IronKids

IronKids, also written as Iron Kids, was an American tournament paintball team based in California during the late 1990s. The team is particularly notable for bringing together several players who subsequently became leading figures in professional paintball, including Oliver Lang, Alex Fraige, Ryan Greenspan and Yosh Rau.[1][2]

IronKids developed from the Northern California tournament scene around Mare Island Paintball and achieved considerable success in amateur competition. Several former members subsequently helped establish San Diego Dynasty in 2001.[1][3]

History

Formation

IronKids emerged from a group of young players who had met through tournament paintball in Northern California.

In 1996, Alex Fraige and Oliver Lang began playing recreational paintball together at Mare Island Paintball Games in Vallejo, California.

In May 1997, they competed in the Mare Island Cup as members of the Monkeys. At the same event, Ryan Greenspan and Yosh Rau competed for another team, the A-Team.[1]

The players subsequently became friends through the involvement of Eric Crandall, who helped operate Mare Island Paintball.

Crandall introduced the players to higher-level competition, including the Great Western Series, where they gained experience against established tournament teams.

Following a period competing on separate amateur teams, Fraige and Lang organised IronKids as a youth tournament team.[1]

Amateur tournament success

IronKids recruited promising young players from California and competed in regional and national tournaments.

Eric Crandall assisted with the team's organisation, including travel arrangements, accommodation and sponsorships.

The players frequently sold equipment received as tournament prizes to finance travel and entry fees for subsequent competitions.

According to a retrospective published by the Los Angeles Times in 2006, the original IronKids squad won all seven ten-man events it entered and four of its five five-man tournaments.[1]

The team's early success helped several members gain opportunities with established amateur and professional organisations.

Documented tournament appearances

Contemporary tournament records confirm IronKids entries during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

At the 1999 Zap Masters, held in Nashville, Tennessee, from 7 to 10 October, IronKids competed in the amateur seven-player division.

The team accumulated 594 points during the preliminary round, advancing to the semi-finals. It did not qualify for the final round.[4]

At the March 2000 Pan Am tournament in Las Vegas, an amateur team entered as Ironkids - Diggers. Contemporary results record the team scoring 702 points in the preliminary round.[5]

The IronKids name also appeared at the 2001 NPPL World Cup in Orlando, Florida, where a team competed in the professional five-man division.

IronKids advanced from the preliminary round to the semi-finals, finishing sixth in the division's semi-final standings.[6]

The 2001 NPPL five-man season rankings list IronKids separately from Dynasty, confirming that both names appeared as distinct tournament entries during the same season.[7]

Although later historical accounts describe the original IronKids squad as lasting approximately one season, contemporary records demonstrate that the name continued to be used afterwards. The composition and continuity of the later rosters have not been conclusively established.

Players

Players documented as having been associated with IronKids include:

[1][2][8]

The team recruited players from different parts of California and competed with changing line-ups. The names above represent documented associations rather than a complete roster for any particular tournament.

Relationship with San Diego Dynasty

IronKids was an important predecessor to San Diego Dynasty, although the two teams were not identical organisations.

Following the original IronKids campaign, several players joined other amateur and professional teams.

Oliver Lang advanced to professional competition with the Ironmen, while several of his former teammates continued competing in amateur divisions.[1]

In 2001, Chuck Hendsch helped establish Dynasty as a new professional team featuring several former IronKids players.

The team's original professional roster included Ryan Greenspan, Alex Fraige, Brian Cole and Angel Fragoza, alongside other experienced competitors.[3]

Not every former IronKids member joined Dynasty at its establishment. Contemporary reporting from the 2001 NPPL Los Angeles Open specifically noted that Yosh Rau joined the Southern California Ironmen instead.[3]

Dynasty won the professional ten-man championship at the 2001 NPPL World Cup in its inaugural season.[9]

The former IronKids players subsequently developed individual careers in professional tournament paintball, with several becoming longstanding Dynasty members.

Legacy

IronKids is remembered as an early example of a successful youth tournament team whose members progressed into professional competition.

Its association with Mare Island Paintball and Eric Crandall reflects the importance of Northern California's amateur tournament scene during the 1990s.

The team's success, and the subsequent formation of Dynasty, helped establish several players who remained prominent in professional paintball for decades.

In a retrospective article about the Hostile Kids, Alex Fraige recalled that former IronKids members reunited for an informal competition against the younger team in 2002, following a disagreement over the use of a similar team crest.[10]

The IronKids name has continued to be referenced in historical accounts of Dynasty's formation and the development of professional paintball.[1][2]

References

External links