“ We heard about the kids exhibition and just decided we were going to do it ,” said Chris Sienna , coach of the Maui Misfits . “ We had Taylor and Diesel , and two girls , the twins Hope and Heaven . Then we borrowed two kids who had been playing less than a year .”
The paintball community in Maui embraced the idea whole-heartedly . They started traveling between the islands so the kids could practice at other fields , exposing them to other players , and running grassroots fundraisers .
“ We figured we needed about $ 20,000 to get everyone there , so we sold thousands of bags of lau lau for fundraisers ,” he said . ( Lau lau is Hawaiian soul food . In short , it ’ s slowcooked pork wrapped in banana leaves and eaten as hand food .)
After all of that work , the Hawaiian squad was not going to let a little thing like a hurricane stop them from getting to Florida . Sienna said , when he found out about the incoming storm , he spent 12 hours on the phone figuring out alternative travel arrangements . And he said every second of that time was paid for when they walked into Cup .
“ Walking through the arch at the entrance of the event was overwhelming ,” Sienna said . “ Watching the kids ’ faces , it was like entering Disney World or Vegas for the first time . Everyone was kind of just looking around in all awe with all of the banners , and the colors , and the vendors . Next thing I know , I looked up and Tyler Harmon was standing there .”
He says that Harmon was “ super nice ”, taking time to take pictures with them and sign some autographs . “[ Harmon ] told a kid to hold his marker while he was signing things for the others , and the kids just lost their minds .”
Each of these organizations has unique culture , and when they came together at World Cup , it created an amalgamation of solid value sets .)
For the Hermans , the coaches spend a great deal of time teaching their young guns about honoring players who came before them and respect - for themselves , for the players who came before , for parents , and for each other .
“ We focused on teaching them the history of the game and the iconic logo that they were wearing ,” Gong said . “ Everyone signed a code of conduct . The most important thing was parent buy-in . We made it clear that this was not a babysitting service . With this organization , all of the parents are involved , whether it ’ s loading pods , wiping the kids off , calling kids on field , whatever . They are all a part of it .”
Drawing on his own love for the game , Eric “ Big E ” Holland seemed to focus on building character .
“ Paintball was a place where I could work out thoughts and emotions that I didn ’ t know how to vent ,” E said . “ It was a sport where physicality came second to the ability to strategize . I found that I could do better by working out the problem on the field . It became mental , cerebral more than just physical . And I have watched as these kids develop those skills . It ’ s like removing a blindfold that you didn ’ t know existed .”
Holland said that was the best part for him , watching the kids open up , develop communication skills , confidence , and life skills that will serve them well going forward .
0136 paintball . media magazine