Paintball!!! Skyview Ranch, OH
It’s been around for awhile, but last weekend was my first experience of doing battle on the paintball field.
The battle took place at Skyview Ranch in Ohio where I had the privilege of speaking to a great group of men from the First Baptist Church of Elyria.
To make it all the better, I was able to take my sons Ben (16) and Sam (14) along. I’m telling you there is nothing better than fighting side by side with your boys. Not that it wasn’t a lot of fun shooting at them as well.
For those who have never had the pleasure of being shot with a paintball let me answer the simple question of “does it hurt?” The answer: Oh, yeah…but that’s what makes it so much fun. Not that I like being hurt, but there’s just something about playing a game where you might be hurt that is exciting.
In fact, when we got home, we all compared our welts and red marks. Actually, I won hands down with the direct hit to the neck (see photo). There is a reason why those guys who play it all the time cover those tender parts.
Ben and Sam had a great time meeting all the guys on and off the field and that’s what made the whole event all the sweeter. There is nothing better than men interacting as men.
So…if you’ve never paintballed…you gotta do it. In fact, if you know of a great place to play, let us know where it is…maybe we’ll show up sometime (with more padding this time).
Watch your blind side,
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Now THAT is a great hit from a marker! There isn’t much better than putting a gun in a man’s hand and telling him to shoot everything that moves from the other side! Welcome to the paintball fraternity, Todd. Looking forward to seeing you in Flint.
Yeah! You finally got to play! Our first event of the season is this Saturday, and I can’t wait. I even installed my second video camera to my gear… I now have a helmet cam and a gun cam. I’m hoping you have another hunting contest because I have some great footage from Tuesday night when I went out in the woods to try it out and snuck up on some wild turkey…
I guess I WILL invest in one of those neck wraps! My son Jacob (12) and I play at a great place here in Jacksonville, FL called Paintball Adventures (dot com) and its a blast. Next time youre down this way (maybe for the FL convention) we can play!
AWESOME!! I have been playing paintball for the past year…by the way, I’ll mention that I am a dad of four boys. Anyway, my addiction started just like you, a single game. Since that time it has exploded and I have gotten at least 25 guys from my church to purchase their own equipment to play on the weekends. Not sure the wives are too happy with me! It is a great time of fellowship and a chance to grow closer to each other. It is also a fantastic outreach opportunity for the unchurched. My wife thinks I am nuts, but supports me…I have even given her an opportunity to shoot me in a couples outing that took place in June.
A month ago I took my 10 year-old son out had a great time. I found that my standard opperating procedure changed a little bit from what I normally play. I found myself protecting my son during the games instead of playing “Rambo”. Life seems to be alot like that…as dad’s we are sworn to protect until we are comfortable enough to let them face life on their own. I imagine it does not change too much even after that.
Anyway, paintball is a great opportunity to connect not only with other guys but can be a great bonding experience with your sons. By the way, my son got his first “kill” that day and I discovered he is an AWESOME scout…he would see guys even before some of our more experienced veterans!
I would love to swap stories or even the types of games my guys play, so let me know!
p.s. My son’s know me by my indian name “Great Rabbit Painter”…we have pesky rabbits in our backyard and on occasion, I have been known to “paint” them. So if you see a pink rabbit cross your path…know that SYclops may have been near! HAHA!
Caught eavesdropping again but I look at that whelt and I just don’t get it. You have, however, just shed a little light on why my poor husband sits at the computer in the evenings playing Battlefield, Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield this and Battlefield that with other guys via something called teamspeak. It’s because we have girls. Not just girls but girly girls. Even the majority of our dogs (6) are girls. We have daughters who, while playing Battleship, were pretending to make announcements to the ship, saying “We’ve lost three of our boats but we’re doing great. Now don’t forget the ball tomorrow night. Wear your prettiest princess dress.” Then they “pause” the Battleship game for dancing and twirling at their “ball”. Yes, our daughters even turn Battleship into a princess party so my husband is relegated to the computer for his testosterone fix. Now I kind of understand. Poor man. Next week, we will be at Disney World, meeting Princesses and fairies and having teas/lunches with them. He does it with a smile on his face and with no complaints. sigh. Guess I will have to “man” up and agree to ride Tower of Terror after all. Just for him. 🙂
I know us wives aren’t supposed to read your emails but I really enjoy them & am encouraged by them as well. I have to tell you I TOTALLY AGREE with your take on paintball. I’ve only done it once but there was just something about lying in wait under cover in the woods hoping one of my teenage sons would walk by so I could shoot him!!! Problem was, they’re better hunters AND better shots than I am!! And yes, it DOES hurt. Also I have to tell you that my husband’s injury beats yours hands down, Todd. He was playing one evening last summer when it was really hot & humid and had lifted his face mask to get some air. He forgot to put it down again and my nephew shot him right in the face!! So we had to make a trip to the ER to get him stitched up! I’d send you a pic but I don’t think he’d appreciate it!! 🙂
I guess I’m not the only wife that reads the husbands emails. Anyway they make things for your neck so you won’t get welts like that. I’m so glad that you had a good time. My husband loves to paint ball but couldn’t go this year do to lack of money. I can’t wait until our 3 boys can go with him.
