Despite being a sport that is rarely talked about at Chelsea High School, paintball is intimidating yet exciting, requiring courage and experience. Stevie Cattell (‘26) and Zachary Underwood (‘27) were both introduced to the sport many years ago in unexpected ways, still sharing a love for paintball up to this day for completely different reasons. From meeting new people to playing in the fields of Whitmore Lake and Grand Rapids, an intimidating sport for some can be life-changing for others.
“By getting that paintball gun for my [seventh] birthday… opened an opportunity for me,” said Underwood.
Cattell was introduced to paintball in a completely different way, yet, similarly to Underwood, it was still unexpected. Having no idea what paintball was, he agreed with no hesitation to try it out.
”I was at an ice rink, and one of my friends’ dads was like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna go play paintball after this. Do you want to come with us?’ I was like ‘yeah,’” Cattell said.
Despite appearing simple, there are actually many faces to paintball. He is a part of the more competitive side of the sport.
”So I started two years ago. It’s called Ragtag, and we have about 25 members, give or take. We have two chapters: a woodball chapter and a speedball chapter. A lot of us are on the speedball side of things, and we just run tournaments monthly,” Underwood said.
Unlike his friend Underwood, Cattell prefers woodball. Since paintball could be an intimidating and even scary sport, playing a more relaxed version of paintball isn’t a bad idea.
“I don’t play tournaments like Zach… I like Woodsball simply because I like the slower pace and it's just more enjoyable for me,” Cattell said.
Cattell has been through some unpleasant moments. Teenagers can play with adults, and although Stevie believes that it makes it much more fun, he has run into some complications. Having a fair game is non-negotiable.
“It’s just more about having fun and a good time….some people take it super seriously. When I’m out there, I just try to have fun, if I’m being honest. Some people cheat, and it's not okay. I’ve almost gotten into fights with grown adults, because they kept shooting at me when they were out and walked up to me… I was 15 when that one happened,” Cattell said.
Underwood shares his favorite memory. When he began his team, Ragtag two years ago, they played with people across the state and later won most of the tournaments during their first series.
“In our first speedball series, we won three of the four tournaments and then took the series champ title,” Underwood said.
Cattell shares an anecdote about his experience playing woodsball. Highlighting a fun yet tense moment, this angle of paintball is not often talked about.
“I was the only person who went out as my team for this big name… the game started, and I heard the loud alarms. I sprinted out straight into the woods across from the enemy base… hid there for like five minutes, let a group of five walk past me… I just shot them all out,” Cattell said.
