The Philippine Army Lady Troopers is not your regular volley ball team. Army soldiers and civilian players may have their own differences, but once they wear the same uniform, the game for the same goal begins.
Before the team was tagged with “Lady Troopers”, the founding members of the team were already playing as the Philippine Army Women’s Volleyball Team who were known to bag golds during the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) Olympics.
Being recognized as a tight competitor, the Philippine Army Women’s Volleyball Team’s impressive record paved way for an invitation to compete for the Shakey’s V-League in 2011 wherein the team was then named as the Philippine Army Lady Troopers.
The Lady Troopers were among the history makers in Filipino Sports. During the Philippine SuperLiga’s inaugural season in 2013, the Lady Troopers, playing as TMS-Philippine Army Lady troopers, were hailed champion upon winning both the All Filipino and Grand Prix conferences. From the last gold medal won by National Women’s team in the 1993 Southeast Asian Games, the Lady Troopers in their RC Cola-Army Troopers colors, brought another honor to the country as they victor in an Invitational game against Thailand team at the Philippine SuperLiga in 2016.
But among the trophies, their effort for spikes and blocks goes beyond the court. From the heart-throbbing game performances that initiates excitement to the Army personnel and civilian fans up to being deployed to Army units and other communities, the Lady Troopers are one the Army’s pillars in its Sports Development Program. Through Sports, the Lady troopers creates goodwill relationship bridges between the Soldiers and the community- the kind of relationship that started among the team.
During practice, previous team Coach Staff Sgt. Rico de Guzman and the soldiers put aside being a military personnel. They set their heads on the training but still keep the same heart-of-a-fighter whether in the battle field or inside the court.
On the other hand, former civilian athletes such as Rachel Anne Daquis and other star-player civilian athletes didn’t just develop their skills in the sport, they also appreciate the Soldiers athletes’ influence in discipline and the Army-kind of fighting spirit. Civilian athletes, such as Daquis who lived in the Army barracks for almost 8 years, treated the Army barracks as their new home. A home that molds their heart of soldier, willing to serve the country in building peace through their game.
But in every game comes a time out. In 2017, the Lady Troopers’ ablaze of spikes were halted as 10 of its Army Athletes stepped out of the court to perform their duty through a mandatory eight-month Candidate Soldier Course and two other prominent civilian athletes were ought to hang their uniforms.
However, in the midst of the team’s hiatus, their heart-of-a-fighter never died – their desire to continue the their fight for play and for peace inside and outside the court prevailed as they spiked again in the 2018 AFP-PNP-PCG Olympics as champions.
Previous Lady Troopers Coach Kungfu Reyes said, “We were no longer fighting with our bodies; we were just fighting with our hearts.” The Philippine Army Lady Troopers is one of the symbols of the Army - a modern fighter of peace, too agile to defeat.#
