Sawyer and Dad's Paintball Blog

VERY VERY LAST POST - BLOG ADDRESS CHANGING

2010-04-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

The blog address is changing. This blog will remain up for all info currently on it but nothing new will be added. To see new posts including pics and vids and other good stuff go to the new blog address. Thanks for following Sawyer and the Smiths and Max'd Kidz.

Here is the new blog address - http://smithpaintballblog.blogspot.com/

NuSkool Sponsor Pic

2010-03-18T21:51:00.001-07:00

Sponsor Pics with RPL 1st Place Trophy

2010-03-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Sawyer to be featured in Kingman Training National Ad Campaign

2010-03-18T18:12:00.001-07:00

Sawyer has just completed a photo shoot for Kingman Training at Hollywood Sports Park for a national ad campaign. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available. For now, everything is TOP SECRET!!!

Sawyer Sez on 3.10.2010

2010-03-18T18:11:00.003-07:00

Go to PBLive.TV and click on live show archives for 3.10.10.

Click this link to just see the recorded version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK2y_bhklWI

Max'd Kidz adds Player

2010-03-18T18:11:00.001-07:00

Max'd Kidz has added a new player their roster - Brad Lombardo.

Lombardo joined the team after helping coach Max'd Kidz in the WCPPL Event #1. He previously played for I.E. Unseen.

The team is very excited to have him aboard. Lombardo is a versitle player who can fill any role, but will be a great compliment to Brandon by playing the dorito side of the field primarily.

His first event in a Max'd Kidz jersey will be the NPPL Huntington Beach event in April.

WCPPL Pics

2010-03-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Some random pics from the evemt Top Melody and Sawyer playing around with no paint - "Air Ball" - Middle Pics of the pits and MUD EVERYWHERE - Bottom is Sawyer chearing on one of the GAT teams

WCPPL Videos

2010-03-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLblboGAocY - Brandon wins the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLblboGAocY - Sawyer kills 'em all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWtPKztEB8 - Max'd Kidz playing around

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWtPKztEB8 - More playing around

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyiN2zCkjyg - Team bonfire

WCPPL Season Opener Max'd Kidz make it to Quarter Finals vs 28 Teams in First X-Ball Tournament

2010-03-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sawyer Sez on 3.3.10

2010-03-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Go to PBLive.TV and click on live show archives for 3.3.10. Sawyer has a 2 minute video and a 20 minute interview on the show.

click the link here just to see the recorded video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIIzSOmb7b4

Max'd Kidz Adds Sponsor

2010-03-01T16:38:00.001-08:00

Max'd Kidz is pleased to announce PBLive.tv as the newest sponsor of the team.

www.pblive.tv

Tune in weekly from 8-11 pm on Wednesdays.

The show will soon start to have Max'd Kidz appearances

The show will also soon start to have a new weekly segment called "A Minute with Sawyer". It will feature Sawyer talking for about 1 minute (Clever I know) about anything and everything paintball. Sponsors, Tourneys, Practice - Basically whatever paintball topic he wants to talk about.

Tune in this week!!!

Sawyer on RPL website as Featured Player

2010-03-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

Quickly!!! Get to your computer and go to www.therpl.com and check out Sawyer as their Featured Player.

YouTube passes 50,000 views

2010-03-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sawyer Smith and Max'd Kidz YouTube videos have passed the 50,000 views mark this month. www.youtube.com/dansmithfirstteam If you have not checked it out - get there quick!!!

Max'd Kidz wins RPL season opener

2010-02-22T17:05:00.001-08:00

TOP LEFT - Max'd Kidz getting the FIRST PLACE trophy at the RPL. TOP RIGHT - Nicky Cuba working with the guys a little after the event, MIDDLE LEFT - Sawyer and Kevin waiting for the awards ceremony to start, MIDDLE RIGHT - Larry and Brandon waiting for the awards ceremony to start, BOTTOM LEFT - Shawn Walker at the awards ceremony

SEE BELOW FOR A FULL RECAP OF THE EVENT AND MAX'D KIDZ FIRST #1 FINISH

What an amazing weekend. So much has happened since mid December with them team and paintball it felt great to just get out and play again. Look for more updates in the coming days about team members, sponsors and schedule. The team for this tournament consisted of Sawyer, Larry, Kevin and Brandon as usual but Sawyer's Dad, Dan, filled the 5th spot. It was Dan's first tournament appearance ever.

The event has held at Shawn Walker's Tournament Fields at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA. Max'd Kidz as normal dropped the first game of the event to the Marine Carnage team who out hustled them and out played them. However, the Kidz turned it around in game 2, rolling over their opponent with all 5 players staying alive and Sawyer running in the flag for the win. The Kidz then rolled off wins in games 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, before losing game 8 to G squad. That ment game 9 was a tie breaker against Marine Carnage and game 10 was a tie breaker against G squad. The Kidz pulled it together and won both to end the day with an 8-2 record in games, a 4-0 record in match play.

The 4-0 record gave them the #1 seed going into Sunday and a First Round bye. In the Semi-Finals they faced another marine team who played them tough but Max'd Kidz won back to back games to earn their first trip to a paintball tournament Finals. There they faced G Squad again and had to play really tough games. Brandon's gun went down at the end of the first game and the team was lucky enough to have Nicky Cuba there to help out. Since Cuba had recently joined the Infamous squad he was shooting a Bob Long Victory which he was able to loan Brandon for game 2. Brandon is the most superstitious player ever and shoots a Victory as well, so he refused to play with anything but another Victory. Once the gun settings were changed the Kidz took the field again.The Kidz ended up winning two hard fought battles against G Squad and Sawyer delivered the winning flag in the 2nd game to seal the First Place position for Max'd Kidz.

At the awards presentations Walker mentioned a brewing rivalry between the Kidz and G Squad. But don't count out Carnage yet. They rolled over Max'd kidz to start the tournament and ended up taking Third Place overall.

Max'd Kidz is looking forward to a great season of paintball and is exciterd about the way it has started.

Don't forget to check back to the blog soon for updates you won't want to miss.

