JACKSON, Mo. -- Most people wouldn't dream of letting their 15-year-old son run around shooting his friends. Jeff and Tina Rosanswank built a course for theirs to do it.

Saturday is the grand opening of SEMO Extreme Paintball just outside of Jackson, where groups of 10 to 20 people can buy some paintballs, rent a marker--the sport's name for a paintball gun--and capture a flag.

The Rosanswanks are leasing the building that used to house Southeast Missouri Baseball Academy on U.S. 61. They laid green turf, inflated obstacles and ordered loads of paintball gear. Saturday, they will officially open the 120-by-90-foot building for public play.

"It's not too big," said Kody Standridge, Tina Rosanswank's 15-year-old son. "It's just the right size to play a lot of people."

Standridge, his older brother Kaleb, 18, and a few other boys from the area have been into paintball for about four years. They play as the team Jackson Intensity. Up until now, they've had to travel to practice--usually to Blodgett, Mo.'s Paintball Planet. They played on outdoor courses in dirt and rocks, but now they've got their own turf--the only indoor turf arena between Chicago and Memphis, Tenn.

'You can go all day'

The indoor course has heating and air conditioning, so play won't stop because temperatures change. Paintballs can freeze in cold weather, making it dangerous to shoot them. Snow, ice or rain also raise the risk of injury.

"You'd have to go in every 20 to 30 minutes," Kaleb Standridge said. "This you can go all day."

The Rosanswanks hope SEMO Extreme can soon host tournaments and attract experienced, talented players. They also hope to entice more locals to play the game.

"There's a huge community out there. ... We want to bring a high-quality field to Cape and Jackson because that's where the population is," Jeff Rosanswank said Wednesday night as his two stepsons, Kody and Kaleb, and two of their teammates suited up for a test run of the course.

The boys put on face masks, padded pants and gloves.

"If they all wear their gear, it's pretty hard to get hurt," Tina Rosanswank said.

She comes from a nursing background and won't even let her boys float the Current River without her. After going to California to watch some teams play, she found out paintball can be a fun and safe sport.

Melonie Reed's 15-year-old son Logan Reed plays paintball with the other boys.

"It's all I hear, is 'paintball,'" she said. Logan turns 16 next week, "then he can drive himself out here."

"It's something for the kids to do, and they could be doing a whole lot worse," Reed said.

People coming just for fun won't have to have the Kevlar-reinforced pants or need to know the difference between "Snake 1" and "Snake 2" (ways to identify blow-up obstacles on the field). Many people just wear jeans with sweat pants over them for protection. The face masks and markers can be rented at the facility or people can bring their own paintball gun.

"Marker," the Rosanswanks say in unison when someone calls it a gun. "We call it a marker," Jeff said. "Not a gun."

Paintball has a negative image for some people because of vandals who use the equipment to deface property.

"That's not true paintball," Kody said. "Pretty much the entire community frowns on that."

Paintball, the boys said, is a big game of capture the flag. Team members start at gates on opposite sides of the course. After a countdown, the game begins with the "breakout" where the players scatter and take cover.

"As soon as you hear 'go,' you can just take off," Kody said.

The paintballs come in different grades for different levels of play. Industry standards dictate players are not allowed to bring their own paintballs because of foul play. The ones that SEMO Extreme will sell to the public are a grade just below tournament grade. They break easily and splatter a runny paint over the surface.

"By the way, it's washable, biodegradable and nontoxic," Jeff Rosanswank said as Tina broke a ball in her hand and smeared bright green paint over her palms.

A few things still have to be finished, like erecting a net to protect the insulation inside the arena and filling in the 10-inch dip this month's ice storms left at the entrance.

They hope to also open two outdoor courses this summer.

"I think they've got a good thing going," said Talley Haines, who used to occupy the building. He's moving his baseball academy to Cape Girardeau to be closer to the ball fields.

"It's something else to keep the kids busy and give them something to do," he said.

But according to those who play it, there is nothing else to do.

"I went and tried it one time at Blodgett, and it's just an addiction," said Blake Oldson, 18, who also plays on Jackson Intensity.