[Annaa]

Originally Posted by Colton in carlsbad

My dad is a navy seal and still doesnt really want to play. He will someday though.

My parents will never want to play.

[rexisme]

I am a new father, I hope my son is interested in some sort of hobby when he gets of age. However, I do believe some of you parents posting in here telling other kids what their parents should be doing or how they are lacking as parents, are completely out of line.

[orionj]

i took my 11yr old brother in law (long story) out last weekend and he was really excited about paintball so much so that he began watching youtube videos the entire week before we played. by the time we got to the fields and got a few in he thought he was invincible and decided to try a superman dive on a barrels field into the snake... well he tried he caught so much ground and stuck his landing that his feet flipped over his head and his hopper lid opened, threw all his paint on the ground rolled into it and still managed to roll into coverage popped up and took one other player out on a cross with what ever was still in the feedneck. the whole team couldnt stop laughing we got shot out. that still keeps playing over and over agian in slow mo in my mind. he will be better but that was his best fail.

[Ross17]

A few years back Michael J. Fox brought his son out to play for his sons birthday at Skirmish USA, Jim Thorpe, PA. That's about all I've got.

[isaiahliepold]

my father got me started on paintball. We still play together sometimes even though i got really good and started playing touronment. he is more of a woods ball person though. i am 100% speedball. we still go to the nppl every year together though.

[ArchAngelIon]

My dad is too rich to play paintball and thinks its for the blue collar NASCAR crowd. He can't risk having welts because his business negotiations will suffer.

It's been that way for at least 10 years.

[Lightsout777]

I've been playing PB or involved with the sport here in South Africa for the past 19 years. I don't have any kids yet, but you can be damned sure I will introduce my kids to the sport as soon as they are old enough. In my opinion thats around 12-13 years old (when I started).
My club Captains Father plays with us... He's 57, and toured with the team to Malaysia to the world cup in '06 where they won their division, his Mom (everyone calls her 'Paintball-Mom') attends all the local tourneys and even does all the scoring during the events.

For sure I'm going to be that Dad and my wife will be that Mom.

Well done to all those parents, Fathers and Mothers alike that take the time and put in the effort to support and be with their children, doing something they love. May the Grace of God and all His Blessings be bestowed on you all.

[rexisme]

Originally Posted by ArchAngelIon

My dad is too rich to play paintball and thinks its for the blue collar NASCAR crowd. He can't risk having welts because his business negotiations will suffer.

It's been that way for at least 10 years.

Serious?

It sounds like your father is scared and giving you lame excuses. The only thing not covered by a business suit would be his face and hands. Face is covered by a mask and hands, well, what man doesn't have beat up hands anyway.

Being scared is a sign of being weak. Being weak will make business negotiations suffer as well.

10 years, holy hell. That sucks man. Hopefully you'll at least get a fat inheritance to make up for it.

[Killa Daddy Of Two]

I have been playing for years.. and my oldest son, always watched. When he was about 7, he expressed that he wanted to play. I told him.. well, why dont you watch a game, be a part of a game. So I placed a mask on him, and let him walk around during the game, wearing a safety vest over his parka, and he got to see the action up close. When he wasnt paying attention, I pulled out my Tiberius Arms Tac8, and shot him dead center of the chest. He looked down, looked up at me, and then started to cry. From that point on, I knew he wasnt ready to play yet. Now 3 years later, he plays paintball all the time, he loves bunkering, and is quite ready to play more, larger games.

[McFadyen]

Where to start ....

I have had a pretty damn spoiled life, Summer of grade 12 i first fell in love with paintball. My Coach from when i played football in grade 11 ran a youth group at the local church, joined up with them at P.A.G, played for a few hours most fun i had in my life besides hockey,baseball and football.

My parents ended up splitting for a second time in the last year and a half and this time for good. My father, pretty laid back guy played football out of California and was suppose to play for USC. Well he took us last weekend to P.A.G because it was his weekend, rented 3 guns and 300 rounds for myself, him and my brother. Well last night, i ended up picking up myself a Invert Mini with two tanks, Empire hopper and mask. (Early birthday/Christmas Present) My 19th birthday is on the 13th... We now plan to attend paintball every second weekend. looking to eventually get into tournament ball next year.

[NaftySquared]

Not sure if my story is completely relevant for this thread, but I am telling it anyway.

The only time my mother has set foot in a paintball facility was around 8 years ago when I managed to sneak away after school to play while being grounded. In the middle of the game she shows up against the netting and yelled my name full volume. Everyone that was playing quit playing and just stared. She tells me to throw everything in my bag and proceeds to chew me out while we head out the door.

Extremely embarassing to have your mother show up like that at a field in front of all your paintball buddies.

[rdpb197]

I started playing in my woods but then my dad took us to a real field and I loved it

[cswanson]

Question for parents. . . would you be offended if the paintball fill was red?

[kohee]

My 10 year old started playing after being invited to a birthday party at a local field. That following week -- with my wife's prodding -- we bought him a basic setup with a Spyder mechanical marker. A few weeks later I bought a Mini from a ref at the field. Now I've started playing with him and just bought a used Axe. It's fun playing together and talking about the sport and strategies and such. We also travel out of town to play. But I'm that type of Dad and not all dads are. But that's not a bad thing either. It's tough being a parent and most of us are trying to do the best job we can.

