FIELD OF DREAMS... 
     THE PTI EXPERIENCE

Want to know what it's like to take PTI classes?  READ ON!

There were customers waiting in the parking lot... and more at the door.  I was early, but they were there first and they all had things on their minds, happy things. I recognized one youngster, tugging on his father's coat sleeve at the sight of me.  He was a store regular, and for a month he had been leaning on the showcase, gaze fixed on that blue Cocker.  I knew from the look on his father's face that today was the day. 

The rest of his team was chattering about their own special things, preparing to go all-out in a practice tournament with their friends. It looked like several teams had decided to meet on the tournament field today, and about thirty or so players seemed to be without teams... probably walk-ons.  I unlocked the front entrance and a mass of paintball flesh pressed and jiggled through the doors.  My paintball store was open.  I headed straight for the ringing phone, and I could hear a voice approaching me, "can you set up that cocker for my son today?"   

And there was another voice, as a bright light flashed on inches from my face, and my shoulder seemed to be shaking... "NOW! Turn off your alarm!".  I was dimly aware of pounding on a plastic box, and the ringing suddenly stopped. 

My partner and best friend was doing her job, and I gradually became aware that it was time for me to get up and go to mine.  Moaning about all those things paintballers dream of, I slowly rolled into launch position, clinging to fading memories of a better life.  As vague thoughts dissolved into reality, I slipped out from under tangled sheets and landed on the cold floor... mentally cataloging as much as possible so I could enjoy some details later.  This was not the first time I had experienced my field of dreams, and it was hard for me to concentrate on the loud reality of a weld shop, when my paintball dream life seemed so real. 

But I was saving for the future, and it was getting close.  I thought I might have enough to get it going, and I was looking for a location to open my own paintball field and pro shop.  I had also enrolled in the Paintball Training Institute, and I was definitely looking forward to the Tennessee PTI classes.  I had seen colorful certificates, like diplomas, at a paintball field, and the owner had told me about his PTI experience.  This was to be my first step toward self employment.  I was going to be careful, but I was confident that when things were right I would open my own paintball business. 

Planning and waiting, and then more planning. I loved paintball, and it seemed that every spare moment (and a lot of my "real job" working time) was overwhelmed by dreams of owning a playing field and pro shop.  As PTI time approached, I had to decide how much time I could afford off the job, and how much it would really cost for lost wages, travel, tuition, and room and board expenses to attend the classes.  I had initially registered for just the weekend PTI classes, but it seemed like I should take advantage of the opportunity, since I would already be there.  I lived in New York and the classes were in Northeast Tennessee.  Air fares were discounted, but still expensive.  I decided to do the nine hour drive, all night if necessary, and save the air fare. 

There are a total of nine days of classes offered by PTI, and details are shown on their website www.paintball-pti.com.  About every other month they give two days of referee classes, a one day paintball business and marketing seminar, and two days of technical classes (fill station operation and basic airsmithing). The two day technical certification classes are given over weekend so working guys like me might squeeze them in without taking time of their regular job. The four day classes for advanced airsmith certifications are given three times a year, on Monday thru Thursday immediately following the other classes.  Although the advanced classes were being taught during my scheduled session, I decided not to enroll in them.  Nine days would just be too much time and money.  If I liked the classes, I would return for the advanced certifications. 

When the time finally came, I packed my car on Tuesday morning and headed in to work.  I had permission to take three days off starting Wednesday, and had planned a “doctor visit” on Tuesday afternoon.  The green flag dropped at noon Tuesday.  A quick trip to the local fast food drive-thru, and I found myself blasting down the road to my Tennessee “doctor”.  I figured everyone at work knew I was suffering from “paintball junkitis”. 

My nine hour trip took only seven, but I still arrived in Johnson City, Tennessee, after PTI had closed for the day. It felt good seeing the building and knowing I was in the right place. I had booked a room at the nearby paintball field, where some of the PTI classes are taught.  It was cheaper than the other motels and I would be staying where other PTI students were bunking in.  Besides, the rooms actually overlooked the air ball field, and what better place to stay than right next door to a paintball pro shop! 