More RPL Pictures

2010-02-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Top Left - Trophy Presentation, Top Right Max'd Kidz thanks Nicky Cuba and NuSkool Paintball, Middle Left Max'd Kidz thanks Exalt Paintball, Middle Right Max'd Kidz thanks Baller's Cafe, Bottom Left Bear and Entourage giving congrats to Max'd Kidz on their First Place finish

A few videos from the RPL too

2010-02-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg3MNlsQX3Y Max'd Kidz trophy presentation 1st Place RPL Feb 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajrFvJqPXnQ Nicky Cuba and Max'd Kidz play 4 on 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouz3RyoDsQU Kevin gets schooled by Nicky in a 1 on 1

Max'd Kidz Brandon wins 1 on 1 Tournament

2009-12-22T15:50:00.001-08:00

Brandon Teunissen, captain of Max'd Kidz paintball team, won a local 1 on 1 tournament last weekend at SC Village, the team's home practice field in Southern California. Other team players Larry Ceballos and Sawyer Smith were also in the competition. Larry almost made it to the semi finals but losing the third game. Sawyer lost to the player who finished 2nd who Brandon eventually went on to defeat to take 1st in the Finals to win the event for Max'd Kidz.

Sponsors and Supporters

2009-12-22T15:48:00.002-08:00

Wanted to give a shout out to our sponsors and supporters - check 'em out - we've listed them and their websites below. You can also click the links to the right of the page where there is a logo and a small description of their company. We appreciate all the help they provide us and the team.

Our Coach - Nicky Cuba

NuSkool Paintball www.nicky-cuba.com

Hollywood Sports Paintball Park www.hollywoodsports.com

Exalt www.exaltpaintball.com

Raza Life www.razalife.com

BallersCafe www.ballerscafe.com

Cat Shack Reports www.catshackreports.com

Derder Productions www.derder.com

SC Village www.scvillage.com

CC Paintball website under construction

Versatility Inc no website right now

Pics from practice 12/20-21

2009-12-22T15:48:00.001-08:00

THIS IS SO COOL!!!

2009-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

Slide show made by someone of the last tourney - click the link to see it - set to music and features several pics of Sawyer and Max'd Kidz!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zkw_jrWB38

Gary Baum's www.paintballphotography.com Pics from Toys for Tots

2009-12-16T12:26:00.001-08:00

Toys for Tots Tourney at Hollywood Sports

2009-12-07T17:48:00.001-08:00

Photos then story - Pic 1 the team hanging out between games. Pic 2 Sawyer playing toss the paint in the trash can between games. Pics 3 and 4 our player area and sponsor banners. Pic 5 the team in front of all the toys we were donating with our sponsor banners.

OK - Story.

Saturday, Dec 5, 2009 at Hollywood Sports Paintball Park in Bellflower, CA. Toys for Tots charity event to assist families in need this holiday season.

When we registered we thought we would be playing in a low division, however the organizers decided to make it an Open at the last minute which meant about 5 minutes after getting to the event we realized we had zero chance of winning and were just going to have a good time at the tourney. How did we know - we realized Open ment we were playing against players on throw together teams who normally play for Aftermath, Blast, etc. We might be a pretty good D4 team - but reality is reality. But that was ok. We were going to have a fun day. And we were going to have our hands full playing much better teams than we normally do.

Game 1 was against a very good D3 team and they rolled us pretty good. Someday we will lose those 1st game gitters. Game 2 was against a D4 team, our only D4 team of the day as it would trun out - and we rolled them, which was great for team morale after the thumping we got in Game 1. Game 3 was against a D3 team and we just missed our shot at an upset, Sawyer losing in the last 45 seconds in a 1 on 1. He learned several lessons from that game. Game 4 was a heartbreaker as we were playing a really good D3 team and lost in the final minute in another 1 on 1 with Kevin. He shot the other player in the chest, refs missed it. Kevin then got shot out. Refs saw the big paint mark and shell pieces on his chest during the flag check but were convinced by that player that he had gotten the paint by diving on a ball and breaking it. Good for that guy for thinking on his feet and getting the win for his team, but we needed that win to advance so it kind of stunk for us but the refs can't see everything. Game 5 was against a really really good D3 team who was 4-0 going into the game. We won again, even after another very questionable call helped them and hurt us - Kevin again in a 1 on 1 in the final minute but winning this time by leaving no doubt for the refs (Paint, Goggles - Awesome). So we finished 2-3 but were sooooooo close to 4-1 and a spot to play in the Quarterfinals. We would have probably gotten battered, but it would have been fun to play some pros in a charity tourney.

Mike Hinman stopped by our area when we were packing up and chatted for a bit and all the Kidz thought that was really cool. (The WCPPL has released their 2010 schedule at http://www.wcppl.com/).

So all in all it was a fun event for a good cause that we learned lots from, again. There is so much to learn on the tourney scene. We just keep learning and learning. Thanks to all those who give support. And as someone once said - to all he haters out there, you know who you are - thanks as well. Without you guys our team wouldn't have as many examples as who to strive NOT to be like. Peace out!

Toys for Tots Videos

2009-12-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Click on the links and read the YouTube description for more details of each video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0TwJunvGPQ - Walking the fields in the AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtSh7j8jzAw - Great attitudes and keeping it light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAl1E8_ZCSY - Game 5 we won

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNc-vaWrhKI - Game 4 we lost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32jusS-fpJI - Game 2 we won

RPL Finale wrap up

2009-11-23T21:16:00.000-08:00

Where to start - so much to remember - First - Dad did not take too many pics or vids at this event. He was way to caught up in the games and everything else going on. Friday Dad picked up Sawyer early from school at 11 am. It was a minimum day so Sawyer only missed the last hour of the day and not much was going on. We got his mohawk going (not allowed at school) then headed off fo Camp Pendleton to register for The RPL Finale being held on the Marine base at the paintball park. After registration and getting out ID cards we headed off to walk the fields. They ended up opening one of the three fields as well for us to get a little playing time on. After running out of paint Sawyer played a good game with some other older kids of "throw the paintball". He had a blast just running the fields and playing to end the day as Dad packed up the gear.

The next morning came early - as is we left the house at 5 am early. We got to the fields and had plenty of time to get ready for the 8 am start. As usual - we totally bombed on our first game. First game gitters are a curse for us but we think we figured out a cure on Sunday (I'll get to that later). It also didn't help that Sawyers hopper went down after 1 shot and the team had to play 4 on 5 as he fiddled with it until getting shot out. Game 2 almost continued with disaster as Sawyers trigger broke in the tent before taking the field - thank God for back up guns. Dad scrambled back to the pit - got his gun - got it back to Sawyer (shattering a pair of sun glasses on the sprint) switched over the hopper and air just in time to take the field.Max'd Kidz won the game thanks to a few superstar moves by Brandon. And they won the next one. And the next one. Then we had a really bad game with Brandon and Kyle both getting unlucky shots on them during the breakout and Larry getting called for a penalty on the breakout so we were down 2-5 after 2 seconds and quickly lost the game. And I mean quick. It was a brutal 2 on 5. A little shell shocked, we took the field for game 6 and got it back together and won. And then won again. And then won again bringing our record for the day to 6-2.

