For quite some time now The Catshack Reports has been following the paintball journeys of a father and son duo in Orange County California. The two have been in the paintball scene together for the past three years and being in the heart of pro paintball country often attend events where the pro players are competing…not to mention numerous big scenario games that the two have been in attendance at.
The Catshack is pleased to present a recent press release and phone interview with young Sawyer Smith and his father Dan.The Catshack got on the phone with Sawyer and his father, Dan Smith, in Orange County, California. The team is relatively new having fully come together a mere month ago. Dan mentions the team has the support of the parents which is key to their competing in Vegas and elsewhere.
The Max’d Kidz are Kyle Furman – Front, James Furman – Front, Chris Talbot – Mid, Larry Ceballos – Back, Kevin Huynh – Back and of course Sawyer Smith – Back. Sawyer is extremely excited about Vegas and speaking with The Catshack Reports mentions “I live, eat and breath paintball, when I am not playing I play paintball video games and constantly practice drills at home including my snap shooting and switching hands, I do 50 drills in the morning and 50 times again in the afternoon”.
Sawyer will be using his DM9 with the new IRotor Loader to compete, 
personally given him by Nicky Cuba himself with the “Night, Night Sucka” and “Nu Skool” stickers on it. Sawyer mentions Nicky specifically told him “have fun and shoot lots of people with this”
As far as having the likes of Nicky Cuba to coach and instruct the kids, he was on hand for two of the three official practices the team has had to date. Dan is pleased in that Cuba is a great instructor who is very level headed and pushes the kids to experiment with new things and examine where they fall short.
The Official Press Release is as follows
Press Release 10/6/2009 – Max’d Kidz sponsored
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 (www.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.”
Very admirable!…huge props to Nicky Cuba for this very worthwhile endeavor. It is important to foster the next generation of paintballer by introducing them to the game in a positive way such as this, thus seeing the longevity of the sport be insured for generations to come.
To follow young Sawyer and his Dad be sure to check out their daily blog at
http://sawyerpaintballer.blogspot.com/
FYI Dan mentions that during practice Sunday October 10th they will have their team jerseys and more photos and video of the team in action.
Best of luck in Vegas Max’d Kidz!!! 
