SPRING HILL – When Thuoc “Van” Vovan first became involved in paintball, he saw an opportunity to get his children outdoors. It ended up bringing his family closer together. Vovan explained that since his family seemed to have nothing in common, they didn’t have anything to talk about. “Until we got into something like this,” Vovan added.
Vovan operates Elite Paintball, located at 4644 Keysville Ave. in Spring Hill, near Explorer K-8. A Vietnamese refugee, he was able to escape his native country in the mid-70s by shear luck. At 18, he was forbidden to leave, but when he and his brother took a chance, they were overlooked on a bus and able to depart with their mother and sister. Now a service technician for Tampa Bay Trane, the paintball business he opened in 2005 is merely a hobby. Though it hasn’t proven to be a money-making endeavor, it has become productive in other ways.
“Convenient location; right here in the middle of Spring Hill,” said John Romeo, of Brooksville, a regular who brings along his stepson, Cole Young. “You’ve got everything around you, everybody usually lives pretty close to here. You’re next fields are about 45 (minutes), an hour drive away.”
Romeo explained that he and his friends have gotten back into the game with their sons. “Our group of guys we’re pretty much a bunch of fathers and sons. All the fathers, we used to do this stuff a lot back in the day, tournament play, 10 years ago; got out of it, had kids. Now our kids are old enough, so we’re getting the kids into it, which is more of an excuse to let us come back and play. But it’s just good, wholesome fun.”
Vovan first experienced paintball thanks to a gift certificate, playing with a church group. His current facility, featuring three enclosed fields and one big wood field in the back, is built on land owned by a church elder. Though some teams will use the fields to prepare for tournament play, Elite Paintball is simply open to the public every Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vovan works behind the counter at the pro shop, receiving high marks from his clientele. “The owner, Mr. V., super, awesome guy. Can’t speak any better about him… You need something, he’s got it. If you don’t have it, he’ll get it for you. His prices are fantastic,” Romeo stated.
Many of the participants are children, and some, like 14-year-old Eric Parisi, even become referees. “First my friend took me here, and I kind of liked it… so I… caught on to it,” said Parisi, a Spring Hill resident. “I give it five stars… it’s the only place I know that’s close by.”
However, there’s a wide variety of players throughout the course. “It’s a fun game,” said Bethany Vovan, 23, one of the owner’s four children. “Anybody can play. Women, kids. Fathers, sons. Fathers, daughters.” The elder Vovan noted that he often hosts birthday parties, allowing parents and kids to play together, falling in line with the family theme that started him on this path in the first place. “I started so my kids would have something to do. But now that they’ve grown up, all the kids (in the area), they have nothing to do, either,” Mr. Vovan said. “A lot of people, instead of coming here, they stay home, play games on the computer, Xbox, whatever. So this is an alternative as an outdoor sport.”
Bethany Vovan pointed out that her father has made contributions to Toys for Tots, run fundraising events, and donated to various local sports teams and organizations, maintaining a community connection. They are also looking for community support to help improve the fields. Romeo stated that although the airball is good, “The woods ball… is a little on the smaller side, could use some help. We’re trying to get people to volunteer, come out and actually help build it up a little bit, clean it up.”
