When he’s not sending out all-school email blasts taking pictures during Morning Ex, or completing any of his other seemingly countless Parker tasks, Nick Saracino – Parker’s Director of Communications for the past 17 years – can be found in Chicago’s southern suburbs, using souped-up blasters to pelt people with Nerf darts.

Saracino is a self-proclaimed “blaster enthusiast” with a passion for all things Nerf and Nerf-blaster. Additionally, Saracino belongs to Chicago Nerf Wars, a citywide hobby group with members ranging in age from middle school to adulthood with a mission of bringing together blaster enthusiasts.

According to Saracino, Nerf blasters were a significant part of his upbringing in the suburbs of Detroit, but his interest dwindled with age. It wasn’t until a few years ago that he rediscovered his passion.

“This was something we did all the time – play Nerf Wars in the house and outside,” Saracino said. “Now, walking down the toy aisle as an adult, I was like, ‘Dude – these blasters have come a long way.’ So I brought them home, started tinkering, and eventually I just became hooked.”

Upon his reintroduction to Nerf Blasters, Saracino – like many other serious blaster-enthusiasts – developed an interest in modification and improvement, seeking to push the toys beyond their manufactured standards.

Saracino learned to modify and tweak blasters from watching YouTubers like Alice Coatduck and spending time on various online forums, like Reddit’s r/nerf. Saracino said, “Now, a grown man who starts playing with toys realizes, with a little know how — changing springs and using stuff from Lowes and hardware stores — you can make a blaster that was intended to shoot darts at 70 feet-per-second shoot at 150 feet-per-second.”

Saracino’s fascination with modified blasters eventually led him to acquire 3D-printed parts from China, recruiting the help of science teacher Xiao Zhang. Zhang grew up speaking Mandarin in Shanghai, China. “I was in China and got an email from him saying, ‘Can you help me out?”” Zhang said. “After that I called them up, and they said that they would print it out and deliver it to me at my hotel.”

Saracino’s heightened interest in Nerf Blasters guided him to find the Chicago Nerf Wars group online. In addition to a Facebook page and a digital network of like-minded individuals, the organization hosts monthly events for dues-paying members in Chicago’s southwest suburbs.

Saracino finds the group to be radically inclusive and welcoming, open to all with an interest. “It’s a place where all types of people are validated,” Saracino said. “This is a place where it doesn’t matter how fast you can run or how much you can lift. These are people who all do our own things – we all have jobs – but this is something we all rally around.”

Nick Robinson, Saracino’s colleague and Assistant Director of Communications, understands Saracino’s hobby to be a product of his general exuberance. “Nick is one of those people who, when he gets excited about something, he gets really excited about it,” Robinson said. “He’s incredibly high-energy and that makes being around him a lot of fun.”

The three-hour meet-ups, arranged by a leadership team within the group, usually take place in a forest preserve or large gymnasium. Upwards of 60 individuals typically attend, coming together to play Nerf-adapted versions of playground games like Capture the Flag. According to Saracino, participants are required to wear eye-protection due to the “overwhelmingly harmless,” nature of Nerf projectiles.

Saracino is further interested in an element of the group which extends beyond exercise and physical activity: community. “It gives me an opportunity to go once a month and just play,” Saracino said. “We all enjoy what we’re doing. It’s a place of belonging, a place of community – a place to go hang out with people with shared interests and just enjoy yourself.”

Last year, Saracino became interested in bringing his interests to the greater Parker community. After recruiting Robinson to help, Saracino put together a youth-oriented blaster event available for purchase at the Parker Auction.

“It was a lot of fun, and they got pretty wild,” Robinson said of the students who participated. “From the outside looking in, I’m sure it looked like pandemonium. There were thirty or so kids running around, yelling, and shooting darts at each other.”

Robinson elaborated upon his collaboration with Saracino. “Nick and I were in charge of putting the structure together for each of the games,” Robinson said. “But we got to play around too, and that was really fun. The kid in me always enjoys playing with a Nerf Blaster.”

Saracino seeks to pass on his youthful hobby to his daughters, Sophia and Francesca. The girls are at Parker in third grade and senior kindergarten, respectively.

While the family has Nerf Blasters at home and often play casually, Saracino says that he would look to introduce his daughters to more formal Nerf War gatherings as they get older. “It’s completely a genderless sport, and I would love for them to get out there and do it,” Saracino said. “Things have sort of come around. I loved it when I was a kid, and now I hope to pass it on to my kids.”