As he glances around the corner from his hiding spot on the field, sophomore Maddox May carefully concentrates on his opponents, analyzing their every move and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With his heart racing and adrenaline running through him, May grips his paintball marker tightly, completely invested in the game. During his free time, May plays paintball to work on teamwork, have a good time and strengthen his bonds with his friends and family.

“My cousin played paintball in college,” May said. “He was in town visiting during the summer and we played and I loved it. I got my first paintball gun for my birthday a few months after. I’ve been playing for a little over a year now. It’s taken a lot of time I’ve played and days to be where I’m at, practicing with people better than me and learning from what they do.”

May enjoys paintball because it lets him compete against others with the same skill and passion. He also sees it as a way to spend time with his friends and gives him a moment of peace away from sports and school.

“I wasn’t always good at paintball,” May said. “When I started I wasn’t too great. It took lots of time to get where I am now. My favorite thing is probably the adrenaline I get from playing. I also get to meet lots of people and make new friends from it too”

Paintball often requires lots of time and practice, as it requires accuracy and patience. May had to dedicate a large amount of time to the skills needed for paintball.

“I just have to plan out when I can go and when I can’t go,” May said. “Indy Battlegrounds are only open on weekends and sometimes I’m too busy to go play or practice. On free weekends I always try to make time to go.”

May needs to be able to have good time management in order to get his schoolwork done, save time for his sports and also have time left to have hobbies that require lots of dedication like paintball.

“The biggest struggle I’ve faced is making time to play,” May said. “With sports and school and friends, my weekends are usually pretty busy. There will be times I just can’t fit paintball into my weekly schedule.”

Since playing paintball is a big part of May’s life in high school, he would like the opportunity to keep playing later in life if he can.

“I would love to continue with paintball in the future,” May said. “It really just depends on what I decide to do in college. If I’m not super busy in college, I could see myself playing a lot.”