The Paintball-XS shop was open until 9:00 pm that evening, and they had my room keys waiting.  I was quickly introduced to some of the staff, and other PTI students who were staying at the field rooms. They were talking about an old APG article about the PTI referee classes, “A Moment in Hell”. That evening I borrowed a copy of that old APG and read every word, as the others watched TV and played video games in the TV lounge.  We stayed up way too late that night, and we were all dead tired, but we were coordinated for the referee classes the next morning.  

It was wonderful waking up into my dream. This was really paintball.  As I climbed onto the PTI shuttle bus I was glad I did not have to drive, but when the bus pulled up at PTI we were all ready to take on the challenge.  Easy registration, donuts and coffee, and lots of happy people walking around looking at each others’ name badges. After everyone was seated in the main classroom,  Bob McGuire introduced the staff, and the students each stood up in turn, to give a short description of who what and why we were at PTI.   

Head Instructor Tim Arnold then launched off into the first day of classes.  I was expecting a dry presentation about how to ref paintball, so I was not prepared for the professionalism, depth, and FUN of the classes.  It soon became apparent that a few of the students had not enrolled in the second day “outdoor” referee class.  Everyone was talking about the scenarios and wonderful practical experience, as well as the official zebra jerseys and aluminum clipboards they would receive.  By the end of day one, all of the students were signed up for day two.

Day two classes were scheduled at a different location, a paintball field about twenty minutes from the main PTI location. And I was in the lucky group who would have no trouble finding the field.  We were staying at it.  I looked out my bedroom window that evening and watched players shooting each other under the lights, on the field we would be using the next morning for PTI referee classes.  

We were up and talking well before the classes started.  We had stocked the community refrigerator with supplies the day before, and now breakfast biscuits in the microwave, OJ, and coffee permeated the building with nice morning odors. We sat outside on the second story deck and called out to the others as they wandered in.  Soon, we were assembled in the main staging room, for the formal instructions from Tim Arnold.  Some of us had brought our own gear, the others were issued field rental Automags with high pressure air systems.  This was really cool.  The class was divided into three groups and would take turns as Referees, Players, and Spectators.  Sort of like a scenario game, the referees inspected the field and identified hazards, as the players were rehearsing and planning how to act out specific scenarios designed by Tim to test the referees.  And then we set about the games, or training exercises.  When it was over, each student received a private personal evaluation from Tim, along with a harshly realistic grade.  He was right on target with me, and identified areas I needed to improve on, but made me feel good about things I had done well. 

Day three was back at the main classroom.  I was looking forward to the marketing classes and enjoyed hearing about how to set up and run my business.  But I was not prepared for the tremendous amount of useful information.  They even got into how NOT to approach a banker, and how to prepare an actual business plan.  Now, even I can do simple financial projections that make sense.  And I never even went to sleep during the classes.  I had actually gotten a fair amount of sleep last night, and I was about to need every bit of energy I could summon… for day four. 

Without a doubt, day four was the longest and most demanding in the entire PTI schedule.  The primary C1 and C2 certification classes used to be given over a three day period.  They were very popular, and the PTI received many requests to condense the classes into a two day format, so they could be presented over a weekend.  They did it, but it is a killer schedule. Many additional students showed up just for these classes, and some were slated to continue on thru the advanced airsmith classes well into the next week.  I wished I could have stayed for the whole series, but I just could not afford it.  By this time, I knew I would be back for the C5 certifications. 

Saturday started at 8:00 am and ran until 7:00 pm. Types of taps, air physics, so many technical things including marker design theory? Why do I need to know all that stuff? It is kind of neat, though, being able to tell people about their high pressure tanks, like what the letters and numbers mean, and how to calculate how much air actually fits into those tanks, and how many shots you should get.  I was glad the exam was not until the next day.  And I was glad that Sunday started at the paintball field.   

Our group staying at the field rooms was bigger now, and because of the new friendships and some group study time, were all dragging on Sunday morning. We managed to stuff down potato chips or anything else that was easy to find and did not require any work to fix.  After a breakfast of champions, we stumbled downstairs to the main staging room, where the CO2 fills were set up on one end of the room, and a Paintball Mania booster pump was on the other end.  There were also some compressors behind the building, and that is where the classes started.  A small electric shop compressor provided the low pressure air to drive the booster pump, and a really big diesel compressor provided the fill air for the big storage bottles at the fill station.  Bob McGuire showed us how to fire up the big compressor, and we filled one of the fill station bottles to 3600 psi.  We were then ready for the classes inside. 

