Members of the University of Texas at El Paso men’s basketball team and Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 52nd Air and Missile Defense, get “smoked” – physically exhausted – in between obstacles at Abernethy Park Dec. 27. Photo by Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery.
UTEP basketball team visits Bliss, tackles obstacle course
Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery, 11th ADA Bde. Public Affairs
University of Texas at El Paso men’s basketball team players and coaches visited Fort Bliss Dec. 27 to experience a unique kind of mental and physical conditioning never before seen on their daily practice schedule.
Court drills were replaced with belly crawling and rope climbing as 14 UTEP players and their four coaches, along with Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 52nd Air and Missile Defense, and other units stationed here, arrived at Abernethy Park for a workout on the Air Assault Obstacle Course and Rappel Tower.
The University of Texas at El Paso Men’s basketball team players and coaches visited Fort Bliss Dec. 27 for a workout on the Air Assault Obstacle Course. Photo by Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery.
The course, made up of nine confidence-building stations, tested the heart and muscle of players, coaches and Soldiers alike, all of whom air assault rappel masters additionally fatigued with log lifts, push ups, bear crawls and flutter kicks in between each obstacle.
“This (course) is no joke,” said Mike Babul, UTEP assistant coach. “I was dead (afterward). The duck walks killed me.”
The idea to come to Fort Bliss to train like the military originated from talks between Fort Bliss military leaders and Tony Barbee, UTEP head basketball coach, who was the guest speaker during a ceremony for lieutenants graduating from Basic Officers Leader Course Class 09-07 last month at Soldier Hall.
Soldiers from 5-52nd AMD stretch out with UTEP men’s basketball team players before beginning the Air Assault Obstacle Course and Rappel Tower at Abernethy Park Dec. 27. Photo by Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery.
Barbee said he viewed the morning’s training as having the potential to be a great team-building activity for his players and coaches while offering them something far from their routine to get excited about.
“This gets them away from the court and shows them a different side of life,” said Barbee. “(The course) also toughens them up a bit and, hopefully, brings our team together.”
For one UTEP guard, the visit provided him with a more informed insight into how the military conducts their version of practice.
“Life in the military is tough,” said Gabe McCully, after dragging himself face-down in the sand underneath several feet of barbed wire. “I never thought it’d be this hard until I experienced it.”
Pfc. Arteshia Washington, Fort Bliss dental care specialist, rappels down the Air Assault Tower Dec. 27 at the Air Assault Obstacle Course and Rappel Tower. Photo by Sgt. Jonathan Montgomery.
Following the obstacles, participants received hands-on instruction on how to secure a rappel seat around their waists in order to safely descend the 50-foot monument.
By properly applying their “brake hand” and assuming an “L-shaped” figuration on the way down, the players, coaches and Soldiers took turns negotiating the air assault tower.
“This is a change of pace for us, and it’s fun,” said Pearson Smith, UTEP guard and former Bliss Soldier who served with 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air and Missile Defense, from 2001 to 2004. “If you want to try stuff you’ve never done before, try this.”
From the Soldiers’ perspective, having the UTEP men’s basketball team visit here to work out alongside the military promoted team bonding not just between the players, but also among the servicemembers.
“This was an opportunity for (the players and coaches) to see exactly how we train every day,” said Pfc. Arteshia Washington, Fort Bliss dental care specialist.