Read the shirt. This team, named Old Men, took a SIPPL first place in 2005. Photo by SIPPL
In a letter to APG's CO2 Mail, this 13-year-old describes a couple of games with The Big Shot on his team.
I'm a common victim of getting yelled at for trying to help. I'm 13, and sure I'm not the only one. I went to a (Florida field) on a "free" day, you just had to buy paint, no problem. It was speedball. Once we got out to the field some guy in a fancy jersey (I call him "The Big Shot") was there, and obviously he's older than I am. First game we were in the back. I moved up to a bunker that stayed clear for a while.
I saw an opponent in their backfield, and we're playing pitch-and-catch for a while until the captain tells me to pin him down. I do. A few seconds later, The Big Shot tells me to cover him. This was the first time we talked to each other. So I do. He's playing stealth while I put my aim on cruise control. I glance around him, clear. Pause, I shoot, missed. Five seconds later, three shots in my back. "OUT!" (Thanks for nothing.)
Young, relentless player. Photo by Regina Helton
I sit down on the ground on the sideline and watch The Big Shot. The guy in the backfield pops out, sees him, and lays it on him. The Big Shot yells at me, "What the #%$! were you thinking, leaving your post! Do you know how to cover?!" In a angry voice he goes on, "Dude, you need know how to play paintball to play publicly. (Oh yeah, that really says a lot.) If you don't know how to play with us, then don't! (Stupidest thing I've ever heard.) Are you a newb, because you need some help!" Then the last thing I heard was a lecture on how to cover people. I just stared him in the eye and smiled. At least he's not the captain, and if I need help, then he needs psychotherapy.
Next speedball game, I told him where I was going. The Big Shot said, "Go for it." I headed forward to the halfway point, big gain. I got there! The bad side to it, I was their main target. Yeah, they all popped their heads out and were shooting-at me. Then The Big Shot takes out three players. I took one out while running, and the others got the other two. It was fun. He got his name that game, by bragging to everyone that The Big Shot won us the game. Now, not everybody can run up there being the decoy, so come on, show some faith by giving credit to me. Say "Good job!" or something. Don't take all the credit because you took three and I got one. Hey, I had to work. What he did only used aiming skills, and that's not hard when you have a good marker.
C'mon, people, don't take credit or blame stuff on other players because you made a mistake. Players my age know what I'm talking about. Good luck to the guys and gals 10-15 years of age, and APG, keep up the good work. What would you do if you were in my shoes?-J.C. Smith
{mosiamge}Young Guns, how have you been treated with respect, or disrespected? Send your best paintball stories to co2@actionpursuitgames.com.
