FORT BLISS, Texas -- In 2015, 1st Lt. Antonia Pearse was assigned to provide public affairs support for the wounded warriors from the Warrior Transition Unit at Walter Reed, and she accompanied them to Fort Bliss, Texas, while they tried out for the Army Team for the Department of Defense Warrior Games. This year, Pearse has returned to Fort Bliss with the goal of competing in the 2016 DoD Warrior Games.
Pearse is training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in preparation for the 2016 U.S. Army Trials. More than 100 wounded, ill and injured Soldiers and veterans are currently at Fort Bliss to train and compete in a series of athletic events including archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair basketball. Pearse is training in all but the swimming and running events.
The Army Trials are conducted by the Army Warrior Transition Command, March 6-10, and will help determine who will get a spot on the 2016 Army Team for the DoD Warrior Games. Approximately 250 athletes, representing teams from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command and the British Armed Forces will compete in the DoD Warrior Games June 14-22 at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York.
The competition at West Point will be the seventh annual competition among wounded warriors from all branches of military service.
Pearse is very high on the value of adaptive sports. They help to restore your "sense of worth and remind you you're still you," she said.
The first adaptive reconditioning events she began to compete in were archery and shooting. She felt they gave her a purpose and motivation and reminded her that she is still capable of being functional. It was the mental adjustments to her existing injuries that encouraged her to attempt other sports, and she moved on to cycling, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.
Pearse noted how impressed she was by the spirit of cooperation among the athletes at the trials, especially since she hadn't meet most of them before. "Here you become friends in two minutes," she said.
Pearse noted the training at the Army Trials, including fitness training, has actually helped to improve her sleep. Like many injured Soldiers, sleep can sometimes be of low quality. She reported her quality of sleep had improved during the trials.
She wanted to remind everyone that the hardest step in fitness and training, not just for wounded or injured service members, is the first step. "The first step out the door is the hardest step," Pearse said. "Keep training even when it gets hard and discouraging, because it is the only way you get better."
Her long-term goals are to continue practicing air rifle and archery and possibly compete in future Paralympics or Invictus Games. Professionally, she hopes for a civilian career in graphic design and public affairs.
Her advice to her fellow competitors is to have confidence in what you are doing and be forward looking. "You can't change what's in the past," Pearse said. "You can only change what's in the future."
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