This profile is part of a year-long series called “I Am Mill Valley” that will showcase the talents, interests and achievements of the students and staff at Mill Valley.
In November, only five years after he started the sport, Patrick Segura competed against teams from around the world in the NXL World Cup of Paintball in Kissimmee, FL.
Brent Whitfield, Segura’s stepfather, has been playing paintball since 1993. In 2018, Whitfield introduced Segura to the sport at Jaegers Subsurface Paintball.
“I thought [paintball] would be something that Pat may like, so I got him a [paintball] setup and took him out one time,” Whitfield said. “I figured that he would like it or he wouldn’t and he just took to it and ever since that day, he’s been going at it.”
Segura loves paintball because of the intensity of the sport which blends many athletic aspects from other sports.
“I love the adrenaline, it’s an adrenaline sport,” Segura said. “You don’t need a ton of running. You don’t need to be super strong. You do need to be somewhat flexible and you need a mix of all of the aspects that go into every other sport being played.”
Since Segura started playing paintball, he has made massive improvements in a short amount of time. Whitfield believes that Segura’s confidence level played a large role in his rapid growth.
“He got more confident,” Whitfield said. “It took about eight to ten months, and I watched him go from just sitting back in a bunker and shooting to actually wanting to move and take advantage of the layout of the field.”
For Segura, he was surprised when he learned that he was traveling to Florida for the World Cup of Paintball.
“I was super stoked about it,” Segura said. “I didn’t know that was even an option for me because I’ve always wanted to play paintball at a higher level than I am now but I never expected the World Cup of all things.”
Segura played a total of seven matches at the World Cup. The environment and community at the World Cup created an unforgettable experience for Segura.
“It was awesome,” Segura said. “They had vendors, like hundreds. Apart from vendors they had like seven or eight fields, each sponsored by a different company. Whenever I played, it was on one of the HK Army fields. The day before I played, I got to watch all the pros playing.”
According to Whitfield, Segura’s paintball journey has surpassed his expectations.
“I’m proud of him,” Whitfield said. “He has well exceeded what I thought he would do in paintball, especially in the short amount of time.”
