Colts took a break from practicing to go paintballing yesterday

The Indianapolis Colts yesterday wrapped up their OTAs, but they did so by going paintballing.

Instead of taking the practice field for what would have been the team’s final OTA session, head coach Chuck Pagano decided that some teambuilding was fitting in advance of next week’s mandatory mini-camp, after which the players will be off until training camp.

So they played paintball.

They broke up into different teams, ensuring that players didn’t break up into their respective position groups but rather get to know their other teammates better too.

“[The idea was] team building, camaraderie — instead I got bunch of welts,” Pagano said at last night’s Town Hall, according to the Indianapolis Star’s Zak Keefer. “It was a great opportunity for our guys to get off campus, do something a little bit different.”

Pagano joked that he was just happy no one was injured: “I was praying, down on my hands and knees, nobody turn an ankle.”

It’s not uncommon at all for a coach to pull an audible like this, whether it be in OTAs or in training camp, and do some teambuilding activities. Paintballing is a good way to do that, as it allows the players to work together as a group while trying to win - all the while having fun.

That’s a pretty cool idea - and for those wondering why the Colts gave up a practice to do so, one offseason practice isn’t going to make much different in how the Colts’ 2017 goes. There are other areas of the team that Pagano oversees too, including camaraderie, and that’s what he choose to focus on yesterday. The Colts will be back on the practice field next week for their mandatory mini-camp.