Navy veteran brings paintball to island

GALVESTON — After braving objects flying at them at 300 feet per second, a group of island teens started comparing battle wounds.

Cody Winton showed off a fresh bruise he had on his side. Another teen showed off where he had been hit in the chest.

“For a second, it hurts,” 16-year-old Kaleb Carr said. “Then it hurts a little bit more later when you get in the shower, and the water hits it.”

It might not sound like too much fun, but everyone at the old driving range off Stewart Road agreed — paintball is a blast.

Now the recreational sport that continues to grow in popularity has found a home in Galveston.

“I can’t wait to come out here and play during the week,” Winton said. “Whether you are just playing rec ball or at a high level, it’s a fun sport. I’m really glad that I started to play.”

Paintball Comes To The Island

When Stacy Young returned to Galveston after a 15-year stint with the Navy, he decided he wanted to open up his own business.

After a disappointing visit to a Houston-area paintball facility, Young knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“I didn’t like the way that place was run,” Young said. “I called my wife and told her that I wanted to start a paintball business in Galveston.”

It didn’t take long for Young to come up with a business plan, and within a few weeks, he was working out a deal with the city to rent land off Stewart Road where the golf driving range used to be.

After receiving all the necessary permits, Galveston Island Paintball officially opened in late May.

The course is quickly becoming a popular one. Its website, www.gipaintball.com, had 1,000 hits in its first few days of operation, and its Facebook page already has almost 400 fans.

Despite the summer heat, Young said the course has brought in 30 to 40 players on some days.

Rules Of The Game

Paintball is an easy sport to learn.

Players are equipped with a paintball gun, which fires the rounds out with tanks of CO2. Most of the guns fire 12 balls per second at 300 feet/second.

The course is filled with inflatable shields known as bunkers. There are names for the different shapes of bunkers like tombstone and Dorito.

If you are hit anywhere on your body and the paintball breaks on you, you are eliminated. The last person or team remaining wins the round.

Young said the groups usually will play three rounds at a time before heading back to the office to fill up on paint and cool down.

Young admits paintball isn’t the cheapest sport but said he prides himself on offering some of the best prices around.

Using the field costs $12. Renting an outfit that includes mask, gun and a CO2 tank costs $25. Galveston Island Paintball also sells paint starting at $13 a bag and $45 a case (four bags).

Most of hardcore paintballers have their own equipment. Winton said he spent nearly $2,000 buying equipment and safety gear. He earned the money by working and from birthday gifts.

“To get nice gear, you can spend anywhere from $600 to $3,000,” Young said. “It’s an expensive sport, so most parents usually have their kids earn the money themselves. I think that is one way that paintball is teaching responsibility.”

Along with his current customer base, Young is hoping to attract more players to the sport by holding weekly clinics. The $150 fee for the two-day event includes equipment, food and paint.

“We teach a lot of things at the clinic,” Young said. “We teach safety, maintenance of the equipment, rules, safety, lingo, safety and all the cool stuff. People will leave the clinic knowing how to play and more.”

The Future

Young has big plans for the future of Galveston Island Paintball. Currently, he has one course measured at 85 feet by 120 feet.

He’s cleared enough room and is preparing to seed grass in order to construct a 120-by-170 field by September. That field will be regulation size by Paintball Sports Promotions standards.

“It’s going to be one of only three regulation fields in Texas,” Young said. “It’s also going to be the only professional sports venue in Galveston.”

Young plans to unveil the new course in a “Warm-up for the World Cup” event set for Sept. 24-26. He plans to have the course set up exactly like it will be for the PSP World Cup in Lakeland, Fla., in October.

Young competed in the event years ago when he was in the Navy. He and some friends helped start a league for military stationed in Italy, and the Navy funded a trip to Florida for the World Cup as a reward.

Young said there are plenty of talented paintball players on the island. They just need some more experience to become good enough to win the World Cup.

That’s certainly the goal of many of the island teens who are regular players.

“One of these days I’d love to play in the World Cup,” Karr, who has been playing for just three months, said. “I need to get better all around before I’m ready, though.”

Young predicts the sport’s popularity will continue to grow on the island once he has upgraded the facility this summer.

After playing paintball for nearly two decades, Young said he loves the sport now more than ever.

“As a boy growing up, you always have BB gun wars or play hide and seek or Cowboys and Indians,” Young said. “This is all of that in one.”

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At A Glance

WHAT: Galveston Island Paintball

WHEN: Monday and Tuesday, clinics; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

WHERE: 9020 Stewart Road

COST: Equipment rental, $25; field fee, $12; paint, starting at $13 a bag