Page 184 - AGC-Journal-2016

AGC JOURNAL 2016

AGC Basketball Georgina Sweeney in action

Canada 2016

By Lance Corporal Georgina Sweeney

Twenty six members of the
AGC Men’s and Women’s

basketball teams hit the
road for a tour of Canada
to mark the start of training
ahead of the 2016 Inter-Corps
Championship.

Anxious Beginnings

When I heard about the
opportunity to get involved with
the tour, I jumped at the chance
to be a part of experiencing the
sport in a completely different
environment. Having only been
involved with Basketball since
the Inter-Corps Championship in
November 2015, I assumed going to
Canada and getting more exposure to the
sport could only be a good thing.

Fast-forward to May 2016 after having a
few technical difficulties with the Electronic
Travel Application running ‘suicides’ (shuttle runs back and
(note to self: do not leave forth between all of the lines on the court)
anything until the last minute) it was a which as well as providing a fiendish
Ithan Remy at the Tip Off
relief to finally be sitting on the plane at warm-up, are an extra incentive to never
Gatwick Airport. I was a little nervous, but miss an easy lay-up. With the cobwebs
ready for the adventure we were about to dusted off, everybody was excited for game
undertake. one of the tour, but first we had a day to
acclimatise and take in the sights.
Starting Strong
Serenading The Locals
On our first morning in Canada, we had a
pre-breakfast training session at the YMCA During our ‘down time’ in Montreal we
in Montreal. It was here that a newcomer chose to support some of the Canadian
to the team (although clearly not the basketball teams. Admittedly, we did this
sport) Private Daniel Macdonald impressed from afar whilst sampling some Molson
us with his ball handling skills. So much Canadian Cider and despite travelling
so, I watched on as the entire team picked over 3,000 miles we still discovered a
their jaws up from the floor. Coach Mark British themed pub called The Winston
Johnson was keen to get us in the spirit, Churchill. They say you can never have
beginning with some basic drills to dust too much of a good thing…I disagree.
off the cobwebs before we talked tactics. With photographic evidence filling in
The sports hall echoed with the threat of the blanks, I spent the evening as a

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