At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings, junior Greg Grossman is on his way out to Pev’s Paintball Park. For him, these early hours provide the perfect time to practice his sport: paintball.

Paintball began in 1976 Texas when two hunters wanted to recreate the thrill of hunting. It has since grown in popularity primarily due to the strategy and combat environment of the game. Today, over ten million people play paintball in the US and various TV channels broadcast and promote it. Paintball is played in outdoor arenas, indoor arenas and the woods. Paintballers have a gun, team suit, mask and a surplus of paintballs. Although most people think getting hit hurts, most players do not feel the shot because their adrenaline is rushing.

A popular paintball type is speedball. In speedball, there are two teams of five and the first team to reach a flag in the middle and transfer it across the arena earns a point. If a player on the team gets hit with a paintball he’s out. The first team to seven wins.

Paintball is a strategic game with intense conditions, “like real-life chess.” Grossman says, “but with guns and people diving everywhere and chaos.”

Like other athletes in many other popular sports, committed paintballers must be in good shape. Grossman hits the gym four days a week to lift weights; he runs and attends additional team practices six days a month.

In the D.C. area, paintball teams range from recreational to professional. The professional teams travel around the country playing and winning money at tournaments. Grossman played for the 703 Haze and is on the Pinokio Hoppers factory team. The factory is run by the Pinokio Hopper company that builds hoppers, devises that holds paintballs during matches. The team’s job is to use the hopper in the tournaments and promote it.

Cole Estrate, a junior at the Heights School, plays with Grossman on the Pinokio factory team and is the son of the company owner. Estrate paintballs for the excitement he gets and to promote his family’s company.

“I love it, the adrenaline and just being able to be put in a real situation of combat made me love the sport.”  Estrate says.

Twelve paintball arenas are within a fifty-mile radius of Whitman. At Pev’s Paintball Park in Virginia, players range from first-timers to professional. Pev’s also has five retail stores in Maryland and Virginia that are stocked with paintball gear for all level of competition.

According to Estrate, paintball will continue to rise in popularity in the sports world.

“Usually once someone has experienced paintball they want their friends and family involved too,” Estrate says. “People seek adventure, and paintball is an experience everyone should have.”