Northern Virginia paintball lost one of its brightest stars when, shortly after the World Cup, KJ of Pev's Outcast passed away. Taken well before his time after a long and pitched battle with Leukemia, KJ was a paintball player through and through. Throughout the final few months of his heroic fight for his life, KJ lived and breathed the competitive sport of paintball by working at the local paintball store and playing as often as time, money and health allowed with the paintball team that loved him, Outcast. A testament to the amount of himself he poured into his team, as he was in the hospital, Outcast, spurred to greatness by the struggle of their teammate, placed higher than ever before and made their first podium finish, a third place novice trophy at the Philadelphia Open, and dedicated it to him. According to his teammates, Us ultimate goal for the 2003 season was to play one game at World Cup, and win it. Devoting himself to this goal with more devotion and dedication than most teenagers can muster, KJ made himself strong enough to travel to Florida with his team and, in the final paintball game he would ever play, personally hung the flag and won the game. In passing, KJ leaves a hole in the Outcast, Pev's and Virginia paintball family that is exponentially larger than his living body. With enough heart to power his entire team and a soul strong enough to endure an epic battle with death in order to play the game he loved, the hole KJ leaves in paintball is the size of his heart, not the size of his mortal body, and it is for his heart that he will be remembered by us all, who were privileged enough to know him.

-Joshua D. Silverman
WWW.PB2x.com