The adrenaline rush of after school activities seems to not be enough for many guys on campus. Many have found another weekend hobby to not only keep their wallets empty but to keep their bodies in shape.

“I love going to play paintball because it keeps me in shape,” Micah Walker, ’05, said. “I love playing sports at school to but there is something about the adrenaline rush that I love in paintball.”

Many feel as if they are in a real battle while playing paintball.

“It’s like being in war,” Clinton Jeffries, ’04, said. “You get to shoot people but nobody dies. Its not like laser tag; that is really dumb because it doesn’t hurt you if you get hit. Paintball is a adrenaline rush and it’s a fun way to keep in shape.”

In a recent game, Walker was playing with Jon Tantraphol, ’03, and friends at T.A.A.G. in Coarsegold when he rushed a bunker and challenged an opponent to surrender. Instead of surrendering, he lifted his gun and shot Walker in the arm within five feet.

“Initially it only felt like somebody flicked me with their finger on the arm,” Walker said, “but the paintballs actually left a quarter-sized gash in my arm.” The recommended safety distance between opponents is at least 20 feet.

Besides the adrenaline rush during combat many fear being hit in unprotected areas but masks are always mandatory equipment.

Jordan Griffin, ’04, said. “The paintballs come at you 200 miles an hour,” Jordan Griffin, ’04, said. “So if you get hit in the wrong place, you’re really in trouble.”

Other than getting hurt, a down side to the game is the expense.

“It is really expensive to play often,” Carson Belmont, ’05, said. “With all of the gear including the paintballs, you can end up paying a lot of money for the sport. But it’s well worth it in the end.”

Besides the many students who gather together to play paintball at the beginning of the season, the football team enjoys a day of fellowship and paintballing.

“I have been paintballing for many years but my favorite time is the preseason game with the football team,” Evan Sanders, ’03, said. “It’s a great time for all of us to bond and just have a great time. The only bad thing about it is if somebody gets hurt it could affect there season but none of us really get hurt so its fun.”

Throughout the Valley there are many wide-open spaces to play paintball.

“We usually play in Kingsburg, Shaver or in any large field or forest that we can find,” Jeffries said. ” It’s a lot of fun in Shaver because there is a river to swim around when we play and it’s like a big forest.”

Although the downside of paintball is the cost and potential of injury, the overall experience of paintball seems to outweigh the negative aspects.

Paintball enthusiasts can purchase supplies at Maximum Paintball Supply, Inc on N. Blackstone in Fresno or call 222-3814.

Students can also purchase supplies online at www.tippmann.com for Tippmann Paintball and www.kingman.com for The Kingman Group. For information on paintball fields and locations, go online at www.skirmish.com for Skirmish USA’s paintball site.