April 26 2012
Orlando, Fl
It’s “Hammer” time!!
The Catshack Reports had the opportunity to exhibit a behind the scenes perspective from Captain “Hammer” himself! Carrying an extensive background in playing paintball, leading his side as a General and XO approximately 42 times as well as being the head of an enormous size team, “The Badmonkeys” from Orlando, Florida “Hammer” had this to share..
“My career began in 1996, receiving a request from a friend to purchase a paintball marker, well of course I followed advice and got myself an Indian Creek Panther. Just a short while after purchasing, this same friend invited me out for a game of paintball, not only a game but a Scenario game, Wayne’s World Survival Zone.. Needless to say that’s all it took I was hooked! From that day forward I decided to build a team, stay involved and attend as many games as I possibly could, “I found my niche.” I formed a small team called Men in Black, we played together for approximately 2 years, I then decided to revamp the team and change the name to Dooms Day Brigade. I was a year and a half in with the new team when “Scott Mears” original Captain of The Badmonkeys decided to hand over the keys to his team. At this time I had no idea how large this would become. I started with 3 core members, myself, Cookie and Chuckie, this is when my life took a turn, paintball and “Hammer” became one! Recruiting began, I fold in some members of Dooms Day Brigade and start hitting rec ball fields, picking up members on a weekly basis, growing, playing and having a complete blast! The team then decided to embark on an Armor division, thanks to “Cookie” I might add.
KONG
Building the tanks, “Cookie” the teams engineer set out in the early 90′s to build our first tank (Patrol) unfortunately it became obsolete, so on to the next! The “Cookie Cutter” a walk behind motorized wagon. At this time, we had no real substance suggesting the Armour division would grow as it has and become a valuable resource as well as a complete success! Today The Badmonkeys armor division stands 11 strong, all mobile and built tough! Having the ability to maneuver through multiple terrain, taking down the opposing enemies on any field! I give credit to my operators, Rigger, Ice, Queen Bee, Poncho, Wendy, Cookie and Bear. Without the commitment and skill of the operators we would be unable to accomplish what we do!
My beliefs and standards as a Team Captain are as follows. Integrity, honor, commitment and the ability to help push our sport forward. I believe in giving it your all, play with complete fairness and helping other teammates as mentors. As far as the recruiting process, I certainly look for members that can gel with others, good sportsmanship and the ability to be active in games. I have committed myself to The Badmonkeys and want the same in return. My players must show respect for other players on and off of the field, I believe in helping all my players to be able to get on that field and play! I would be quoted as saying: “Keep your Markers on the field, not in the closet”
I believe we as a team have accomplished many goals in this phenomenal sport. We have built a team of 85 strong with one of the largest armor divisions in paintball! My future goals would be this, trying to place players onto a suitable team that may fit their needs as I have exceeded my recruiting. Continue finding ways to improve my team, monitor my players and put in place consistent consequences for bad behavior. “This is my life and my teams longevity is my ultimate goal” I would like to thank all of my team members, to many to name but you all know who you are. I appreciate your commitment, sportsmanship and willingness to help others, keep pushing forward and all that I ask is, give it your all and keep playing with integrity! I would also like to welcome my newest member of board “Jessica Steelman” the teams Communication Officer! I have complete confidence in your abilities to be a positive asset to this team, thank you! To my 2nd in command Eric Juchniewcz “Sasquatch” you’re a true leader and I appreciate all that you do to contribute to this team. I will not go without commending my engineer/cook, “Cookie” thank you for the tremendous work and commitment you have inserted, without you the team would go hungry and we certainly would not have the armor division that we have today! (smiling)Â
The Badmonkeys stretch widely across the state of Florida attending many games a year. This year will be my 2nd D-Day event playing alongside the 899th Black Cats, “Tank Destroyer Battalion” my rank, Captain, traveling alongside will be “Cookie” my engineer. We look forward to this event, we will be carrying our largest tank “Kong” a 1981 k5 Blazer on 33′s with a rotating turret on top armed with double A5′s and a custom air cannon, we’re ready to roll! We look forward to the upcoming season, luckily residing in Florida we get plenty of playing time. I personally look forward to meeting new players, introducing new players, touring new fields and having a very long life inside of this one of a kind game! The Badmonkeys will see you on the field!
The Catshack Reports: “It was a pleasure to get an in depth look inside the Team Badmonkeys. I personally have played alongside and against this team on many occasions, I can attest to sportsmanship, leadership and respect towards others. The armor division is certainly a force to be reckoned with! I look forward to many future games against or with this team, I can assure you that they certainly carry an element of surprise to any game! A great leader a great team!”  Thank you, Golden Girl
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One Response to ““Hammer” The Man Behind The Badmonkeys!”
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This is a great article on what is a great leader. As President of Band of Brothers Paintball I have had the pleassure of going to battle with Hammer on our side. He is the epedemy of what a paintball leader should be. Thanks for posting his story.