After the games as we were hanging out Sawyer was asked to shoot a segment by Rob for the new Derder Short Bus DVD. Of course he readily agreed. So off we went to an empty field to do the shoot. Now I won't spoil Rob's video here but it was GREAT. Sawyer has a shooting and speaking role. Todd, Nicky and Catfish were on hand as well to watch all the fun. It was a blast and we can't wait for it to come out next year. Sawyer also looks to have a "blooper" scene in the episode as well from one of his first times playing on an airball field.

After the games we headed out to get food and to the hotel, but on the way made a pit stop at the Marine Corp Museum on base for their heavy equipment. It was a lot of fun seeing all the great weapons of war. Sawyer really dug getting to hold real machine guns and rocket lanchers.

That night after getting cleaned up and getting our gear ready for the next day we all met at a bowling alley nearby to hang out and have some fun bowling and playing video games. But we called it an early night to be rested for Sunday.

Sunday morning 5am was a bit rough again but we could take our time more since we were now in town and so close to the fields. We got ready in the pits and the team went to an empty area to get warmed up running, shooting, practicing a few breakouts, laning, sliding - all just to get the blood flowing and try to get rid of those first game gitters. IT WORKED!!!

We played a very good team to start Sunday off and won with 3 guys left. For the first time in an event, Sawyer ran the flag in for the win. Larry and Kyle shot the back left out of the game quickly and that really opened up the game.

Next game - THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENT FOR DAD - We kill 1, they kill 1, we kill 1, they kill 1 - then Sawyer accidentally shoots Brandon out of the snake because he had pushed up so far - DISASTER and we are down 2-3 with Larry on back left and Sawyer back middle - but we quickly got another G to make it 2-2 with about 3 minutes to play. This is when it gets good. There two are basically mirrors to us back left and back center. Sawyer makes a move and bumps to the right brick - notices no one shooting from the right side and bumps to the dorito on the right - still no one shooting from his right so he dives into the snake (right side of field). He never stops. He books up the snake knowing there is no one on the tape and blows past all 3 knuckles. His dive in was perfect. Their back center was still shooting at the dorito. He gets all the way to the end of the snake and squares up his body to where he knows the player is - snaps up - gets the G. Now the stands and sidelines were full to watch this little Thomas Taylor look alike and everyone was watching him fly up the snake and get the G - the crowd ERUPTED - way more than even in Las Vegas. It was so loud that Larry thought the game must be over and peeked out and got shot - but Sawyer quickly turned and shot out their last player - 30 seconds left and Sawyer runs to grab the flag and deliver it - last man alive on the field - and get the team into the Quarterfinals.

The Quarterfinals were a mess. We lost. We pushed the first game to a 1 on 1 with Sawyer losing it when he ran out of paint and then we lost the second game as well. But we played great considering we were playing a D3 team. Yes, they snuck down a division and no one noticed until us. We protested. Lost the protest. Good news is a rule change will happen for 2010 to prevent it from happening again probably. Bad news is we were out of the event. Can't blame the RPL though. Cheaters just found a loophole in the rules. If it were not for a sandbagging team we hit at the wrong time who knows how far we would have gone. The kids were playing great and we had beat the 2nd and 3rd place finishers before. This loss kept us off the podium. The sandbaggers won the tourney of course - "Good for Nothings" with a ringer who was sandbagging even more than the rest, Junior Mohr. We cant wait for our kids to get a little more experience and little older so when we start to play higher divisions we can crush these 25 year old sandbaggers. Perhaps you can tell we really dislike it when grown men play down a Division or two when they know they can get away with it just to get a win they can't earn at their own level. OK. Next subject. So our tourney is over. But the kids still had fun, which is the most important part. And, we really played better. Next season is going to be great. To cap off the weekend, we bought Sawyer a pump gun from KM. He is going to start playing pump on occasion to improve his skills and other aspects of the game. He really looked good out there at this event. Right now with as well as his team and he are playing it looks like the sky is the limit.

2 Videos from RPL

2009-11-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh3R984leWc - a clip after Sawyer is done shooting a segment of the New Derder Short Bus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YUp3GQhXw - Sawyer just being a kid with other kids the day before the RPL started having "throwing" paintball wars on the field as the sun was going down.

RPL Pics

2009-11-23T20:44:00.001-08:00

Saturday Night after going 6-2 the team went to the Bowling Alley to of course bowl but also to play some video games and eat very good but rather unhealthy food.

Pic 1 is Brandon and Sawyer playing some big game hunting game. Pic 2 is Sawyer watching the bowling and just chilling. Pic 3 is Sawyer bowling. Notice the Max'd Kidz Tshirt and bandana and mohawk even when not playing paintball. Pic 4 is James who spent the whole night texting :-)

More RPL pics

2009-11-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

At each event we have decided to do something fun and educational. At this event since were on base we stopped at the Marine Corp Museum and checkout some really cool Marine weapons stuff.

More RPL - SHOOTING DERDER'S SHORT BUS

2009-11-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

All 5 photos are of Sawyer shooting or prepping to shoot a segment in the next Derder Short Bus. Pictured here and there with Sawyer are Todd, Rob, Nicky, and Catfish. It was really fun to shoot a video segment - especially Short Bus.

More RPL trip pics

2009-11-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

Photos left to right and top to bottom - Early in the hotel room before Sunday's games, Larry and Chris in the pits, and the last 3 are Sawyer on Friday getting the feel of the fields.

Press Release - Max'd Kidz adds a player to roster

2009-11-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

Press Release 11.15.2009 Laguna Hills CA

Max'd Kidz is pleased to announce the addition of Brandon Teunissen to their roster. Teunissen, 17, brings a wealth of playing and tournament experience to the team.

After informally practicing with the Kidz last weekend, he was invited to join the squad and accepted the invitation.

"I'm very excited and it should be fun training with a fresh new team and little Sawyer," said Teunissen. "The Kidz have a lot of potential. We just can't get too big headed and have to trust in one another."

