Paintball is for Girls!

Lemon Baller was my name and Paintball the 'sport', not the 'game'.

The first female Captain of The National team

I lived a reality of a near impossible dream.

I wore the colours of the Union Jack

And number #1 upon my back.

Paintball is a love, a passion, an incredible thrill,

An outlet for aggression, but more than that a skill.

Let me paint a picture, so you can understand some more,

I’ll walk you through a game so you can see what I saw:

It’s 4 am, I’ve been dreaming all night

About how I will win, how hard I must fight.

I pull on team kit, grab marker of choice.

Excited, I speak with a trembling voice.

We get in the car and drive for miles

Stereo pumping, I crank up the dial.

Nothing at all needs to be said,

No one is wishing to be back in bed.

I feel the bond as I get out of the car.

Ballers have travelled from near and far.

Friends, comrades, from every team

Hugging and laughing, living the dream

It’s cold and it’s dark but I don’t care,

I can smell the excitement in the damp morning air.

Any other day this would still be night

But it’s paintball, and my fire is alight!

Kit under table, filling pots with paint.

The nerves kick in, I start to feel faint.

One of my team mates, feeling it too,

Gives me a hand and helps me pull through.

I gather my team for walking the field.

A game plan is forming. Now it feels real.

Captains meet next, all huddled around

Listening to the rules, not making a sound.

Aired up, chrono’d, I'm ready to go.

I feel really sick but let nobody know.

Waiting on field for my team to arrive,

I realise, I’ve never felt so alive.

“Get your hands in, let me hear you shout!”

Now this is what paintball is all about.

The adrenaline rush, the unrivaled thrill.

‘Ten seconds…Game On!’ Guns up and drill!

I make my bunker, I'm still alive,

I count my team mates, 1 to 5!

Only 4 of them, I took one on the break,

Without hesitation, I move to the snake.

Better angles from here, I relay what I see

Counting my team, now it’s 3 on 3

An elbow exposed, a great shot to take,

That gives me a gap, a move I can make.

Now 2 on 2, could go either way

But I remember my training, what did Robbo say?

Playing it tight I keep my cool,

Snapping like I did in school.

Another look, he’s walking out

With a rush of blood, “one left” I shout.

As my partner moves up the other side,

There’s nowhere left for him to hide.

He sees my friend, takes a lucky shot

But I know that’s all he’s got.

It’s 1 on 1, I sense his fear,

As I can see his back from here.

His hand goes up, he’s feeling sore

2 in the back, no less, no more.

I press the buzzer bursting with pride

I can’t believe this feeling inside!

Shaking hands, ‘Well played!’, ‘Good game!’

And then, almost every time the same:

“OMG you’re a girl?!” I hear them say

And I just smile, and walk away... 😉

Written By Lemon Baller (Emma Baker @LuxLifeOSP)