Sports school | “I was in pain all the time” – William Alatalo knows what everyday life in the army is at its harshest

Sports school a car athlete who served in the previous arrival batch and returned home at the end of March William Alatalo knows which basketball league the Finnish star of the NBA Lauri from Markka waiting in Santahamina.

Markkanen and the other recruits deepen their knowledge of the soldier’s skills at a fast pace. The first days of conscript service are full of military training.

“Especially at the beginning, there was quite a lot to do all the time. At that time, the intention was to be at the Sports School and go through things so that there would not be a lot of work left behind,” describes Alatalo.

“The forest camps are pretty much the same as in the standard unit. They are just as difficult, and we have to be there almost as much. There is no easy way out of them.”

Alatalo finds camp life reasonably tough.

“Of course it doesn’t seem so bad to an athlete.”

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“Especially at the beginning, there was quite a lot to do all the time.”

Markkanen arrived in Finland after the Utah Jazz’s regular season ended. Alatalo was in a similar situation: the competition season ended in September and the army started in October.

“It went well, and when I actually start driving in March, yes [armeija] it didn’t bother me much during the season,” he says.

And when the daily rhythm finally settles down, sports school students also have time for training.

“Half a day, from early in the morning to twelve, was time to train. From twelve to five in the evening or in the evening was military training, the number of which decreased quite a lot in the barracks. That was patched up in these forest camps.”

Alatalo, who turns 21 on Wednesday, had health-related problems in the army.

“I was in pain all the time: I was in pain for three or four months in six months. I wasn’t really healthy there at any point,” he says.

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“I wasn’t really healthy there at any point.”

Lower house says that the symptoms appeared through the service.

“Every morning when you woke up, it felt like there was some kind of problem with the indoor air, when the oxygen wasn’t flowing. That was the biggest problem for me and I felt like I couldn’t do anything when I was in pain all the time,” he says.

“By the way, I didn’t have any major problems. Actually, I did my job quite well there and I was happy to leave after six months.”

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The conscripts of the sports school create throughout their service time with the help of a personal training plan – at least on paper. In practice, however, the time in the army did not go exactly according to Alatalo’s expectations.

“Complying with physical training was quite far from what I assumed I would be able to do. But when you were in pain all the time, it’s not really useful to do it,” he says.

Alatalo did a quarter or at most a third of the normal amount of physical training. A light pounding workout doesn’t really raise the heart rate, and intensive training can’t be done if you’re half fit.

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“It felt like there was some problem with the indoor air when the oxygen wasn’t flowing.”

Reserve Having enjoyed the glare of the sun for a few weeks, Alatalo fortunately feels the importance of the mental side. He kept his cool by practicing on the simulator.

“For me, physical condition alone is not as decisive as, say, in some athletics. Physical training was quite scarce, and so was the condition. I felt like I couldn’t get oxygen when I walked up the stairs.”

Javelin thrower Janne Läspä criticized the conditions of his conscript service in January.

Alatalo, who served in the Kaartin Jääkäririkmenti in the same arrival batch, recently put his spoon in the same soup on Twitter.

Downstairs by Läspä told his story harshly, but truthfully. Lower house told about his illnesses and was of the opinion that sports teams are harmful to a sports career.

“I didn’t get any feedback from the army, and I don’t think I said very harshly. Läspä said a little harsher and I kind of followed along, but nothing was said about it. Yes, they treat everyone equally well”, says Alatalo now.

“Anyway, I tweet a little about what I want anyway, and I haven’t usually thought much about the penalties.”

Read more: Spearman Janne Läspä’s criticism of the army gets support: “Janne speaks quite harshly, but he speaks the truth nonetheless”

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“Yes, they treat everyone just the same.”

Getting to know each other Alatalo considers it a good thing for top athletes in other sports. The army brought good friends, sparked conversations and diversified training.

“Sometimes I did the same kind of training as athletes from another sport. As a motorsport athlete, it’s good to do all kinds of versatile things, when this is such a versatile sport.”

“I learned quite a lot and there were almost ten athletes from different sports in the same room. It’s a great asset and I have nothing but positive things to say,” he continues.

In January, Alatalo said on Twitter that he did not find enough money to compete in the F3 series and added that Formula 1 is no longer just a dream. Now he says his goal is in the Le Mans Prototype or LMP class track cars.

“The purpose is to run tests and races with LMP2. Everything is a bit open. Actually, those tests are almost 100% certain, but whether I will race is not yet clear,” says Alatalo.

“I’m trying to find a budget and a good team for it. Next after that [luokka] is, however, a hypercar, or LMP1, and once you get there, you’re basically a professional in motorsport. It’s a long-term goal.”