Crouching in enemy territory camouflaged in the woods, George Gotich sprints through no-mans land, sets behind a tree, finds his target and shoots to kill.
As Gotich pulls the trigger, a myriad of colors rapidly fires from his gun, claiming victory over his enemy only before he falls victim to a simlar fate, declaring himself dead during one of many games at Bull Creek Paintball.
While losing is never fun, Gotich shakes off being a casualty on the field and waits momentarily for the next game to start.
‘It’s not a big deal. Another game starts in 10 minutes,’ he said.
As the former owner, Gotich still enjoys going to the course in Portage located 7.5 miles southeast of the University.
Bull Creek Paintball is an outdoor venue covering 23.5 playable acres in the woods with many features such as multiple bunkers, a running creek and a 12-foot high wooden fort at the center of the playing field.
Since opening in 1994, Bull Creek Paintball offers multiple variations of paintball games ranging from capture the flag to a last man standing elimination.
With over 3,000 players coming each year to play, anyone from a 10-year-old child to a former World War II Veteran can get away from reality and experience the thrills paintball will give to the random person, Gotich said.
‘For a couple of hours, I’m not 37 years old with a wife and mortgage. I’m a 15-year-old kid without any problems in life,’ he said.
While Gotich still enjoys Bull Creek Paintball, he sold the facility to Jason Swearingen who also owns Warzone Paint Games in Sylvania, Ohio. In a partnership with his parents, Swearingen is building his own mini-empire of paintball, and providing the lone indoor [speedball course] and outdoor [woodsball course] venues in Northwest Ohio.
‘For right now, we are the leader of paintball,’ he said.
Other than providing entertainment for local players, another reason Swearingen is expanding is due to his ever-lasting enjoyment of paintball.
While improving the overall experience, Swearingen wants to maintain the legacy Bull Creek Paintball has installed throughout the years by making sure it consistently pleases the players.
‘It’s an adrenaline-driven sport. It’s good, clean fun,’ he said. ‘Bull Creek has been known as a great field and we want to keep that legacy and make it an even nicer field than it was in the past.’
With all the fun involved in the game, competitiveness could overtake a player, but Swearingen cites paintball as one of the safest sports to play, compared to bowling, golf and tennis where mandatory protection gear is not necessary.
But for those concerned about speeding pellets whizzing by their head, Bull Creek Paintball mandates all players wear facemasks. They also recommend players wear protective gear like long-sleeve padded shirts and pants to protect from welts and bruises.
When play is about to begin, safety is the last worry players have on their mind as they plan on their best strategy of attack.
Players usually take two polarizing tactics to eliminate others: either sit back and snipe a player from a long distance, or take an aggressive stance like 10-year veteran Douglas Dukett. Dukett will rush and fire on all cylinders while trying to get as many people out giving off an intimidating presence.
‘My mindset is to kill as many people as I can as the time runs out,’ Dukett said. ‘It’s pretty much a kill frenzy and [I] just count them.’
As a referee, Dukett said a player can gain a lot more experience by observing tendencies such as location and patterns players fall into, giving them an advantage when he does play.
Even though refereeing can help his game, Dukett gets his joy on the field by causing havoc and being a distraction to other players.
‘It’s a rush. The rush is like a natural high,’ he said about the overall experience of paintball.
If a person has never played before, Gotich said they are missing out on the rush. Gotich recommends everyone should at least give it a try because it could potentially beone of the best experiences in life.
‘Where else can you come out and shoot your mom, dad or friend, get away with it and be cooler for doing it?’ Gotich said. ‘It’s fun and a chance to do something different.’ BULL CREEK PAINTBALL ADDRESS: 9653 Greensburg Pike DIRECTIONS: From Main Street, go south on OH-25 for 4.7 miles. Turn left at Greensburg Pike for 3.4 miles. OTHER INFO: Open seven days a week. Private groups can schedule during the week by reservation. Open play is on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Paintballs can be purchased for $45 a case or $14 for 500. It is $35 for a rental package which includes entry, all day air, a rental gun, facemask and 500 paintballs. CONTACT INFO: Call 419-266-4799 or visit www.toledopaintball.net for more details.