Todd, Thanks for sharing with our group your passion for men to be godly fathers. We all learned something from the Word. Everyone also had an awesome time playing paintball with you, Ben and Sam. I should get you a picture of Kevin’s back. Seven direct short range hits! It looks great! BTW-We used almost 20 cases of paint (40,000 rounds) in our 8 hours of playing. Thanks again brother.
http://www.splatterpark.com/splatterpark_paintball_videos.htm
Todd! NICE!
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Todd, I just wanted to thank you for encouraging my “men” this past weekend at the retreat. They said you really got them thinking about a number of things — and they just, flat out, enjoyed shooting at you and your young men, too! We still have two more men-in-waiting at home, so how do you feel about another paintball retreat in about thirteen or fourteen years? You up for it? Kris, Jed and Ben will be there — locked and loaded… to learn and to paint the forest red!
Thanks, again, for taking time away from your family to encourage ours.
I can feel those past paintball tags throbbing now.
We’ve recently invested in Nerf guns and turn the living room upside down. All of the furniture (minus the glass) becomes part of a fort/bunker. (Fun for all ages).
As they get older. . . paintball it is.
Thanks for the encouragement Todd!
We have a group of Homeschoolers that started out with 8 2 years ago. We have grown to over 30 now and still growing. We use it as a outreach for others that don’t know Christ and always start with a word of prayer for safety for all who play and a fun time. If you’re out in the Rockford, Il. area you’re more than welcome. I would suggest that you find a group that plays with the “Rambo” rule. That’s when you have someone in your sights within 30 feet you call out “Rambo”. They have the choice if surrender, or be shot if they turn on you. We play that way only because we want all to have fun, but not injury someone. Plus if we have a rookie playing we don’t want to get call a from a mom calling us a bunch of brutes, or scare them away first time out. Last game we do is always Dads v Kids. I like to say the score so far is Dads 14 Kids 1. We’ve had as many as 21 kids against 7 Dads. Enjoy the times now Todd and build those memories.I’m turning 50 soon and look forward to the day I can play next to my grandkids
It is shocking that you would participate in and promote such a violent, non-Christlike activity like paintball, let alone allow your sons to do the same! . . .
PSYCH! I LOVED having the opportunity to SHOOT YOU, Todd! It was a great event for men to get together, share fellowship, and hear a great message.
As a cradle Catholic, I have been looking at other churches, and was a “visitor” to First Baptist’s men’s group. They truly made me feel welcome and inspired me to ask even more questions. I look forward to further guidance from the Holy Spirit as to exactly what direction I need to lead my family in, . . . and how to be a more DANGEROUS BELIEVER! 🙂
Thank you for the time you spent with was, Todd. I truly appreciate it.
Joe Tutak
aka. The big bald guy!
joetutak@oh.rr.com
We ran across your blog while looking for RV tips. We are getting ready to travel to OH in our motor home. Do you think we will have a problem with freezing? We are looking to purchace a farm in Ohio.
Crystal,
You shouldn’t have any trouble. I usually, don’t winterize my RV until Oct. 31. I’ve even gone later than that. We can have some cold weather, but if you’re living in the RV the heat from the coach should be enought to keeo things thawed. You need some really cold weather for several days to freeze things up. I once waited too long to winterize my RV and the drain pipes were frozen. It took my about half a day to thaw them out but there was no damage. I think you’ll be fine. Make sure you have a full tank of propane…you don’t want to run out because it can get a little nippy at night.
Have fun!
Todd