WARPAINT: Team Backdraft making splash with local paintball enthusiasts

Shannon Lagendyk is used to the abuse.

Since taking up paintball with her husband, Doug, more than 10 years ago, the Houma resident admits to being shot more than a 1,000 times.

Nonetheless, Shannon Lagendyk doesn’t worry about turning into a walking callous.

She’s having too much fun.

“When you first get out there (a paintball field), the worst thing is not knowing what getting shot will feel like,” Shannon Lagendyk said. “It hurts, but once you get it the pain goes away. About 99.9 percent of first-time players come back and play again for sure.”

That’s what she enjoys most as a member of Team Backdraft, an amateur paintball team based in Houma.

The team is sponsored by ShellShocked Paintball, a store co-owned and operated by the Lagendyks at Southland Mall.

“Paintball is such an adrenaline rush,” explained Nicholls State junior Jonathan Richard, co-captain of Backdraft. “It’s a fast-paced game that requires a lot of teamwork and communication.”

And practice. Team Backdraft meets between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Sunday at ShellShocked Paintball Field (located at 605 6th Street behind the National Guard Armory in Houma).

Members set up air-ball bunkers, stretch, participate in shooting drills and finish with an intra-squad scrimmage.

But the hard work pays off.

Backdraft has experienced success at the amateur Division-III level. Lagendyk references the 10-player team that beat out 200-300 paintball teams en route to taking fourth place at a national tournament held in Chicago in 2004.

The local paint squad has also made a splash with high finishes at tournaments throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, according to Richard.

Shannon Lagendyk would like to see Team Backdraft advance to the DII and eventually DI level – the highest before turning pro – within the next two years.

However, she admits it isn’t always easy to keep a team intact.

“We build a good group, but eventually lose players to other things that come up like school, girlfriends, etc.,” Shannon Lagendyk said. “We pretty much start from scratch at the beginning of each season.”

The Lagendyks and Richard are the only players who have remained with the team since day one.

Shannon Lagendyk has no plans of quitting in spite of the fact she’s competing in a male-dominated sport.

“I try to get girls to come out for the team, and we’ve had a couple come and go,” she said. “In the past few years, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of girls coming out the play.”

ShellShocked paintball is in the stages of planning a three-player rookie tournament for Sunday, Dec. 16.

Lagendyk hopes it comes to fruition, because she realizes the potential for a really great time.

“The adrenaline, the competition and the people – that is what makes paintball so fun,” she said.

Added Richard: “I’m going to keep playing as long as I’m able.”

ShellShocked is located at 5953 West Park Ave., Suite 105, in Houma. In addition to paintball guns and accessories, it also offers skate and surf gear.

For more information about the store or Team Backdraft, call (985) 223-1700.

(Photo courtesy of ShellShocked Paintball) Team Backdraft’s Doug Lagendyk scopes out an opponent from behind a bunker at a recent paintball competition. Lagendyk and his wife, Shannon, co-own ShellShocked Paintball at Southland Mall in Houma.