PaintballX3 Magazine January 2014 | Page 117

- 117 Steve, where are the Reservoir Dogs from? We have members from New York, New Jersey and, Pennsylvania. Tell us about your journey in paintball. The team started out as a bunch of friends who were members of an Auto Club based out of Brooklyn NY in the late 90’s. We would hold paintball trips out to Skirmish USA about twice a year. A handful of the members instantly became hooked on the sport and decided to take it a bit further. We began playing outlaw games every weekend at the “Ridgewood Reservoir.” This was formerly a source for NYC water which was closed and sat vacant in the middle of a NYC park. This is where we sharpened our skills before we ventured out into the scenario world of paintball. We started out with a core of 6 players in 2005 and have grown steadily since. Where have you played? We’ve played in many events across the country. We were TTPL Champs in 2007 and 2012. We’ve also attended multiple Living Legends events as well as The UWL. Last September we had the honor of being selected to compete in the Valken Cup in San Diego. We also traveled north to Canada for the Canadian Carnage in Ontario. What are your teams goals for the upcoming season? Our goal for this year is the same as it has been since this teams inception, have fun, make sure all the players around us have fun, play safe and promote this sport to the best of our abilities. After that, everything else will fall into place. We’ve learned you can take the game serious, but never take yourself to seriously. . How long have you been playing? Me personally, Ive been playing paintball for close to 20 years. My sport of choice before paintball was baseball but injuries and life got in the way. I really cant see myself ever stopping or retiring or considering myself too old to play. Do you have a favorite event? Its very hard to pick one event as a favorite. They each bring something different to the table. But I will say that for me personally, my favorite event would have to be Valken Cup for many reasons. First off, it was an honor to even be selected. It was event that was out our comfort zone with having to play multiple formats which consisted of speedball and pump play. Neither of which we have great experience with. We trained and practiced very hard for this event for 3 months and it showed. We had a chance to mix it up with pro players and we held our own and earned their respect. Its was just a great overall experience. One I hope we get to repeat for 2014. Kudos to Valken for putting together an awesome event. How is the game of paintball doing in your area? Paintball is thriving in the tristate area. We are very lucky to have such a wide variety of fields, events and leagues. You have great fields like Quickshot, OXCC, PSI and Cousins offering speedball as well as large scenario games. I think part of the sport thriving here is in part to having a manufacturer like Valken in our backyard. They provide great support to field owners as well as teams which keeps everyone happy and playing. Thanks Steve WWW.PAINTBALLX3.COM