Looking back, I don’t know why I had never taken advantage of the Fordham University Paintball Club before. Having played paintball back at home, I would often take my paintball gun and play in the woods behind our town. It wasn’t long before a group of friends assembled and would go to the closest outdoor paintball field, “Liberty Paintball,” up in Patterson. I can safely say those outings were some of the most memorable days I’ve ever had.

Since I’m graduating this semester, I thought it would be a great chance to take advantage of what Fordham has to offer. Flipping through the list of clubs on campus, a certain club caught my eye: the Fordham University Paintball Plub. While attending an FCLC club fair shortly after I met the president of the paintball club, Charlie Puente, FCLC ’12.

Since I was there for a couple of hours, I couldn’t help but ask Charlie for some information about the paintball club. The club had been in the back of my mind for a whole semester, but it wasn’t until the spring that I decided to break out of the usual college routine and bring in something a little more exhilarating to my Friday evenings.

So, I dusted off my paintball gun and signed up for the first outing, at an all-inclusive price of $10 (this is the best rate for paintball I have had ever seen). Before I knew it, I found myself standing in NYC’s only paintball field ready to rekindle the excitement I had felt so long ago.

Although it had been a while, I found myself getting back into the swing of the game almost instantly. It’s not hard to play the game; you basically shoot and hope not to get shot. The paintball field was indoors so matches were over before you knew it, making for some pretty fast-paced action. Even though we played for around three hours, the time spent on the outing never seemed to drag on.

During the breaks between rounds, I really got to know everyone on my team and in the club in general. One concern people have with trying paintball is the fear of actually getting hit and the pain it might inflict. There is really no reason to worry about this; once you are on the field, you are undergoing such an adrenaline rush that you will barely even feel it. (You might feel it the next day, but it’s not excruciating).

For me at least, paintball welts are kind of nostalgia-inducing, so it was a very bittersweet situation once I accumulated a couple on the outing. One of the greatest things about the club is that we get to play as a private group. So you don’t have to worry about getting put in the field with seasoned paintball regulars.

If you are thinking about coming on an outing, chances are there will be someone else who is trying it for the first time, too. I can guarantee you that going on a paintball outing will be one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences you will have at Fordham, I was actually really surprised that more people didn’t take advantage of the opportunity the paintball club has to offer.