Brandon's leadership on the field and high skill level was one of the keys to this past weekend's great practice for Max'd Kidz at SC Village when they went 15-0 in games during the day.

"Brandon was the piece of the puzzle we were missing," said team manager Dan Smith. "We went from a team that could make it to Sunday to a team that can win on Sunday. He is a natural leader and great communicator. But best of all, even though I usually think he might be the best player on the field at any given time what is really impressive is he is also the most humble."

Teunissen joined the team just in time to play in the RPL Finale in Oceanside, CA on November 21 and 22.

4 videos of Max'd Kidz practice - they went 15-0 - WOW

2009-11-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Not going to write a lot here - just click on the link and read the detailed YouTube description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZCAVN2bKqk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNj3-RvC6c0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXbxsvOdqw8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbQUGLChA-Q

Max'd Kidz practice for RPL Finale

2009-11-15T19:56:00.001-08:00

WHAT A DAY!!! The Kidz went 15-0 all day - taking on every team throughout the day and winning every game in the process. There was one close call when the Kidz were down 2 on 4 - but they fought back to win it - keeping the two alive in the process and the unbeaten streak as well. A really amazing day of practice and play. The Kidz really gelled and playing together more and more is really starting to pay off on the field in the Win-Loss column. Everyone was super excited as the day went on and the wins kept coming. This is the big boost of confidence the team needs heading into the RPL tournament next weekend at Camp Pendleton. Brandon has been a great fit to the team and just in time as Kevin has injured his ankle and will have to sit out the event (but he will be in the pits helping out). Pictured above top left Kyle moving down the tape to bunker the last player for the win, top right James looking ultra cool shooting from a bunker, middle left Sawyer laying paint from back center, middle right the Furman brothers, bottom left Larry between games messin' around

Max'd Kidz practice for RPL Finale more pics

2009-11-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

Top left is Brandon and Larry closing out a game. Top right is Brandon sneaking around the snake. Middle left is James diving into the snake and middle right is Brandon and James mixing it up on the breakout. Bottom left - before the breakout.

Sawyer hits 25,000 on YouTube

2009-11-13T07:23:00.000-08:00

Press Release

11.12.2009

Sawyer Smith of team Max’d Kidz is happy to announce his YouTube videos have just surpassed the 25,000 views mark. Smith is 10 years old and the youngest player to compete in the USPL/NPPL .
“Wow,” said Smith. “That’s a whole bunch of people watching videos of me and the team practicing and playing.”
The YouTube channel is www.youtube.com/dansmithfirstteam. It features not only videos of Sawyer and rest of Max’d Kidz practicing and at the latest USPL/NPPL Las Vegas event but also fun clips such as Sawyer doing the “paint bob” on Thomas Taylor’s Beat Down City Tour and of his 2 year old little sister decked out in some i4’s rolling the trigger at a paintball campout trip.

Thanks Catshack Reports - Max'd Kidz press

2009-11-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.catshackreports.com/2009/11/maxd-kids-update/#more-4138

Rusty Glaze's Bday Party

2009-11-11T11:09:00.001-08:00

A few week's ago Sawyer got invited to the Golden State Paintball Big Game and Rusty Glaze's birthday party. They were held at the same time at the scenario paintball field at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA. Todd Martinez was also there for part of the day and was heard yelling "get som" often. It was a long day of playing and TOTALLY fun. Sawyer said it was nice to take a break from the turf fields and just go play in the woods. He had a total BLAST and usually chose to be on Rusty's team and play against his dear old dad. In one game, Rusty and Sawyer were pushing hard down their left side of a hill type field - the two of them leading the charge on that side for their team - and dad got shot at the same time by both Rusty and Sawyer - which turned out to be great because I sat back and watched the two of them push all the way up and destroy the rest of my team from a high slope and win the game. Even though it was Rusty's bday they had a few raffles and Sawyer won big - an Empire Jersey that almost fits and a Halo loader and a few microfibers. The last picture is him holding up the gear. The top left is Sawyer popping out to shoot down the left line of the field while Rusty directed from inside the shack. The top right pic is during a game and Rusty (hand on Sawyer's shoulder) giving him the green light to push up. Middle left is a pic of Sawyer and Rusty before a game. Middle right is of the two of them after the games were over.

Press Release 11.11.2009

2009-11-11T10:52:00.001-08:00

11.11.2009 Laguna Hills, CA

Max'd Kidz is proud to announce the newest addition to their paintball family. Exalt has agreed to offer the team sponsorship assistance. Exalt (www.exaltpaintball.com) gear will be used by Max'd Kidz players for the 2010 season as they compete in some USPL, PSP, RPL, and Bear's Cup tournaments as well as other events as their schedule allows.

"It's really cool having Exalt sponsor us," said Sawyer Smith, the youngest player on Max'd Kidz and in the national tournament scene at 10 years old. "I'm excited to to get the new gear they are sending especially their feed gate for my Rotor."

More information as well as pictures and videos of Max'd Kidz and Sawyer can be found at http://sawyerpaintballer.blogspot.com

Nicky Cuba talks about Sawyer and Max'd Kidz on PB Live

2009-11-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Go to www.pblive.tv
Click on the On Demand tab under the video screen
Click on PbLive Show Archives
Click on 10/7 episode
Advance episode to minute 28

2009 USPL Las Vegas Wrap Up

2009-10-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Wow - What a trip!!! We will break it down day by day. But first - we put a ton of pictures and videos on the blog so please scroll down to see them all including the older posts link. Second - the pictures above. My new all time favorite pic is of Sawyer between games on Sunday in the Quarterfinals. (In the posts below there is a video of this moment and I have written about it.) The 2nd pic is one Sawyer loves of Dad - dead tired having chinese with a few of the guys. Todd thinks he is funny and Matty just wanted to eat the noodles while Nicky is asleep too, just out of the range of the camera a few seats over. The 3rd pic is of the team on Saturday celebrating at Dennys and their making it to play on Sunday. The 4th pic is of Sawyer getting some shut eye on the way home from Las Vegas on Sunday night with the help of his Nicky Cuba NuSkool bandana. The 5th pic is of Sawyer in Baker at the World's Tallest Thermometer.

