Page 205 - MBS 2022/23

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The year has been an extremely eventful and successful period for the Football Club. An amazing Training Camp in Canada preceded the team lifting the Massey Division 2 Trophy in May 22. This was then followed by a great start to life back in Massey Division 1, leaving us in a great position to avoid relegation and a spot in the Semi-Final of the Woolwich Cup for the first time in well over a decade.
The club continues to actively recruit footballers as they transition into the RAPTC and have welcomed several talented players this year. Unfortunately, this coincides with saying farewell to SSgt (SSI) P Strickleton and Sgt (SI) A Posey as they move on to pastures new. The club would like to wish them and their families all the best for the future.
The 2022 Season Finale –
Sgt (SI) M Bolstridge
WO2 (QMSI) Chris ‘Woody’ Wood expertly navigated a mountain of post COVID-19 bureaucracy to create experiences that will long live in the memories for all involved.
The first part of the camp was hosted by the Canadian Defence Force (CDF) in Kingston, the home of the CDF Officer Academy and a 3-hour drive east of Toronto.
We spent four memorable days training with the Kingston Knights, a newly formed ‘Soccer Team’ for serving members of the local Canadian Units. The freshly named ‘RAP’ TC coaching team delivered multiple coaching and recovery sessions to embed some British Football principles into the Knights. The Four days culminated in a friendly fixture between the two clubs with the RAPTC coming out comfortable winners.
RAPTC FOOTBALL
WO2 (QMSI) D Gledhill RAPTC
We then travelled to the bustling streets of Toronto. First on the agenda was a Boris Bike Nav-ex to the training location, a 4G pitch in the heart of Toronto. Our President, Maj (MAA) Lee Davison, then dusted off the cobwebs to deliver a great training session followed by an evening recovery session.
For our remaining time in the City, the coaching reigns were handed over to ex-professional footballer and Scotland International Steven Caldwell. Big Stevie is an old friend of Woody who kindly offered to host, coach us and arrange our remaining fixtures; against some much
tougher opposition! Although we didn’t win the games, the exposure clearly paid dividends on return to the UK.
Highlights in Toronto included VIP treatment for the team at a Toronto FC MLS fixture (Thanks Stevie) and multiple photo opportunities that just simply couldn’t be missed.
On return from Canada we emphatically brushed aside the AGC with a 6-1 win to move to second place. The training camp had clearly worked – we were scoring goals for fun and looked ‘soccer fit.’ This set up a winner takes all tie against a familiar face – Capt Jay Essam’s Army Air Corps side.
10 days after landing from Toronto we produced our best performance of the season to beat the AAC 5-0. We were the Champions, which led to amazing celebrations and capped, without a doubt, the most enjoyable period of my career to date.
WO2 (QMSI) Chris ‘Woody’ Wood with his pal, Stevie Caldwell
RAPTC FC at Toronto FC
Massey Division 2 Champions