A Place To Start, A Place To Grow

by Larry “Sage” Strack

 

Amid the threat of rain, high wind and a buffer crop skeeters, Farm Land Paintball Clubs first Young Guns Tourney began.  The rain stopped, the sun peeked out from the clouds and the wind kept the skeeters at bay.  Ten teams, double round robin made for plenty of games for every team and plenty of “in your face” competition.  For most teams this was their first speedball tourney and judging from the smiles in the staging area, we’ve got some up and coming tournament players on the way.

Alamo Paintball was at the field providing a full service paintball experience, advice to new players, marker repairs, food and beverages and motherly words of concern from “Momma” Donna as a new player got bunkered.  The expert reffing staff was provided by member’s of teams Pump Chumps, Scar, Slow Train and Team Strength & Honor.

By far, Thunderstruck was the flashiest dressed team with their yellow and white jerseys and yellow masks.  The youngest, I believe, went to the Atomic Fireballs.  The most tolerant would have to go to Get Some...Eat Paint.  Because of a communication error they forfeited a game because they let the field for lunch and didn’t arrive back on time.  They shrugged their shoulders and continued on having fun.  Good job guys and great attitudes.  The Nad’s Award is shared by Joe (Ruff Ryders) and Chris (Scar).  Get a cup guys, that looked like it hurt.  All teams played well.  Only good attitudes and fair play were noted by the Ref’s.  This made it extremely difficult to pick the Sportsmanship Award.  After much discussion among the Refs and a review of almost every game the Atomic Fireballs were picked.  While probably the youngest team on the field, they played fair, honest and with style all day.  They congratulated the winners, cheered on the losers, and called themselves out, when hit, before a Ref could get to them and never gave up.  And above all they had fun.  We felt that they embodied the true meaning of Farm Land spirit and style and were awarded a lifetime membership to the club.    

While this was most teams first tourney experience they made up for it with enthusiasm and great competition.  As the day went on, Farm Land’s very own Ruff Ryders (Silver and Gold), Lakeville Outlaws and Thunderstruck pushed to the front of the pack.  At the end of the Prelim’s all four teams were within a few points of each other.  Each final game came down to the two minute mark with the winner coming from some bold move spurred on by the intense competition.  The final also ended up in a close heat with the Lakeville Outlaws taking fourth place, Ruff Ryders (Gold) third place, Ruff Ryders (Silver) second place and Thunderstruck first place.

We saw lots of new teams playing that first tournament and the club is happy to have provided a first positive experience to the tourney level play.  We hope this opens the door for future competition both at Farm Land Paintball Club and other fields.  Thanks for a great day!

 

Teams & Where They Play