We recently snuck Caitlin Murphy into an intro clinic organized with several teens from the Hutton Settlement Childrens Home for Channel One News. The result just ran this morning and is now online along with some extra behind the scenes! Take a look below.
I'd say it's fairly well accepted across the spectrum that running kids through ropes course programs and obstacle courses of various kinds is fantastic for building confidence, teamwork, and physical strength.
Here at the gym we do that EVERY day! Courses are so much fun :)
Our first obstacle course challenge was a great success! Familiar faces as well as those new to us gathered on Saturday March 13, filling the gym to participate in the event--either by testing their athletecism, or being audience to those who did. For each group we arranged three obstacle courses of varying difficulty, granting three tries on each course for the kids, and two tries on each course for the adults. The courses included movement specific challenges, time penalties for failures, climbs, swings, balances, and jumps--all with the added danger of trecherous pools of lava. (No one sustained serious injury by the lava.) Competitors, child and adult alike, exhibited fine sportsmanship, maintaining a positive and supportive environment for their peers throughout the challenges.
We'd like to extend a thank-you to everyone who joined us for the day, including sincere gratefulness to all of those who donated. You are the reason we're able to continue to improve the gym and offer such events. These are the things that make our community thrive and grow, as was proven by the overwhelming camaraderie of the day.
Following are the top results for each course and overall:
I had a fantastic time during the class – I was a novice, and we went over tucking and rolling as well as speedily and safely vaulting over large objects. We practiced each movement until it became familiar, then moved onto another, slightly more challenging one. I leaped. I balanced. I crouched. I jumped. Throughout it all, Brandee, the beginners’ coach, gently corrected posture, went over the finer points of each movement, and emphasized control and focus. Like Yoda, except built like an Amazon. With a mohawk. And not green.
