Burton Albion Football Club

First team put through paces at Stafford Barracks

The first team squad were put through their paces on Monday at an army style assault course at Stafford Barracks. In a day put together by Paratroopers LCpl Nickels and Pte Lake based in Colchester, the squad were worked hard in a series of tasks which were designed to both increase fitness and develop teamwork skills between the players.

LCpl Nickels and Pte Lake have both completed tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, and aimed to instil some of the teamwork skills of the armed forces on to the players. 

The team started off with a series of light warm-ups and then paired off to start a boxing exercise. This was followed by a trim trail obstacle course really and then a stretcher exercise took place which helped to develop teamwork and mental strength. 

The determination shown by the players was echoed by the Brewers manager Gary Rowett who said, 'No matter how tired they are, it doesn't matter how fatigued, or how mentally tired they are, they just keep going and that's what it's all about.' 

Following a short break the squad were split up into different teams and embarked on several command tasks which were designed to further foster team spirit. 

Major Jimmy Lamb, Army Recruiting Officer for Staffordshire and the Black Country said, 'Much of the activity the Burton Albion team have gone through is exactly the same as new recruits undertake in the first weeks of training. Last year more than 105 young people joined the Army from the Burton on Trent area, and this year this figure is likely to top 90. It is a great career with good pay, benefits and the opportunity to learn new skills and earn qualifications, and although we don't expect any Burton Albion players to join, we hope we will have given them a taste of the Army which they can talk about in the future.'