[HFInsidious]

I wish I had a kid to go paintballing with so I'll tell this story from a kid's perspective who brought his dad into the sport.

I had been invited to a paintball birthday party (first time ever paintballing) and my mom and dad wanted to go to make sure I was safe (12 years old at the time). We get there and I go to my first game and had a fun. I shot one person and then got shot myself but I told my dad how much fun it was. He joined in after purchasing the rental equipment and we messed around a bit when we were on the same team. When he was on the other team, I always made it my goal to shoot him. I ended up shooting his twice and he would just run around like Homer Simpson every time he got shot "DOH!" It was funny as hell but my parents have split since then and my dad got the harsh end of it.

[turbo_tc]

Not really a paintball outing story but...

I was down in the basement with my 3 yr old daughter and she was watching cartoons while I was on here skimming through the different sections. I happened to come across a picture of someone's VS3 and she looked right as I got to the picture. She got all excited and said, "Daddy! Is that yours?" (yes my 3 yr old has an amazing vocabulary, she can repeat anything you say... ANYTHING lol) I look at her and say, "Yeah baby, daddy has one like that." She responds, "I want one like yours! Then you can shoot me and I can shoot you!" I was thinkin seriously? You want to shoot me of all people lol. So I countered with, "How about we be on teams?" and she looked at me with evil grin and said, "Yeah! Then we can shoot them before they shoot us!" I told her that's how we do it. She then gave me the saddest little face and said, "Daddy can I go paintball with you?" I told her, "As soon as you get older of course you can baby girl, and when bubby gets older we'll bring him along too."

Not gonna lie, I cried a little on the inside at that moment. I can't wait for my kids to get older and introduce them to this great sport. Got about 7 more years for her and a little over 8 1/2 for him (places here don't want kids under 10 due to their rental masks not fitting properly, may be able to talk them into letting them get in a year early if I buy them masks to fit them)

I do however have a related event now that I think about it...

I was in my first year of college and was really into playing. Talked to my dad about going with me one time and him being around 50 at the time agreed. He served in the National Guard around The Vietnam War and was on our state's pistol and rifle teams while in the reserves after the war and is an avid hunter so I could only wait to see how he did on the field. First 2 mins of the game he shoots out a police officer and his partner that were on the opposing team. He takes these guys out all day long by himself and while they're gettin mad about the ordeal he's havin a blast and laughin with me about the day. Sadly, that was the first AND last time he went. Although, my little girl asked him to go with her and he said he would so we'll see.

[The.shack@TiTans]

My mom went out to a scenario game and got hit in the head and the chest at point blank range by friendly fire. She hasn't played since

[Ravarju]

I'm another paintball Dad. I have three sons from 24, 21, and 14. My sons convinced me to go along once and I was hooked. I love that we can go as a group and do so most weekends. Course, it helps that we live by one of the best paintball parks in the nation. Three years into this, I now have all of my own gear, the youngest son in tournament play, and a ton of stories I know my boys will tell for years.

[THROWIN ROPES]

I've been playing paintball since 1986 (showing my age), Joined a team in early to mid 90's, played D1 through the early 2000's. I've been on a hiatus since 2005 up until this year when my 14 year old son came across a photo album in the attic. He showed some interest in paintball after watching a video of me and my team playing world cup, sky ball, NPPL, and X-ball. I sent him back up to the attic and directed him to a chest in the far corner buried behind some boxes. When he opened the chest he was in awe. He pulled out all the guns I ever played with. A Barracuda, Auto cockers, mags, Matrix. All the memories came flooding back. He sat there and listened as I told stories about each gun and how unique they are in their own way. He really wanted to shoot them and to try paintball. As my wife stood there shaking her head she could see that it was starting all over again. lol! With his help we tore down the newer guns knowing parts would be more readily available. We received new orings and rebuild kits in the mail a few days later and built most of the guns back to perfect working order. Later that day we took a trip to the local PB shop and bought new masks, and Tanks. After I was sure everything was good to go I took him in the backyard and let him rip through a case of paint while teaching him the basics of shooting. He practiced almost everyday and after about a week he said he wanted to play at a field but didn't want to play anybody but me. My noob son just called the old man out of retirement. I asked him if he was sure about this and his reply was "Yeah, i'll lite you up I think..." That day didn't go so well for him and I broke him into the sport 18bps at a time. Since then we now play every weekend and his game has improved drastically. He's even thinking of starting a team to play tournaments. I've molded him into a great tourney player and I see myself in him while he plays,screaming out positions, giving directions, snap shooting, shooting lanes, moving. It's like I have come full circle and i'm passing the torch. Yet, I think back on all the great times I had playing and traveling and this is by far the most fun I've had playing paintball.

[Donkeysoldier]

So i just became a PB dad when my son decided he wanted to play PB. He is 11 and we are just starting out. Always looking for tips for a new dad to the sport

[sirdouglasb12]

Great stories by everyone! My son is not quite 8 so I still have to wait a while before I can take him, but I am already talking to him and getting him excited about it.

Here is a really nice promo video to introduce people to paintball. Runs about a minute and I think it's really nicely done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv2G...ature=youtu.be