am not the originator of this
phrase, but I would like to shake the mans hand who said it. " If you train
how you play, you will play how you train". We base every drill, practice
session, skirmishes with other teams, with this drilled in our minds. It has
made a tremendous impact on our performance.
One must remember that we were all "noobs" at one point or another, and
we all needed that advice, tip, pointer, or suggestion that make us the
players that we are today. As an experienced player, I feel obligated to take
the time, and teach the young ones about the importance of safety in our
beloved sport. Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s superstars of paintball, but
will not, if we don’t teach them, the harm that vandalism can do to it.
Paintball can be seen today in movies, commercials, and tv shows, and is
one of the fastest growing extreme sports. If we want to see Monday Night
Paintball on tv, Paintball summer camps and after school programs and
such, we must all become safety ambassadors. we must see that girls are
our equal on the field and off, and respecting them is not an option. Promote
the positive aspects of the game, and they will come in droves. We must be
positive role models to the younger players, because when we are not
watching, they mimic our actions. I see a great future for paintball, but it all
starts with us, doing the right thing.
Hector Farrulla plays back position for his team, The Bronx Paintball Society,
and writes a paintball forum for www.ibcsolutions.net. Team BPS are true
safety ambassadors to the sport of paintball, and are committed to
spreading the word of safety in paintball. If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to reach me at stickemup45@aol.com.
By Hector Farrulla (August 17, 2006)
Paintball Zen And Doing The Right Thing
I’ve been playing paintball for quite some time now, and just about nothing
can surprise me these days. Although, every now and then, I come across
instances that both inspire me, and disgust me. Things that make me laugh
,and things that just make me mad as all hell. Some things makes me feel
that paintball is here to stay, and some things tell me that we, as
responsible players, field and store owners, and the paintball industry, as
we know it, does not stand the least of a chance. I’ve seen grown men act
like children, and kids confront challenges with the hearts of lions. I even
learned a few of life’s important lessons, all while getting bunkered behind
a dorito.
The paintball players that I have come across in my travels have usually
been kind, friendly, and generally helpful people, but, as in everything else in
life, there are the proverbial "bad apples"that make us ,themselves, and the
sport, look far less than favorable. Players raise their velocities past legal
limits, all to give an extra sting upon impact. Paintballs have been frozen
before play, regardless of the risk of shattered goggle lenses. Illegal
ramping boards hurls excessive amounts of paint toward opponents,
risking serious injury. Obscenities have been hurled at children in games,
all because these particular adults sucked at paintball. I once had a referee
snatch the marker from my hands in a middle of a rec game, just to
overshoot a new referee that he thought was of a certain sexual orientation.
The captain of a team that I once belonged to stole the teams money to feed
his wife’s scratch off ticket addiction. The team split, and a new ,strong
union was formed, based on honesty, trust, and the desire to compete.
While frozen paintballs, racial insults, excessive cheating, lewdness, and un
sportsman like conduct are some of the things that are witnessed in some
fields, the risk of damaging the integrity of the sport is diminished by those
who’s actions shine a positive light around it.
It is uncommon to see young and old, male and females share stories,
experiences, advice and guidance in between paintball games on any field.
