Fort Novosel, Ala.- Each year, the best of the best Army athletes compete for a spot on All Army Sports teams and the 2023 Men’s basketball team is leading example of that.
The team has been set and preparations are underway for the Armed Forces tournament held the first week of Nov. on Fort Moore. In preparation for the tournament, the team traveled to Enterprise to compete in an exhibition match hosted by Enterprise State Community College.
Head Coach Sergeant First Class Ronald Bartley Jr. explained how the team is assembled and the work that goes into training these service-member athletes.
“We will be competing against All-Navy, All-Marines, and All-Air Force. The tournament is seven days long and we play each other twice with the championship is that Sunday. The two best records play each other for the championship.
Coach Bartley is a seasoned coach and competitor himself when it comes to All-Army Sports.
“This is my fifth-year coaching, second year as the head coach, and I played nine years as a player.” He explains.
All competitors and coaches are required to be active-duty service members, which creates a unique experience bringing athletes from all branches of the U.S. Army onto one team.
“Everybody here is active duty. I am a 91X-ray which is a maintenance control sergeant.” Bartley explains “We are from all over. I am stationed in Korea. Some are stationed at Fort Cavazos in Texas, we have some from New York, just all over.”
The tournament is held at Fort Moore, Georgia and open to the public. Spectators are in for a unique experience seeing athletes from across the Armed Forces.
“I got 22 invites and 17 played college basketball. All played ball at several universities so you see a lot of competition for a mid-major division 1 tournament. Playing every single day is hard- NCAA doesn’t do it, NBA doesn’t, playing a game every single day for seven days straight is outstanding.”
Spectators can cheer on the All-Army team starting Oct. 30 at 12:30pm at the Smith Fitness Center on Fort Moore. All games are free to attend and a great way to see high caliber athletes while supporting our nation’s finest.
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