For Kyle Wilson, who is just 24 and considered the “grandpa” of the Bracebridge paintball team the Muskoka Mercenaries, this is fairly easy.

Like siblings, they rib each other incessantly and laugh about each other’s tendencies off and on the field. But when it comes down to the competition, everyone knows how to get it done.

The team, sponsored by Back Country Paintball, formed at the start of the calendar year and is competing in the Empire Series Paintball League (ESPL) that hosts indoor competitions in southern Ontario. They are like any other sports team except they are running and gunning for points, which they did successfully enough to garner a semifinal finish in their first ESPL tournament at the Flagswipe Paintball facility in London, Ontario a few weeks ago.

Paintball is best described as the closest thing to playing army with live ammunition, but without any of the dangers. Teams attempt to eliminate their opponents by hitting them with liquid-filled, breakable gelatin paintballs that are fired out of a compressed-gas-powered paintball marker (gun) during games similar to capture the flag. Much of the action takes place in a matter of minutes. The tension and excitement is indescribable, team members said. It is something that has to be experienced to really get an understanding of the sport.

Along with Wilson, the team is composed of Andrew Thorne, 22, Spencer Rawn, 17, Aaron Armstrong, 16, and Brandon Armstrong, 13.

They are a complementary mix of players with a diverse set of backgrounds and expertise to match. For instance, Brandon Armstrong might lack tournament experience, but makes up for it with the unbridled energy he brings, said Wilson.

“His youth is great. He brings a lot of exuberance to the team and a lot of excitement and energy. He wants to do really, really well,” he said. “With older players, sometimes frustration sets in when things haven’t gone right . . . it helps to motivate me and the other players.”

Nicknamed “Fleecy”, Brandon, who has only play­ed this year, said the name stuck when he was a “mule” for equipment and tools, and was then put in charge of always carrying the laundry detergent container full of nails while out making bunkers for the playing area.

“Fleecy is good, it makes people underestimate me,” Brandon said. He’s unlikely to get rid of the alias, he added, as it was reaffirmed by friendly shouts in agreement.

The captain said this team distinguishes itself from most of the other teams because they all live so close to each other and know each other so well.

Wilson has played the sport since 1999 and has been competitive for close to five years, many of these with current teammate Rawn.

Wilson helped teach the basics to Rawn, and said his friend and teammate for the last five years is a consummate student of the game.

“He’s always looking for something to learn and ways to gain an advantage that he can use to the team’s advantage.”

Rawn is appreciative of Wilson, who was a mentor to him.

“Kyle to me is the big brother, father of the team. He always looks out for us little guys. Nowadays it’s reversed,” Rawn said. “It’s great, though, because ever since day one teaching me, coaching me, he always said he saw something in me even though I laughed in his face a whole bunch of times, but he always stuck through it.”

Rawn is also a basketball player with the Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School team and sees paintball as an unforgiving game.

“If you make one slip-up it can cost you the game, cost you the tournament, cost you the series . . . with basketball you have such a long time frame to play in that one mistake is not as noticeable,” said Rawn.

Thorne, the player with the most game experience who even had tryouts with teams in the U.S., is the one team member they look to for strategy and to provide insight about the challenges in any given game and tournament.

“He brings a lot of strategy and tournament experience. He’s a great asset for game planning and technical stuff and problem-solving,” said Wilson.

He added Thorne has the ability to “identify key spots” that are pivotal to winning and how and when to get into those positions.

Despite forming the team only in the middle of January, the captain said their goal is to win the overall ESPL title. After that they hope to move up in the division and possibly catch on to a professional circuit where national teams compete.

There are five tournaments remaining in the season for the Mercenaries who are fourth in a field of eight in Division 2. Their next tournament is at the Flagswipe Sportsplex in London on April 20.