10 Paintball Tips for Kids!

Many of the best paintball players in the world today got their start when they were just kids! With new forms of paintball like .50 caliber paintball and Low Impact Paintball played with Valken Gotcha paintball gear, paintball is more welcoming to kids than ever, allowing younger players to find a hobby, sport and passion that can promote health, teamwork, friendship and camaraderie for life! Here’s some tips for kids looking to play the game of paintball and have a great time!

Work Together

Paintball is all about teamwork. It really does make the dream work. While each individual paintball player on a team must do their part and play their role to help a team win the game, if that team doesn’t cooperate and work together towards that common goal, they’ll never win! Players young and old, from kids to adults, must work together once the paint starts flying by communicating, making plans and helping one-another succeed. No one player can see everything or do everything on the field, but each and every player can do their part to help the team win, so work together!

Don’t be Afraid

It’s perfectly natural for younger players to feel that adrenaline rush when it’s time for the paint to start flying on the paintball field, but with new technology like .50 caliber paintballs and equipment and low-impact paintball like Valken GOTCHA gear, kids playing their first games of paintball can do so without the fear or concern about the sting of being hit with a paintball for the first time! So get out there, have fun and don’t be afraid, a whole world of fun is waiting!

It’s ok to lose

Nobody plays a game to lose. Whether walking onto a basketball court, lacing up cleats on the football field or pulling on a pair of goggles and walking onto a paintball field, everyone plays to win. That said, losing is part of every game and what each and every paintball player needs to remember is that it’s ok to lose – especially when a kid is first trying the game of paintball and learning the ropes! That doesn’t mean anyone has to like losing, but everyone can learn from an early trip back to the picnic tables with a big splat on their goggles and do better next time, so always remember it’s ok to lose, as long as you learn!

It’s Ok to get shot

Getting shot with paintballs is part of the game of paintball. It’s nobody’s FAVORITE part of the game of paintball, but it’s a necessary and natural part of the game. Sometimes taking a shot for the team can even help the team win! So even though getting shot means that game is over for the eliminated player, there’s always going to be another game of paintball, and with modern protective equipment like goggles, head protection, neck protection, chest protectors and gloves, not to mention the reduced impact of low-impact paintball and .50 caliber paintballs, kids playing the game of paintball no longer have to worry about the sting of incoming paintballs and can learn to play the game in safety and confidence!

Communicate!

Communication is one of the cornerstones of successful paintball. It’s only natural for newer, young players to find some cover and hide when the paintballs start flying and the adrenaline starts pumping, but for a paintball team to win a game, communication is key! Because much of a game of paintball is spent ducking behind cover to avoid incoming paintballs, no one player on a team can see everything and know where all the opponents are, but everyone can see something! Successful paintball teams communicate that information back and forth between players so everyone can have a better idea of what they’re up against, where the bad guys are and what needs to happen next, so they can work together to win! So talk it up!

Wear the right clothing

A big part of paintball is what a player wears to enjoy their first games. It’s important for younger players to wear the right clothing for their first day of play to ensure they have a great time. That means comfortable clothes that offer some protection and cover bare skin like old jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt for warmer weather play, or those same jeans and a big hooded sweatshirt for cooler weather games. These types of clothing offer plenty of protection to take the sting out of incoming paintballs and will also let the new players creep and crawl in the woods without worry about creepy crawlies. A good pair of supportive shoes with good traction are important as well, because with all that running around, nobody needs a twisted ankle to ruin a day of paintball fun!

Start with Friends and Family!

While paintball can be an incredible rush no matter who it’s played with, paintball is much more fun when it’s played with friends and family! Kids looking to start their paintball journey should play their first game with friends or family, or both! A paintball birthday party, church outing or other family trip make a great first day of paintball because anyone surrounded by people who care about them will be able to overcome that little bit of fear of trying something new to have a great time and fall in love with the game of paintball! A big part of the enjoyment of the game of paintball for players of all ages is spending time with people they care about, doing something different and fun, so get some friends or the family together and have a paintball adventure!

Goggles are more important than a paintball gun!

We get it – the paintball gun is the star of the paintball gear show. A shiny new paintball gun with all kinds of high-tech parts or a tactical look gets all the press and all the attention in the staging area. And that’s fine. However, young players (and all players) should remember that the most important piece of paintball gear they’ll ever own is their paintball goggle system! Designed, tested and certified to protect a paintball player’s eyes, ears, face and forehead from the impact of incoming paintballs and keep the wearer safe during a game of paintball, paintball goggles are absolutely critical and, more importantly, can be upgraded or purchased with a thermal lens that will prevent fogging on the field. While an amazing, high-tech paintball gun is a great thing to have, a paintball player can’t shoot what they can’t see and nobody is going to have a good or safe time if they can’t see through their fogged goggles. A player serious about enjoying paintball as a hobby or passion should invest in the best pair of thermal paintball goggles they can afford to ensure safety, comfort and clear vision on the field, then worry about their paintball gun.

Safety & Fun are what it’s all about

There are many ways to play the game of paintball. Capture the flag, attack-and-defend, tactical magazine-fed games, big games, scenario games, tournament paintball, speedball, hyperball and so on, are all variations on the original concept. However, everyone starting on their paintball journey needs to remember one thing – as long as everyone has their goggles on, is playing safe and having fun, they’re doing it right! No one part of paintball, whether it be magazine-fed paintball, scenario games or tournament paintball, is better than any other part because everyone playing the game of paintball is there for the same reason at the end of the day – to have fun! So play safe, follow the rules, listen to the field staff and referees, respect everyone and have a great time!

There’s a place in paintball for you!

Paintball has grown from a dozen people playing the first game in the woods of New Hampshire in 1981 to millions of players enjoying paintball worldwide today! Many of the people who have tried, fallen in love with and later became some of the most influential and important figures in the sport and industry of paintball found the game because they simply didn’t fit in, or find their home, in any other game or sport! That’s the beauty of paintball: old or young, tall or short, big or small, black or white, when the mask goes on the only thing that matters are safety and fun! There’s room in paintball for everyone, so grab your gear and let’s go play!