To a minor from a minor

This is directed towards all of our minor players out there, those of us who are just getting into it or just as dedicated as me or beyond. For those of us who don’t know, my name is Jacob and I’m 15 years old. Most people who meet me for the first time would be surpised at my age, this may have to do with my height of 6”2 but I’d also like to pretend that my maturity helps ALOT. I’ve been playing Airsoft for the longest time (2 ½ years) I’ve been deeply involved and going to the large upscale events including TC games and the Firezone games hosted here. The only difference between two differences between me and guys like Tedder is…

1) They can legally get laid

2) they’re 18+.

Now for those of us who are new to the larger scale internet sites, you may not know about the heated debate of whever or not minors should be allowed to post or play on FA and it’s fields. But this paper has nothing to do with that and will just be focusing on facts, not options. You may have never heard of Florida Airsoft (FA). Florida Airsoft sets the guidelines for the majority of Airsoft field’s rules, the Firezone being one of the exceptions. Florida Airsoft has set up certain guidelines like 400 FPS for AEG’s and 550 for bolt rifles. These rules are instituted for the players and the field that host’s the event safety. Sadly for us who are under 18, and I MEAN EVERYONE under 18, you are not allowed to go to games under the FA guidelines or if the game has been announced on the FA site. This is to help prevent incidents were the child gets hurt and the parent sues for medicals bill, trauma, e.t.c … ( This is what I infer from the FA guidelines)

However, there also has been discrimination towards minors; This is due to a common misconception that all of us are immature. Why is this you may ask? Because it is human nature to stereotype, I’ve only played with one immature minor, and I know for a fact that he acted like that because he was himself, not because he was a minor. People will often look at a bad minor and see it as that the reason why they are “bad” is because they are a minor. I do not support the things they do, but I must say that for every immature minor there is out there, there is also one immature adult. And remember, it’s not the players job to call people out on something like not calling hits. IF someone is not calling their hits, let the admins know and they will take care of the situation themselves.

I’ve done my fair share of forgetting to take out the garbage, but I uphold the unwritten code of honor Airsoft. I can also say 95% of minors I’ve played with are the same exact way. Despite belief of some people, we call our hits, talk nicely to are elders, and try to be active participants of the game. I don’t run around like little zombies thinking we have some invisible force field granted to us from Chuck Norris that deflects BB’s. And I bet all the things I said in this paragraph holds true for 95% of us minors.

Now you may be asking what your options are. Where are some locations that are minor friendly? Well you already stumbled on one of them. Firezone, along with TC airsoft and 6mmjunkies are the other leaders in minor friendly airsoft; although there is a good chance you can find a small local field that is okay with have minors there. All it takes is a little research and a little patience and I guarantee you you’ll find a good place to play. And in case you were wondering; The Firezone’s policy is 16 and up your good to go with a waiver and a parent showing up to meet the admins, and 15 if your okayed by Shar.

Airsoft is a wonderful sport and even though were still kids there are still plenty of opportunities for us to play. I highly encourage you to come out to a Firezone game, a bunch of great guys. Keep in mind though that were all the ambassadors of minors; if one of us does something stupid some people think ALL of us did something stupid. So remember kids, stay in school and don’t do drugs, and act mature on the field and make us look good!