Although many field operators do not realize it, the DOT requires hazardous material (hazmat) training for all fill station operators, and we were about to receive ours.  Three groups, three instructors, and three fill stations: CO2, 3000 psi high pressure, and a 4500 psi booster pump.  The instructors had given each of us a written sheet, which was the basis for our “open book” practical exam.  They had demonstrated each of the fill station procedures to the entire class, and we were supposed to take turns demonstrating that we knew how to do it.   

And then there was Bob.  We were all required to watch every single person go thru the routine, and it soon became apparent why. Whenever Bob McGuire would show up with a bottle, pretending to be a customer, we knew there was something special about the bottle, or about what he was going to say.  He seemed to pick on the people with the most experience.  I saw stuff I never dreamed of, and we all left with a clean exam sheet we could make copies of later.  I was prepared to train employees to meet the federal requirements for fill station operation.   

Of all the equipment, the booster pump was the most intimidating, but the CO2 fills gave the inexperienced people the most problems.  I was concerned (afraid?) of high pressure filling until I understood how the booster pump worked, and then it was easy.  The PTI staff passes out a floppy disks to each student at the beginning of the session, and we had to make sure we had it with us at all times.  They would show up with a special camera and take photos that would be stored as JPGs (digital pictures) directly onto our floppies. Everyone got a really cool photo of themselves, operating the PMS booster pump.   

We also got graduation photos later, after we passed the final written test.  PTI gave us a copy of a press release to send in to our local paper, complete with our really cool candid photos.  All in all, this was a business-on-a-platter school.  I even received some training certificates for the markers they taught in the beginning classes. When I come back for the advanced classes I will get a bunch more of these certificates, and I will frame them all to hang in my pro shop. The photo ID card looks great, and I hope to get calls to repair markers, from my listing on the PTI website.    

The classes were great, and the faculty was outstanding, but my favorite time was when we got a behind the scenes tour of all the APL equipment and trailers.  Lots of different trailers for video production, fills stations, concessions, and event services.  There was a unit they called the Battlewagon, that had absolutely everything built in, so you could roll it in, open it up, and run a tournament.  All air conditioned for paint storage, with compressors, concessions, PA speakers, computers with score keeping and automatic air horns, even monitors for the players to see what was going on while they were getting their tanks filled.  One of the huge semi trailers even had a machine that assembled PVC tubing with netting that was really quick and easy to set up at a remote location.  They showed us a lot of tricks to make running tournaments and other events easier. 

Sunday was hectic, but they got the people who had a long trip home (like me) on the road by 4:00 pm. Everyone was trying to get each others phone numbers, and trying to make arrangements to keep in touch.  Tim Arnold assured all of us that we could contact each other by looking for our individual listings on the PTI website.  Even a photo just like on our ID cards, so we can remember the faces to go with the names. 

I wish I could have stayed for the C5 advanced airsmith classes, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I will when I go back.  I am looking forward to working on some markers, and I want to live up to my nickname.  I am Joe Paintball. 

Note from Bob McGuire:

Over the years, PTI has collected many testimonials from our students, written on the anonymous class evaluation forms we pass out at the end of each class. The PTI curriculum has been strengthened by many of these critiques, and we have enjoyed reading many of the sincere stories.  This article was developed from a short diary left with one of the evaluation forms.  I do not know the identity of Joe Paintball, but I found his story both enlightening and personally uplifting.  I hope that Joe reads this article and contacts us, so we can hear the rest of his story.  

PHOTOS FROM PTI CLASSES

Sponsors sometimes give out prizes during classes

PTI main classroom

A PTI instructor demonstrates a cutaway marker

 
Students get hands-on training repairing markers

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PTI referees use standard hand signals,
including this "player eliminated" indication

PTI Referees are taught how to conduct paint checks
without declaring the checked player neutral 

PTI referee Instructor breaks the class into three groups,
and prepares scenarios to test the skills of student referees

C5 tuition includes special airsmithing tools