"When my eleven-year-old son, Carl, asked me four months ago
if he could play paintball, my first reaction was probably
typical of most parents who want to be act responsibly,
that was to say, “No, you’ll shoot your eye
out.” Eventually, after doing some internet research
on the sport, I relented and agreed to take Carl and his
friend Jake to one of the local paintball parks. Luckily
for us, the first place we chose to try this sport was
Capital Edge Paintball Park (CEPP).
From that first day we arrived at CEPP to now, the superior
customer service we received and more importantly, their
attention to safety has never failed to amaze me. Dave
Bains, the resident Paintball Professional, his brother,
Deep, their father, their sister and all of the other
CEPP staff have created an environment where players of
all ages, skill-levels, gender, shape and size can participate
in a safe, friendly, and family-oriented environment.
I’ve also discovered that this is not only an extremely
fun sport, but one that has definite health and fitness
benefits, particularly for kids. Basically, if a player
commits themselves to getting better at paintball, they
will also have to commit themselves to getting more physically
fit. I've noticed a definite improvement in my son's level
of fitness since starting paintball. Another benefit I’ve
observed for children playing at CEPP is the sportsmanship,
focus, teamwork and camaraderie these kids develop. While
players don't have to come to CEPP with their own team,
the games will usually entail being placed on one - thus
the need to work as team in order to be successful. Honesty
and integrity are also character traits that young people
will develop as paintball participants. Like golf, where
players are expected to call penalties on themselves,
paintball competitors are expected to acknowledge when
they’ve been hit and take themselves out of the game.
Finally, for parents of children who love video games,
particularly those so-called “first person shooter”
games, paintball is a great way of getting them off the
couch and into an outdoor activity. Trust me, I know from
first hand experience
Needless to say, we’ve become weekend regulars at
CEPP. In fact, my son recently participated in CEPP’s
September 27-28, paintball clinic. Led by Dave Bains
and assisted by three of the best professional paintball
players in the world, Carl and a number of other clinics
participants were treated to hours of outstanding paintball
instruction and training. I was particularly appreciative
of the approach Dave and the other professionals took
with my son as he was by far the youngest of the attendees.
At the end of the clinic, my son had made some great new
friends, received some awesome training, and had a fantastic
time - another typical day at CEPP."
Carl
