Game on as Invictus athletes step up training
THE training being undertaken by Townsville’s serving and ex- serving Defence personnel selected for the 2018 Invictus Games is starting to intensify.
Chris Williams has served in the Australian Defence Force for the past nine years and was chosen to coach the wheelchair basketball team after a competitive process.
The team will head to a training camp in Sydney next month, where they will hone their skills for the fierce competition they’ll face in October.
Mr Williams said he loved watch- ing his team members’ progress.
“My favourite thing about coaching has been seeing the difference in the guys even from starting the training camps in February,” he said
“They got to a point in their lives where they’ve lost that ability to compete or even play in a team sport so through the adaptive sports program within Defence which is both for serving and former serving, it gives them an opportunity to come back and start playing integrated.
“It’s bringing people’s personality back, it’s giving them a game environment to get that camarad- erie back that they thought they had lost … I enjoy seeing people develop back into their former selves of what they were.
“It’s that sort of thing I enjoy, giving back and watching them use what we’re giving and then getting more and more involved locally.”
Last week the team held a specialist basketball training session.
The athletes also participated in a free local parkrun at Aplins Weir.
Mr Williams said he believed sport played an important role in the healing process for current and former ADF personnel.
“To use sport as a rehabilitation tool, it’s something that more and more people are taking on board especially in Australia,” he said.
“Armies throughout the world as well are seeing that sport is a good way, veterans can integrate back into life.”
The Invictus Games is an international sporting event for serving and former serving Defence personnel that will be held from October 20- 27 in Sydney. The Australian Defence Force and RSL are supporting the combined teams to compete at the games.
There are 72 Australians and 500 international athletes from 18 nations competing in Sydney.