Wednesday: Sawyer gets picked up from school to head for Vegas, but first a quick stop at Dad's house to shave the sides of his head down a bit to make the mohawk look bigger. Then it was on the road. Since Sawyer was missing Thursday and Friday at school we spent the first part of the drive doing school work that we had gotten from his teachers (scroll down for a pic). Then he switched to playing with the Ipod and studying the field layout sheets we brought along (pic). Our first stop was for gas and a city park in Barstow. There we got to check out some mining equipment, old train cars and a tank (pic). Then it was on to the Barstow McDonalds (The coolest McDonalds ever according to Sawyer). Back on the road - next stop - Baker and the famous World's Tallest Thermometer (pic). A quick stop and back on the road. We got out to straddle Stateline (pic) before finishing the trip into Las Vegas.

Thursday: We set up Nicky Cuba's NuSkool booth (pic) and the Max'd Kidz palyer tent, registered the team to play the event - d4 5 man - then did a lot of walking the fields (pic) and meeting some of our friends (Thomas, the Explicit crew, etc). Sawyer and his brothers went to Excaliber Casino that night to see the "Medieval Times" type show.

Friday: Our games did not start until nearly 5 pm so we got to the fields around noon and hung out. Sawyer and the team and his brothers spent a good deal of the time playing in the Kingman Training Tent (pic). Sawyer also went up to the VIP area and hung out with Thomas in the commentary booth for the first day of the pro games. Nicky and Mike Paxson used the Max'd Kidz player tent to stage (pic) but the teams they were guesting on needed a whole lot more help. As we got closer to game time the temp started to cool down some which was great but Sawyer also began to get more and more nervous. Finally an hour before the games we moved into the pits. The team as a whole seemed a little quiet taking the field for the first game against the Boston Reapers. (Remember, this is a team with players who are 10, 14, 14, 16, 21 and 28 who had practiced together twice and only been a team for 3 weeks playing in a National event). Boston rolled us keeping all 5 players alive. Not a great start. Nicky had a good talk with the team before the next game against Cal State Northridge. We lost that one as well to fall to 0-2 - but we should have could have won it. Kyle's gun went down after only 1 pull of the trigger on the breakout. We played them hard and eventually there was one of their guys left - vs Kyle - who had been working like mad on his gun to get it too work the whole game. Of course he lost the 1-1 and got bunkered so we lost - but if we had him in - man it would have been our game. Nicky made a lineup change for game 3 and it worked wonders against LA Suicide Blue. Max'd Kidz went out hard and fast and won the game, keeping 4 guys alive. The last game of the day was against a team from Spain and they killed the Kidz keeping all 5 alive. So after Friday we were 1-3 and making it to Sunday looked pretty much impossible at the time. We played half of the games in sunlight and half under the lights as it got dark. The webcast even caught some of the games since we were playing on center court, which was really cool. Not cool though is packing up in the pits in the dark. A big shout out to Richard Guidry from the Chicago Legend pro team for hanging out and helping the Kidz in the pits tonight.

Saturday: Late games again today so everyone got to the field about Noon again to chill and hang out in the afternoon. Since we were 1-3 Nicky and I talked to the Kidz about just having fun. We stressed it was a National tourney, they were a new team, they were a young team - and getting a win was even an accomplishment. We wanted to make sure on Saturday they just went out and had fun playing. Then it happened. We started to win. The first game of the night showed the Max'd Kidz had put all the fears and nervousness aside and just wanted to play hard and have fun. And man they played HARD. AND THEY HAD FUN. AND THEY WON their first game against one of the two Tropix teams from Hawaii. The their second game was against Suckerpunch from Las Vegas - who went on to play in the Finals on Sunday and take 2nd place in the tournament (so they were good). But the Kidz had a swagger to them. They were confident and pumped. They went out and rolled Suckerpunch too, keeping 4 guys alive and make the team 3-3. Everyone played great, but since this is really our blog - I want to brag about Sawyer for a second. The first game on Friday he was a little like a dear in headlights. Stayed back center and only got off a few shots and never shot his lane. As Friday progressed he got better. BUT SATURDAY was proud Dad moment. He was moving all over the field, bumping up, calling out their player locations. Shooting like a mad man. In the game against Suckerpunch he even pushed all the way into the snake behind James and got a G snap shooting - then got another kill by default as the ref called a 1 for 1 on the player he hit for "playing on" - so both their snakes side players gone - GAME OVER. The 3rd and 4th games were a little ugly against the other team from Hawaii and a team from Montana - 406's Finest - who went on to win the tourney on Sunday. Get this - thru the first 8 games of the prelims to get into the Quarterfinals they (406's) not only went 8-0 but only had 2 guys shot out - TOTAL. Do you know how sick that is? But guess what - packing up the pits in the dark again - Dad did some quick math - and point calcs - by the way we were playing center flag rules and points - AND IT LOOKED LIKE WE WERE GOING TO GRAB THE LAST SPOT IN SUNDAY'S QUARTERFINALS!!! So we went to Dennys as a team to celebrate. And later that night got the "official" email that we had made it and would be playing Sunday at 11 am against the #1 seed - 406's Finest. But that didn't matter. We had done better than we thought we would/could and we were playing on SUNDAY. Time for bed. Had to be in the pits Sunday at 9:30.

