Everywhere in paintball this year there has been a low rumble about embracing the youth . At the World Cup it came to a head and that rumble heightened into a massive eruption as 24 youth teams exploded onto the scene for their own youth tournament . Hailing from everywhere around the country , including Hawaii , the youth showed up in force with tremendous family support , and assumed control of an entire corner of the property on Saturday . And from the sound of things , these kids are here to stay .
The youth movement is not a new concept . Mark Gong , a member of the Ironmen and now the coach and owner of The Hermans youth team , summed it up . Our players are aging . Many of them would come to the field with their kids , but there was not a place for the kids to play . So he took it upon himself to build something to meet the need .
“ That ’ s all it was , really . I just created something for my kid ,” Gong said , “ And , coincidently , everyone seemed to want the same for their kids .”
HOW IT STARTED
Gong said they promoted hard on social media , and the message about what he was doing spread like wildfire . Overnight , it seemed , The Hermans and young guns were everywhere . To support the movement financially , Gong pulled on support from industry relationships from his time with the Ironmen , and his wife Lily came up with an idea that would change the way everyone was doing things .
PHOTO BY NOAH LEON www . paintball . media
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