People may play sports for a variety of different reasons, whether for fun or competition. Teamwork, a sense of family, and pure adrenaline are junior Stan Novak’s reasons for playing paintball.

“My favorite memory is any tournament probably because it’s just being there with your team, just in the moment, the emotions going on,” Novak said. “It’s amazing. I don’t feel that anywhere else with any other sport.”

Paintball is a team sport where two or more teams compete in large or small areas. The goal of the sport is to use a gun to shoot pellets full of paint at the opposing team. If you’re hit, then you’re out until either the next round, or in some cases you can respawn. The game can take on simple modes such as a death match, or a game of strategically-based capture the flag, among other styles.

Novak is one of the few paintballers at Southern Lehigh. From the moment he began playing, he fell in love with the sport due to the family atmosphere provided by the welcoming paintball community.

“Once you start playing for a while it becomes a really nice sport because it’s friendly, even though you [may] think it’s dangerous, but it’s really safe,” Novak said.

This sport is much more than a simple hobby. While many people may just go into the woods and blast some paint with their friends, there is also a much more competitive side. Paintball has tournaments, some of which may reenact a certain historic battle, or participants may play each other in specific game modes.

One of the most popular tournament game modes is known as speedball. Speedball is a five on five, adrenaline-fueled battle within a turf playing surface with inflatable “bunkers” that may be used for cover.

Paintball even consists of pro leagues and a ranking system similar to that of many other sports. Levels range from D5 to D1 and then professional.

However, for Novak paintball is much more than a sport. It’s a family. A family made of people from all walks of life from dads to sons to college dropouts, and this he believes is part of what makes the sport truly special.

“No one’s left out,” he said. “Everyone’s a family to each other, and you just need to be a good communicator, working with each other and just accepting that people are gonna mess up, and help everyone out.”

While Novak admits that the sport can become expensive, it is a sport you can keep with you for life, unlike football or other sports. Whether you just want to go out for the day or pick it up as a competitive sport, the community will accept you with open arms.

“If you can get into it they become like family, and you just mess around with each other,” Novak said. “And you can go for the weekend and it’s a nice getaway from stuff.”