Sunday: Everyone was on time except for Larry and Kevin who we all love to call slow and slower. (They argue over who is slower). But they were not too late. The pits were FULL so we "borrowed" a table from somewhere else and set up a space very tight and close to the Eclipse gun tech tent. Suckerpunch was great and shifted over a bit to give us more room. The Kidz were a bit nervous again but were doing their best at keeping it light. Game 1 against 406 - we lost - BUT we got 2 G's which equaled how many they lost all tourney up to that point. We played a little bit different strategy that game and adjusted it a bit more for Game 2. In between games 1 and 2 I got the killer pic of Sawyer that is at the top of this post and filmed him pumping himself up - a memory I will never ever forget. So, Game 2. We took them down to the wire leaving only 35 seconds on the clock. We got 2 more G's. Sawyer got 1 on the left tape. But we lost Game 2. Sawyer and James battled 4-2 then 3-2 for nearly 3 minutes but couldn't pull it off. What was really cool for me to see was Sawyer being so aggressive and instictive. He had strict instructions that our game plan had him staying back center - not bumping up - and laying down a ton of paint. But when we lost our mid center player and other right side player and our back left player - Sawyer moved on his own - knowing he had to spread the field from his center position since James was in the Carwash on the right snakeside of the field. So he ran left and slid into the back Dorito - making it there alive. He popped up and started gun fighting with two players trying to come up the tape on that side of the field. AND THEN HE GOT HIS G - AND THE CROWD OF PROBABLY 250 WENT NUTS LIKE IT WAS THE SUPERBOWL - him and James did die a minute and a half later at almost the same time. So we lost - but the Kidz came off the field FIRED UP. Sure they lost - but they played their hearts out and did some damage. It was awesome. They were not bumming but celebrating their play considering all the factors and how against the odds it was. That was when the Kidz picked up another sponsor. Gio came over and said he liked the way they played, liked their attitudes and that the team was going to be able to practice at Hollywood Sports and SC Village and we would get a bit of help with paint costs as well. HOLY CRAP. Bear's dad, Gio, ROCKS. This is one of the things we really really needed as a team considering most of the team can't have a job yet. We hung out for the rest of the day and watched Dynasty win the Pros, Dynasty Entourage win D1 and 406's win D4 before we started packing up the tent to head home - after another Dennys stop of course. At Dennys Sawyer went tearing out on to the Strip when he saw Oliver, Alex F, Ryan G, JRab and a slew of other players walking by to walk the Strip. It was his final goodbye on the trip. We hit the road soon after and Sawyer was asleep by Stateline. Dad made several boring stops on the way home for coffee and redbull but Sawyer slept thru them all - LUCKY GUY!

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Nicky Cuba for all his help. Nicky and I talked about how great the team did over the next few days. They all improved so much individually and as a team in so many ways. We also both agreed that James was the team MVP for the event in our minds. Although we never told him, we thought him reading it here on the blog would be a nice touch.

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Gio and Hollywood Sports and SC Village for all the help they are about to provide for us for the rest of this year and the 2010 season. In 2010 we plan to play in the USPL, The RPL, The Bear's Cup and a few local field tourneys as well.

Thank you to all who read this and your continued support.

Check out the story about Max'd Kidz on Catshack Reports for 10/22/09

2009-10-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.catshackreports.com/ - About Max'd Kidz at USPL Vegas

Professional Pics taken by bauderextreme.com

2009-10-21T18:56:00.001-07:00

Love the first one - look at the eyes. Popping out of the dorito. Sawyer and Kyle before a game. Nicky getting them fired up before the game. Sawyer putting on his NuSkool head gear.

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T18:55:00.001-07:00

Before a breakout and a few playing pics of Sawyer.

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Kyle on the breakout. Larry on the breakout. Kyle gunfighting.

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T18:28:00.001-07:00

Chris gunfighting, Kyle bumping, Max'd Kidz cruising and breaking out, Kyle sliding in

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

Random pics of Max'd Kidz

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

Checkout the cool photography under the lights of the first four and Kevin on a breakout.

More Pro Pics

2009-10-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

James controlling the snake, Chris and Sawyer in the pits

Pro Pics

2009-10-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Press Release for Max'd Kidz after USPL Las Vegas

2009-10-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

October 21, 2009

Laguna Hills, CA

Max'd Kidz is pleased to announce a new sponsor after reaching the 5 man Division 4 Quarterfinals at the US Paintball League World Championships in Las Vegas, NV. The event was held October 16-18 on the strip at the Riviera Hotel and Casino.

Hollywood Sports Paintball Park (www.hollywoodsports.com) has signed on to support Max'd Kidz for the 2010 season. Max'd Kidz will also have use of SC Village through the sponsorship.

Max'd Kidz was the youngest team in the competition in Las Vegas and created quite a stir with their coach, professional paintball player Nicky Cuba. Featuring the youngest player to suit up at a National Event in recent memory (Sawyer Smith at 10 years old) the team surprised everyone by making it out of the prelims on Friday and Saturday and into the Quarterfinals on Sunday.

Max'd Kidz roster includes 4 players under 16 years old.

"We are really happy to have Hollywood Sports as a sponsor," said Smith. "Now we have a place to practice and get better. We are going to be even better next year."

Max'd Kidz plans to play in all 4 USPL events in the 2010 season as well as the RPL, Bear's Cup and a few other local tournaments.

"It was great of (Hollywood Sports) to recognize the kids," said Cuba. "I see a lot of talent there and want to help cultivate it. I really enjoy coaching them. With the added support now there is no limit to what these kids can do."

The team was formed only a few weeks before the tournament and practiced together only three times. They plan on staying together for the upcoming season. Cuba (nicky-cuba.com) offered to coach the team as a way to expose younger players to the tournament scene. "This is a great opportunity to get younger players more involved in our sport,” said Cuba. “Most tournaments at the National level only feature more established teams and players, but venues like Las Vegas are a perfect place for players, both young and old, to get their feet wet in the tournament scene.”

Max'd Kidz will start their 2010 season on January 16th at a tournament in Lemore located in Central California.

Videos from USPL Las Vegas

2009-10-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTRhHklT6iE - Getting ready in pits for Game 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RWuuLMO_pA - Game 2 prep in the pits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj_AqNW_M3s - More Game 2 prep in the pits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgAmbngxcxQ - James gives a shout out before the 2 minute warning and i randomly catch Sawyer getting himself pumped up. Later I find out he was saying "I can do it" over and over to himself. And he played a great last game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUyyZ3LQ4OQ - In the chrono tent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ67mIcPM38 - A video of the team after the last game of the Quarterfinals - really great attitudes all around after a loss,

Vegas

2009-10-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

Hugs from Dad after getting bumped from the quarterfinals - not because he's sad - but because he played so well. Other shots of the team waiting to play and a breakout. The last one is Dad on the field getting the team fired up on Sunday.

Vegas

2009-10-20T10:44:00.001-07:00

Waiting to take the field, getting a pep talk from Dad, hanging with Nicky, Breakouts

Vegas

2009-10-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

In the pits on Fridaygetting advice from Nicky and Dad

Vegas

2009-10-20T10:29:00.001-07:00

Games on Friday, James gets bunkered and shows off the results, Max'd Kidz in the pits

Vegas

2009-10-20T10:22:00.001-07:00

James and Kyle Furman our killer front players, doing commentary with Thomas Taylor and his wife Tiffany in the VIP area, Nicky and Paxson getting ready to play, the 3 Smith boys in the Kingman Training tent, Nicky's booth

Vegas

2009-10-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Stateline on the way to Vegas, the fields before any games, hanging in the grandstands before the event, studying the field on the way to Vegas, doing math homework on the way to Vegas

Link to Sawyer's Interview this week on Catshack Reports

2009-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.catshackreports.com/category/pressreleases/ Look for the 10/11/2009 entry!!!

