Page 50 - 4RA Regimental Journal 2019-2020

4th Regiment Royal Artillery Sport
Tuesday 27th April saw 4th Regi- ment RA British Army Warrior Fitness Team (BAWF) compete against teams from across 3rd (UK) Division in the first heats of this year’s competition. The event, hosted by 3rd Regiment RHA, saw ten members of the Fighting Fourth compete in five dif- ferent events in the hope of progressing to the finals.
Due to Covid, each team was unable to directly compete against each other. However, this did not stop the Fighting Fourth from maintaining a strong mind- set and achieving big numbers in each of the five events we completed in.
The first event, “maximal strength”, saw Sgt Middleton, Bdr Pierce, LBdrs McCann and McEnroe and Gnr Parkes aim to lift as much weight as possible in the allocated time. This was achieved through a 3-rep max (RM) lift, with each competitor’s score added together to make a total team weight. This event saw strong showing from Gnr Parkes, who managed a powerful 3 RM of 140kg, nearly 3 times her own body weight. In addition, Sgt Middleton man- aged the heaviest lift of the group with a 3 RM of 190kg.
Event 2, “speed endurance” was exactly as it said on the tin. Again, 5 members were chosen based on their strengths
BAWF
to compete, with W02 McGee, Bdr Pierce, LCpl Gurung and Gnrs Butler and Murphy stepping forward. For this heat, each competitor had to complete a 15-12-9 workout consisting of rowing, shoulder to overheads, burpees and shuttles carrying a 20kg power bag. This proved to be a difficult one, yet the team worked hard to get through it as quick as possible. W02 McGee finished strongly, coming in with the quickest time. Yet as the score was calculated with the overall time of the team, the whole team were encouraged along the way to finish fast.
Event 3, “muscular endurance” high- lighted the necessity of teamwork. Unlike the first two events, this one relied on all 5 members being syn- chronised in their movements. For this heat, Sgt Middleton, Bdr Pierce, LBdr Robertson, and Gnrs Butler and Mur- phy lined up on the 5 lanes and set out to complete a number of exercises, including push ups, pull ups, kettlebells swings and box jumps at different sta- tions along the way. In order to get to these stations however, all five com- petitors had to synchro walking lunge, with anyone out of sync awarding the whole team a 5-metre penalty. Again, teamwork was vital and good com- munication saw a strong performance throughout.
Event 4, “muscular endurance” was short, but definitely not sweet. LBdrs Robertson, McCann, McEnroe and Gnrs Butler and Parkes stepped up to compete, which saw each person aim- ing to achieve both a maximum dis- tance broad jump and 20 seconds max power output on a wattbike. Although the shortest heat, the 20 seconds on the wattbike felt like the longest, with each competitor unable to walk after their attempt. Strong
Event 5, “aerobic threshold” was the culmination of the BAWF event and for those that competed in it, the most challenging. WO2 McGee, Sgt Middle- ton, Bdr Pierce, LBdr Robertson and LCpl Gurung stepped up to the chal- lenge, which consisted of a 1 mile run, 2 20kg powerbag runs at 800 metres, bear crawls, leopard crawls and finally a 1 mile run. Each competitor worked extremely hard to get through this heat as a team, with a strong overall score at the end proving the hard work that went into it.
Overall, despite Covid restrictions and difficulties in the Fighting Fourths team coming together to train, the Regiment achieved an outstanding 2nd place fin- ish out of eight teams. With this score, the team can proudly continue onto the British Army Warrior Fitness Finals later in the year.
When I took over as ‘The Gaffer’ of 4th Regt RA football team early 2020, I noticed that there were some very talented players but no real team ethos. 4th Regt have had some good sides over the years so I know that we have it in our DNA to be a top side that can win trophies.
Before taking charge, I watched the first team play a match to see what this team was all about. It was clear that we needed go back to basics; being able to move around the pitch as a formation, as a team, pressing and defending as whole unit. Teamwork would be crucial to move the team forward and this was my first goal as the new coach.
The beauty of playing Regimental football is you never get the same side twice. I
Forever Football
Bdr Pearce
wanted to open up an opportunity for eve- ryone in the Regiment to try out. As long as they could play football, and had the right attitude, there was a place for them in the squad.
Our first game was against the Light Dra- goons on a windy 4G pitch in Catterick. We played a basic 4-4-2 and everything we worked hard on in training, we deliv- ered on the pitch. I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the lads and we won the game quite easily with everyone pulling together and having the discipline to do their job. The main thing that impressed me was how they worked as a team and got the attitude right from the off. A great start!
From this starting point we were looking good to go forward with confidence. We
had 3 friendlies organised, plus two cup matches and an inter Battery competition as well. Things were looking good for 4th Regt football, but COVID hit and stopped us in our tracks.
After a couple of months without train- ing or matches, we managed to organise a friendly away to AFC Harrogate when restrictions on grassroots football were lifted. We played a tried and tested 4-4-2 system and started well, but cracks began to appear as we stopped communicating effectively and playing as a team which ultimately led to a heavy defeat. We walked away disappointed with our approach to that game. Yet you have to learn from defeats to move forward. We recognised this and we spoke about it as team to see where we had gone wrong and what we would do about it.
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