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The RAPTC Basketball Team (The Knights) embarked on an Overseas Sports Visit (OSV) to Fort Gregg- Adams, formerly known as Fort Lee, in Virginia, USA, organised and delivered by SSgt (SSI) Billy Tash in October 2023.
During our stay at Fort Gregg-Adams, the team engaged in planned and progressive training sessions tailored for all abilities on our team, which was led by the team’s head coach, the Corps SM at the base’s gymnasium. Thankfully, all the drills were basketball orientated, not marching specific. The team prepared diligently for the upcoming match against Fort Gregg- Adams US team. Moreover, the team also took advantage of our time in Virginia.
Culturally, the team participated in a battlefield tour through the Civil War battlefields and the Armoured Museum delivered by the camps local historian. An outreach project was administered to support the local community by utilising the ERI’s within the team to deliver a brief on injury reduction in sport and training before delivering a structured training session to the local high school students which culminated in a friendly fixture with the students. They obviously start playing basketball at a young age in the US, the highschoolers giving the team a great run, luckily for us we had the fitness to see the game out.
As a team we were lucky enough to be invited to William & Mary College, Williamsburg, VA, to watch a closed training session of the team in the Kaplan Arena before their season started. This was a great experience for our team to be able
RAPTC BASKETBALL TEAM
SSgt (SSI) W Tash RAPTC
to watch high level competitive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players (with some potentially drafted to the NBA) run through drills and play the game. We were invited on the court following the training session for a meet and greet and Q&A session about the intricacies of NCAA basketball.
Culturally the team seized the opportunity to visit Washington DC, which included tours of the monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the White House. In the evening, we had the privilege to attend a NBA game featuring the Washington Wizards.
Throughout the OSV, individual members of our team were honoured with accolades, highlighting their exceptional contributions to the team and OSV alike. Sgt Smith was voted by the team as the OSV Defensive Player and SSgt Robson clinched the OSV Most Valuable Player. Furthermore, SSgt Tash was bestowed with a Coin of Excellence by the Commander of Fort Gregg-Adams, recognising the time and effort he had put forth in delivering an OSV that had it all.
This experience not only allowed the RAPTC Knights to refine on-court skills but also fostered camaraderie and team cohesion among our players, laying a solid foundation as we approach the 2024 Army Basketball season. Culturally, it defined the revolutionary and civil wars and provided many examples of the importance between the two nations and what Churchill termed “The special relationship”.
Washington Monument
William and Mary University Closed Practice
Lincoln Memorial DC
Knights Fixture vs Fort Gregg-Adams
NBA Game – Washington Wizards