Dad's proud moment of Sawyer playing

2009-10-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Max'd Kidz team held their final practice before the USPL Las Vegas World Championships. Sawyer played one of his greatest games ever. Down in the game 3-2 (Max'd Kidz had 2) Sawyer pushed up from the back center on the right side. Chris was holding down 2 players on the left side of the field. Sawyer shot a guy out at the 50 center to even the game 2 players each. The he pushed into the snake on the right side of the field and moved up to the 50 where he popped up and got one more kill on the other snake side of the field (2nd picture is of that of that kill). This allowed Chris to start moving up and pinching in the back corner player. Sawyer pushed up to the end of the snake and started to gun battle with the back left corner. MK were up 2-1 players now. Instead of continuing to snap shoot - he got low - duck around the end of the snake and shot the back left player out on his pod pack. (that is the first picture above) IT WAS AWESOME. 3 G's BABY!!! Everyone was going nuts!!! PROUD PROUD DAD ON THE FIELD!!!

Max'd Kidz Team Photos 10.9.09

2009-10-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Max'd Kidz photos taken at their last practice before the Las Vegas USPL World Championships. James Furman 21 Front. Team Photos at top picture players (left to right back row first) Chris Talbot, Larry Ceballos, Kevin Hunyh, James Furman, Kyle Furman, Sawyer Smith.

Max'd Kidz Team Photos 10.9.09

2009-10-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Max'd Kidz photos taken at their last practice before the Las Vegas USPL World Championships. Left to right, top to bottom - Larry Ceballos 14 Back, Kevin Huynh 14 Back, Kyle Furman 16 Front, Chris Talbot 28 Mid, Sawyer Smith 10 Back

More Max'd Kidz practice photos

2009-10-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

More pics of Ma'd Kidz practice

2009-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

Max'd Kidz more practice photos

2009-10-12T15:33:00.001-07:00

More Max'd Kidz practice pics

2009-10-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

More Max'd Kidz practice pics

2009-10-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

2 videos of Max'd Kidz practice before Vegas

2009-10-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDnPYyGkpeE - Max'D Kidz destroys them in this game - I don't think they lost a player - check out Sawyer running to the X on the breakout laying down paint in the lane. Awesome!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cjl-3zo4vg - First, when you watch this game - I get lit UP!!! 2nd, Guys did real well losing 1 on the breakout but still pulling out the win,

Max'd Kidz

2009-10-06T16:04:00.001-07:00

Pics from Max'd Kidz practice at Camp Pendleton

2009-10-06T15:57:00.001-07:00

Top two pics are of James Furman in a gun fight. Next two pics are of Sawyer playing and showing off his new Nicky Cuba Ironmen DM9 and his new Rotor loader from Nicky. Last is a pic of Nicky walking the field with the team in the morning before game time.

4 videos of Max'd Kidz practice with Nicky Cuba coaching

2009-10-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0VBdQmDiso

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy62Rd6NWt4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdxm5PQ6_g8

AND HERE IS SAWYER'S AWESOME AFTER PRACTICE INTERVIEW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZlZrktwOU

Press Release 10/6/2009 - Max'd Kidz sponsored

2009-10-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

San Diego, CA
Professional paintball player Nicky Cuba and his company, NuSkool, have just announced they are sponsoring a team to play in the US Paintball League World Championships being held later this month in Las Vegas October 16-18. The tournament will be held on the world famous Las Vegas Strip at the Riviera Hotel & Casino.

The young guns team, Max’d Kidz, with players as young as 10 years old, will compete in the 5 man Division 4 level.

“This is a great opportunity to get younger players more involved in our sport,” said Cuba. “Most tournaments at the National level only feature more established teams and players, but venues like Las Vegas are a perfect place for players, both young and old, to get their feet wet in the tournament scene.”

Sawyer Smith, the youngest player on the team at 10 years old, jumped at the chance to play when he found out there would be Division 4 at the event. “It’s really cool,” he said. “I’m going to be able to play in the same tournament as Nicky Cuba and teams like XSV, Arsenal, HK Army, Explicit, Legend. I’m super excited.”

Cuba is not limiting his sponsorship of the team to just a financial one. This past weekend he spent an entire day with the team at the Camp Pendleton Tournament Park in Oceanside, CA helping them prepare. The park had the USPL field set up for practice and Cuba spent the day helping the youngsters by walking the field with them in the morning and then coaching them throughout the day before, during and after each game.

“We just want the kids to go out and have a good time,” said Cuba (nicky-cuba.com). “It’s not important if they win the tournament. We want them to enjoy the experience, hopefully win a few games along the way and maybe they’ll bring their friends into our sport. We all have to do what we can to expose paintball to more and more people and this is just one way I can help do that. And in the process I get to help make some kids really, really happy.”

Contest

2009-09-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

You get 500 characters to tell why you should win - Here was my entry -

#1 i'm 10 playing on an under 18 team at the las vegas uspl 5 man d4 and could really use a small light tank that i dont have to borrow #2 my dad just confirmed if i won he'd fly me out to cup friday night #3 i have included a video of me playing since too late tonight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GCucU2q38Q #4 i am great on camera with my thomas taylor style mohawk (up only on weekends, down at school - dress code) #5 my lil bro would think im so cool he loves guerrillas #6 be in vegas 4 u 2

For your chance to win, click this link and give your reasons by 10/1/2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiohDp8LNsw

Sawyer in a 3 on 1 at MK practice

2009-09-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GCucU2q38Q - Sawyer in a 3 on 1 - the wrong side of a 3 on 1 that is - but he held his own!

Max'd Kidz practice this weekend at SC Village

2009-09-21T12:23:00.001-07:00

Sawyer and the rest of the Max'd Kidz (still down a player though) met for their first practice this past weekend at SC Village. Max'd Kidz is a young guns team and their first tournament will be the USPL Las Vegas Championships in the 5 man D4. Below are some pics of the team and above is a link to one video on YouTube. The guys played pretty well for their first time out together, had some fun and are for sure going to get better and better as they play more together.