Ill never forget the look on the face of a first time player, a kid, no more than
11 years old, when I replaced his rental marker with my shiny upgraded Bob
long Intimidator, and sent him on his way to play. He held it in his hand as if
it was a piece of gold. That, alone, felt better than any great shot, move or
play I made that day. In my first tournament, I had the pleasure of meeting a
young man,(I now regret not getting this gentlemen’s name) who was a
referee. I noticed that he walked with a slight limp and had his arm bent all
day. He was obviously sightly different than the rest of the people there, but
this guy zoomed around the field, pulling players, calling one for ones and
doing what refs do to keep a game rolling. A later conversation with this man
revealed to me that he was born with Cerebral palsy, but his condition never
stopped him from playing the sport that he loves. I wish that all people who
think that they don’t have what it takes to do what they love in life would meet
this wonderful man, and get a little inspiration from him. At a not too recent
practice session with my team, we ran across a newly formed team at the
field, made up of mostly young teens, And they all shot Ion markers. Many
serious speedball players don’t like Ion markers, because they feel that the
marker is a cheap version of the thousand dollar beasts that they carry . I
myself, was one of them.( Ion owners are some of the proudest people I
know.) Now, these kids marveled at our high end electros, but were not
intimidated by us one bit. As the day passed, we were the last two teams at
the field, and we invited them to play in the last of the remaining games with
us. I remember telling one of the kids that well go easy on them. Reluctantly,
they took their positions at the opposite side of the field. I reminded my team
to be easy and take this game lightly. Game Starts. These young men had
one of the most aggressive breakouts I have ever seen, and they all shot
their markers extremely well, shooting out one of our players from the break.
The bunker that I am hiding behind is bombarded with paint, and in my mind
im thinking that there is no way all that fire is coming from Ion markers. Rest
to sure, they were Ions! I could hear their yelling amid the pounding of my
bunker, and one by one, I seen my team walk off the field with their guns up,
some covered head to toe in paint. I peek over the side of my bunker, to try to
get a position on them. I couldn’t see a thing! These kids were so small that
the bunkers offered them the maximum protection when they hid behind
them. At Almost 6 feet tall, and 275 pounds thin, I had to actually learn how
to compact my large frame to be an effective player, I skill that I am very
proud to possess .But my skill, coupled with the fact that I totally
underestimated these determined young men, Did nothing to stop these
guys from pinning me in my spot, and ultimately hosing me and the rest of
my team to a defeat. These guys cheered and screamed and earned every
bit of their victory, but their cheers was not louder than the deafening silence
that emitted from my team in the dead box. There would be no revenge, and
we packed our gear with our heads hung low. You see, we had defeated
ourselves from the very beginning, to the cost of a valuable life’s lesson. We
live, we play, and we learn. On the field and off.
These days ,my team, The Bronx Paintball Society, plays each and every
game with the same intensity and aggression, as if it was our last game on
earth. Gone are the days of underestimating our opponents, and even in
practice, we play like we are competing in the NPPL. That is the mind set of
a team that plays to win. I Read many paintball magazines and I remember
something that I read stuck in my head. I am not the originator of this
phrase, but I would like to shake the mans hand who said it. " If you train
how you play, you will play how you train". We base every drill, practice
session, skirmishes with other teams, with this drilled in our minds. It has
made a tremendous impact on our performance.
One must remember that we were all "noobs" at one point or another, and
we all needed that advice, tip, pointer, or suggestion that make us the
players that we are today. As an experienced player, I feel obligated to take
the time, and teach the young ones about the importance of safety in our
beloved sport. Today’s youth will be tomorrow’s superstars of paintball, but
will not, if we don’t teach them, the harm that vandalism can do to it.
Paintball can be seen today in movies, commercials, and tv shows, and is
one of the fastest growing extreme sports. If we want to see Monday Night
Paintball on tv, Paintball summer camps and after school programs and
such, we must all become safety ambassadors. we must see that girls are
our equal on the field and off, and respecting them is not an option. Promote
the positive aspects of the game, and they will come in droves. We must be
positive role models to the younger players, because when we are not
watching, they mimic our actions. I see a great future for paintball, but it all
starts with us, doing the right thing.
Hector Farrulla plays back position for his team, The Bronx Paintball Society,
and writes a paintball forum for www.ibcsolutions.net. Team BPS are true
safety ambassadors to the sport of paintball, and are committed to
spreading the word of safety in paintball. If you have any questions or
comments, please feel free to reach me at stickemup45@aol.com.
| Pictured above are Brandon and uncle Hector Farrulla who is teaching his nephew to be all he can be on and off the paintball course. |