Some paintball teams seem like military organizations and some seem like extended families. I’ve run across the team that seems like both. If you’ve been to any major scenarios in the Carolinas in the past few years, you have more than more likely seen the banner of a bulldog on the shield. Welcome to Team Boxer. I interviewed their captain, Wendell “Runaway” McInnis, and one of their senior officers, Kent “X-Man”Jones, recently to find out what makes this such a popular and outstanding team.

Most recently, I’ve played against Team Boxer at Vietnam Patrol:  the Siege of Khe Sahn, at Command Decisions, but I have run across them at numerous scenarios all over North Carolina. While the team seemed professional and very military-like, I also noticed that they had a number of “kids” with them. What strikes me most about this team,  is their family-like atmosphere, diversity and organizational structure. 

History in the making

One of the things that surprised me most in this interview was I found out that almost 75 people are on Team Boxer. The name “Team Boxer” comes from a group of families getting together for Thanksgiving in 2006 to play paintball and it turned out they all owned the same breed of dog. Some of them work together and were friends long before they started playing paintball together. So this wasn’t that they were teammates first, and then became friends, but just the other way around! Soon the wives and children of the friends were involved in the sport and from there, the team just seemed to grow organically. Besides being one of the most age and racially diverse teams out there, the team has players  from almost every industry from students and Boy Scouts to truck drivers and dentists, doctors and engineers to business owners. Members live all over North Carolina from the Charlotte metropolitan area to Greensboro Winston-Salem and were born as far as way as Korea and South America.  Of their 74 players, more than 20 are under the age of 18. 

The Buffalo Soldiers (their armored tank squadron) got their name from the historic Buffalo Soldiers of the old West, which is an interesting tale on its own, that  I recommend you look up on their forum. Other divisions within team boxer are there “Roughnecks” (which are players under 18 and mostly Boy Scouts), the Guardians, and their Phoenix (mil-sim) group. Players can work themselves into the different squads with Team Boxer’s internal point system, their type of interest in the game, or their particular skills. Runaway admits that the point system worked out better than he originally planned because now team members are competing within the team to see who has the highest points. The points can earn you an increase rankings or put you in different divisions. The team also awards its own internal awards at scenario games for MVP, etc.

Everything real but the bullets

 When I asked if they had a team motto, Runaway tells me that they like to play as if “everything’s real but the bullets”. And after having talked to them I can understand why. With the group this large, you have to have a command structure that can communicate and effectively manage the logistics of transporting, supplying, and equipping 75 people. The military has been doing this effectively for years and as many of Team Boxer are former military, this seem like a natural fit.  Kent “X-Man” Jones is a former US Marine communications infantry officer and insisted that the team use first-class communications, and essentially co-sponsored their very expensive and military like UHF radios. Team boxer’s reputation for communications has extended way past the borders of North Carolina, and they are going to be key communication specialists at  Skirmish’s Invasion Of Normandy this summer. When I dug deeper into the Boxer creed I was told that some of the key rules are to play with honor, to emulate the military in logistics and tactics, to think outside the box, and make it fun both on and off the field and most of all always be humble.

Walk-ons: Love ‘em!

Another differentiator for them is that while some teams shun walk on players or use them as cannon fodder, Team Boxer embraces the Green Beret motto of using “force multipliers”. For those of you not familiar with it, this is where trained personnel teach the local natives to become effective soldiers. By utilizing this technique, Team Boxer multiplies the force of each of their soldiers times the number of walk-on  players they can utilize, turning six good soldiers into leaders/mentors of 60 warriors. The challenge of this is to effectively incorporate all of these new untrained individuals and their personalities into one fighting unit. Something the Team Boxer does very well.

Other differences with Team Boxer is that you’re just as likely to see them all together in a family barbecue as you are on the paintball field.  The team practices once a month, usually at a private field, to keep the cost down, and will attend usually one event a month. While the team takes playing and winning very seriously, they seem to be much more laid back than many regular teams. The core players and leadership will practice about twice a month.

Team Boxer is also different from many regular teams in that they don’t collect dues. They pay for everything out of pocket or use fund raisers to collect money for their events. Occasionally, the adult members will  pay a little extra so that one or two of the children who might not be able to afford an event can attend.  The team does not require mandatory uniforms, but instead has recommended uniforms, such as ACU, a subdued darker ACU, and a mil-sim tiger stripe. They also feature team  patches for tactical vests and sleeves and after you’ve gone to five games you get awarded a combat rocker for the top your Boxer patch. These rockers indicate promotions up through the different brigade such as Buffalo and Phoenix.