More Max'd Kidz practice pics

2009-09-21T12:16:00.001-07:00

More Max'd Kidz practice photos

2009-09-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

2009-09-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Beat Down City Tour by Thomas Taylor - Last stop on the tour was in Oceanside at Camp Pendleton - a 2 day clinic. We got to go and it was awesome. Learned a bunch. I mean a whole bunch. The next 5-6 posts below this one are pictures and YouTube links from the weekend. We learned that Dad can't snap shoot worth a darn, Sawyer is awesome left handed, how to slide correctly in different ways, the proper technique to REALLY shoot a lane - the list goes on and on. We also had a bunch of fun with contests and seeing other players out there - Ironmen was practicing for the World Cup and Sawyer got to jump in a small game with them. Thomas had fun contests like the speed feed bob, pictured below, where you had to bob for speed feeders in a TON of broken paint. Dad won that event and the sprint contest later in the day - almost beating Thomas (he won by 6 inches). We won some great prizes and had a fantastic time. Thomas is a great player and teacher and really takes care of the fans. He stopped to have dinner with us (His wife Tiffany and friend Freddy as well) on his way up north last night and we had a great time getting to know more about one another.
Oh yeah - Sawyer had long hair on Day 1 and we shaved it down to a mohawk and painted it green for Day 2. For even more videos on the clinic - Thomas has a YouTube channel - BeatdownCityTour - you should check out - his first webisode on the tour just aired today. It's really funny. If you have never gone to a pro clinic - you really need to. There is so much to be learned from these guys.

TANKS BABY, TANKS - A little break from playing at the clinic

2009-09-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

We had a chance over the weekend to stop a few times and check out the cool tanks!!!

More Clinic Photos

2009-09-14T15:45:00.001-07:00

More Clinic Photos

2009-09-14T15:40:00.001-07:00

Some more photos - even one right after Sawyer got the mohawk!!!

More Clinic Photos

2009-09-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last set of clinic photos

2009-09-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

14 You Tube Videos from this weekend

2009-09-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

These videos feature Sawyer doing drills and getting instruction at the Thomas Taylor Beat Down City Tour clinic, Ironmen and Dynasty practice, and some games with Sawyer and Ironmen and Sawyer and Thomas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH1AiBZ5nn8 - right handed snap shooting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDw_dSVpskI - left handed snap shooting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggzqSpTNuM0 - left and right hand snap shooting switching hands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmVva0ul-LI - Sawyer running the course with Thomas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sajIpowKm00 - Sawyer running the course the next day - notice the new haircut - GREEN MOHAWK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1-J5oPDqE - Sawyer doing the paint bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJOBLE6SX8M - Thomas teaching the superman dive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hZ2qnyRoRY - Sawyer practicing the superman dive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNH0j-cMVio - Sawyer practicing shooting the lane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1R3kv9cIks - Sawyer gets to play with Ironmen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt-mM6gh4o8 - Sawyer and Thomas team up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6n7VrmxVDQ - Sawyer and Thomas Dominate

Sawyer and Nicky having some ice cream

2009-09-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago Sawyer and Dad got to hang out with Nicky Cuba for the weekend (see below for a recap of the weekend in an older post). Here is a picture Nicky's mom took that we found on his facebook page - so we stole it to put up here - thanks Nicky. It was outside the ice cream shop we stopped at after dinner that night before rushing back to his house to see the Sea World fireworks show from his back yard. P.S. - How cool is Nicky wearing the matching shell necklace that Sawyer bought for him in Mexico - just like the one nicky was wearing in old footage of when he was younger in "Heroes for a Day".

Ironmen vs XSV pictures from practice today

2009-09-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

Team Ironmen and XSV faced off Saturday September 5th for a day of practice at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to help prepare for the PSP World Cup next month. Sawyer and Dan hung out with them for the day and tried to shoot some videos and pictures. 1st picture - don't know. #2 Ollie coaching from the side. #3 again, not sure. #4 - Mikko in the can :-). #5 - Sawyer and the Ironmen

Pics of Ironmen vs XSV practice today

2009-09-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Team Ironmen and XSV faced off Saturday September 5th for a day of practice at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to help prepare for the PSP World Cup next month. Sawyer and Dan hung out with them for the day and tried to shoot some videos and pictures. First 2 pics are of Scott Kemp in the snake. Next two are of Thomas Taylor in the snake. Last is another picture of Sawyer's favorite player, Nicky Cuba

Pics of Ironmen vs XSV today at practice

2009-09-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Team Ironmen and XSV faced off Saturday September 5th for a day of practice at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to help prepare for the PSP World Cup next month. Sawyer and Dan hung out with them for the day and tried to shoot some videos and pictures. Here are a few more pics. Pic 1 is of Sawyer hanging with the team. 2nd is of Oliver in the snake. 3rd is of Sawyer on the field. 4th is of Nicky pushed all the way up in the snake. 5th - not sure but think it is BShort in the snake.

Pictures of Ironmen vs XSV practice today

2009-09-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Team Ironmen and XSV faced off Saturday September 5th for a day of practice at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to help prepare for the PSP World Cup next month. Sawyer and Dan hung out with them for the day and tried to shoot some videos and pictures. Here are some of the pictures. A few pics of Nicky Cuba to start, the a breakout and 2 of BShort (which we fully expect to see stolen and on his website :-)

Sawyer Interview at Ironmen vs XSV practice today

2009-09-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ironmen vs XSV practice 8 video links below

2009-09-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

Our weekend playing paintball, Ironmen practice and hanging with Nicky C

2009-08-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. We played at Velocity in Ramona (if anyone ever trys to tell you this is San Diego they are LYING to you). Saturday was bacically a day of rec ball and learning a new field. We left OC early and were there and geared up and playing by 10. We played all day in temperatures over 110 degrees. After a hard day of play, we headed into the real San Diego to hang out with Nicky Cuba. Nicky's mom and brother were visiting from the east coast so we all headed out to eat dinner downtown (incl Nicky's girlfriend Melissa and friend Kia, like the car). We made it back to Nicky's after ice cream just in time to see the Sea World firework show. Sawyer spent the rest of the night playing with the dogs (Button is small and Mongo is stinkin' HUGE) and playing Call of Duty on the Xbox while the grown ups hung out by a fire outside. The next morning came early. After showers and donuts were were headin back to Velocity again. Today the Ironmen practiced snap shooting, 1-1's and some running drills and Sawyer had a blast doing them all - well, he was pretty nervous about the 1-1's. Can't wait to go to another practice someday.