Outside the Mesh: You and Me, We can be Trail Blazers.

Good morning paintball world!

As you may have noticed, I have been away from the blogosphere for a few weeks. Shocking I know, but my husband and I do have a little bit of a life outside of paintball. In fact, we are currently in the process of building a new home. We have been up to our necks in decisions about everything from floor plan to paint colour to cabinetry and so on. It’s a seemingly never-ending list of considerations and dreams and concerns. We are officially down to the wire as our closing date is set for the 23^rd of August. This has meant that every spare moment (away from the field) has been spent working on projects for our new home and packing up our old one.

Sanding timber beams...and sanding...and sanding...and sanding...

Applying stain.

While all of you have been grinding it out on the field in preparation for Central Event 3, I have been up to my elbows in wood shavings, stain, and varathane. While you have been running drills and scrimmaging the competition, I (with much help from my husband) have been dealing with contractor mistakes and running house-related errands. As you grow in your skills and confidence on the field, I am expanding my knowledge of construction and wood-finishing away from the field. I know how hard you guys work to perfect your game because I have put the same effort into preparing beams for our house. It simply isn’t an option to give it anything but your best. The things we desire most in life also happen to be the ones that require the most from us. These things take all of our energy and endurance. We will give up the so-called necessities of life just to thrive at what we love.

One thing I have always loved about my paintball playing friends is their drive - that sometimes ridiculous passion that goes beyond reason. That kind of all-out determination is something that resonates with me. I have an all-or-nothing personality. Once I’ve decided to do something, anything, there is absolutely no stopping me. I will work at it until I have accomplished what I set out to do. It doesn’t matter how many times I am beaten down and bloodied in the process, I will get back up and push through the pain. I will persevere. I can see you all nodding your heads in unison. You all agree. You know that those who succeed in the sport of paintball are the ones who never quit.

Drummondville's Julien Croteau Pothier doing work.

Photo Credit: Dale Brezinski

So now- more than ever- some of you need the reminder to keep pushing. Where we stand right now, the path to NAX for the Elite teams is not as clear set as in past seasons. Sure, there are some who are guaranteed a position fighting for the title and there are some who already know that they won’t be battling for rings in the 2012 season. But it doesn’t matter whether you are riding near the top of the standings or the bottom, this is no time to roll over and allow others to stomp down on you. Stand up for what you want, put up a fight, show the paintball world that you WANT to be here. Go out with your heads held high, and play the game like it was meant to be played. Heck-don’t stop there! Raise the game to a new level! Blaze the trail, my friends.