The GOat's story

​What it took to form a heard.

Who are The Goats?  What does it take to make a team?  What motivated us?  What we are looking forward to continue to do?

We are The Goats, not a fancy acronym but a perfect name for our team.  Looking back on it all we started out as anyone else does.  We'd go out to our local field, meet people, shoot, laugh, and talk gear with others who enjoyed the sport.  Throughout the weekends, cases of paint, mutual respect, and casual gatherings off the field  we built the bonds of our friendships.  One summer nine of us attended Skirmish's largest event called ION.  It was there camping out fighting for every inch of ground, side by side friends and strangers from all over the world that we decided to form a paintball team. 

So who are The Goats and what do we do?  We are just a bunch of guys and girls who love the sport of paintball.  We all at some point and time were playing walk ons and just bonded over shooting each other.  We are a collective of people who are just looking to go hang out and have fun playing paintball.  We have three kinds of Goats in our heard.  The Goats who want to play speedball and join up for our EPL team.  The Goats who want to attend scenario events such as ION, Castle conquest, The Clone Wars, Living dead, NJ Directive, Mech tournaments, and much more.  And finally The Goats who just want to have a group of people to play walk ons with.  We are a team who listens and evolves with the needs and wants of its members to keep things fun and accessible to everyone for every aspect that paintball has to offer.

To all those who are out there just getting started in paintball or to those who are looking to form a team of your own, we have a few tips and tidbits of advice.  What it takes to form a paintball team in actuality is pretty minimal and can be done on a tight or loose budget.  Figure out a name, fill out your roster, get some jerseys, and register for events.  What it took to keep a team together over years and keep the passion for paintball alive is our deep feeling of family that have found with one another.  We are normal people who just wanted to have fun playing the sport with people we met and enjoyed.  So to all those looking to get into the sport or form their own team, be sure to go make friends and form a sense of community at your local fields, the rest will happen naturally.  

Reflecting back on these past few years of events such as Invasion of Normandy, Living Dead, Battle of Britain, Castle Conquest, the Eastern Paintball League, and countless other fun and action packed days we couldn't help but be proud of the recognition and friendships that we have formed in the paintball community.  It is the impact that the paintball community has had on our lives and the great memories we have formed and aspire to form every time we drive to the fields that motivates us to continue.  We will be competing in the up coming EPL series primarily hosted here at OTP, the three major events at Skirmish Paintball including ION, and many other events yet to be posted to our Facebook page.  Come check us out here at OTP where we can be found practicing drills and playing walk on regularly.  

By: Adam Barringer