The Making of the Team

So what does it take to be on Team Boxer? Runaway tells me that no matter what area of scenario paintball you are interested in, they can find a place for you. They’re relatively open as to the amount of commitment people have as their point system tells them whose active and who’s not. The most important thing is to have the right attitude. From a management stand point, they think of it is more like coaching or managing personalities, and keeping morale up, more so than skills. They rotate players to various positions to make sure that everybody gets a piece of the action and that they have fun. Team Boxer focuses on being family-friendly, diverse and think of themselves as much a “social club” as they do a paintball team. From the interviews, I gathered that Runaway was more the people person, using his charisma and personality to win people over and they naturally want to follow this type of leader. He shapes the core direction of the team , while X-Man, among others, focus on the logistical and tactical elements such as communications, operations and planning. The command structure is very simple, with a command level and squad leader level. While there may be ranks within those various levels, the command level communicates down to the squad leaders in the squad leaders communicate to their immediate fire teams and troops. Just like in the military, what a surprise! They see their main job as commanders is to facilitate fun for their team members and others they play against. 

Team Boxer has three sponsors that they include in their family-like environment: Armed Forces Outfitters Inc. (www.armynavy.us ), Barker Sign Company, Schnieder Training Academy (www.schneiderjobs.com ). The relationship with these sponsors seems very much in keeping with their team’s style:  relaxed, friendly, and mutually beneficial. As opposed to many sponsorships, Team Boxer does not seem to be “owned” by their sponsors as much as helping each other out. This is somewhat refreshing in a world where sponsorship usually includes a body sized billboard to be worn in place of a uniform. Team Boxer is not affiliated with any specific field, but is friendly with all of the fields in the area and played often at Boss Paintball, Command Decisions,  and Behind Enemy Lines. 

Suggestions… 

When asked them what suggestions they had for new players to the sport or people looking to join a team, Runaway said “Talk to people, get to know them as people, what level do you want to play at?  Do they have fun?  Are they are hard-core team?  Try not to take it so seriously.” The general consensus between the two leaders was to focus on the type of people you’d be playing with, and if they had a lot in common with your values. Don’t be impressed by fancy guns or extra gear. Look for the people who are having the most fun. Find the teams and people who are accessible to you or are willing to work with you. The fanciest uniforms are not necessarily the measure of how much fun you can have playing with them, or how good a player they are. 

When I asked them who their favorite team is (besides Boxer, of course), they BOTH told me (Dave Thompson of ) Capital Offense, out of Washington, DC. They said that “even though these guys have big-time sponsorships and everything from NGVs to all the latest gear, that they have a great attitude and took a chance on Team Boxer when they were just getting started.” Another name that came up was  The Hun from Recon One. Both Boxer leaders had nothing but praise for these two friendly and inviting teams.

The Real Story

Now about this time, you would be asking  yourself, “what kind of puff piece is this,  and how much did he get paid?”  Anybody that knows me, knows that I look at everything through a half cynical eye. And they are waiting right now for me to drop the other shoe on Team Boxer. 

You’re going to be in for a bit of a wait.   

I can’t tell you anything about the stats of Team Boxer or how many times they’ve been on the winning side and frankly I don’t care.  What I do care about is, it seems like they treat their team members with respect and run their team both professionally and like an extended family.  

I have been so impressed with what I’ve learned from talking to Team Boxer, and more importantly,  watching them in action on and off the field,  that I constantly use of them as my example whenever talking about how to organize and manage a team. They just really seem to be enjoying themselves,  I have never seen any arguments or tension. With 75 players, it would almost be impossible not to have occasional clashes of personality or logistical issues. That’s just human nature.  The trick is to make it seem effortless and enjoyable; two things that Team Boxer seems to excel at.  I would suggest that if you ever need to study a paintball team to learn how to really do it right, you might first start with Team Boxer and then work your way down.   Better yet, just join them. The barbecue is next week!

 To learn more about Team Boxer, check out the various links:

• http://callsignboxer1.proboards106.com/index.cgi  
• http://teamboxerblog.blogspot.com/ 
• http://teamboxerblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default 

 You can also contact  the team at 704.960.6606 or e-mail them at wendellthe2nd@sprintpcs.com  or kjones40@carolina.rr.com .