Team effort builds an obstacle course

WASILLA — Wasilla High School’s JROTC celebrated the opening of the obstacle course opening on Thursday. The process up to the ribbon cutting ceremony was an obstacle course of its own: designed by WHS’s technical drafting students, funded by Career Technical Education (CTE), welded by Houston High students, supported by CHS generators, and built by WHS students, with Ed Tech Steve Krueger and Burchell High Construction Trades instructor Rob Whissler.

"This project began first and foremost because of the concerted support of our State Legislature who awarded the funds to activate the Air Force Junior ROTC here in Mat-Su," WHS principal Carol Boatman said during the ribbon cutting ceremony held in a downpour of rain in front of district and borough dignitaries. The course provides both a physical and mental challenge for students in and outside of JROTC.

With eight obstacles specifically designed to improve the JROTC cadet’s physical training, the course allows cadets to perform a range of interactive obstacles, raises their attentiveness, and hand-eye coordination.

The obstacles include the Swing Jump Stop, Easy Balancer, Incline Wall, Reverse Climb, Balancing Logs, Hip-Hip, Horizontal Later, and the Over Under. Wasilla’s AFJROTC and Colony’s AJROTC will be practicing on the course with the mission to gain skill and confidence, and of course, victory. Wasilla’s corp plans to hold a physical strength competitions between the different JROTC programs throughout the state in the fall and again in the spring.

“We wanted an obstacle course because it’s something kids don't normally get to do. Weight training, running, stairs, nothing challenges them physically like this will. When they think that they can’t do one of the obstacles is where the mental challenge comes in,” Senior Master Sergeant James “Scott” Walker said.

Sgt. Walker-who has been with the WHS JROTC program since its inception in 2011-, Major Kacey Ritchie and the WHS cadets’ vision came to reality with the help of the Mat Su Senior director of Career and Technical Education, Ray Depriest. When Depriest and his team found no outside group willing to take on the challenging course, they turned to the students for help.

The $65 thousand project began in WHS drafting teacher Ray Jensen's classroom. The advanced drafting students chosen to work on the project gained a variety of skills while working with multiple types of materials.

“I'm glad I had the opportunity to work on this project. It was incredible to see something that was on my computer screen just months ago now be a real thing,” drafting student Andrew DeArmond said.

From the computer screen, the obstacle course traveled to the hands of Randy Wolfe and Tyler Gilligan’s woodshop students who assisted the CTE team in the surveying and construction of the site.

“These students learned by doing. They took these plan sets and implemented them in an applied nature,” DePriest said.

CTE employee Steve Krueger said that the building of the obstacle course was one of the biggest challenges he has ever taken on before. He had to learn new skills from handling different tools to purchasing everything down to the nuts and bolts.

“That 15” log [the Swing Jump Start obstacle] over there sitting on three posts, no screws or anything. It’s Mortise and tenon. That was a little nerve wracking,” Krueger remembered as one of his most challenging tasks.

The course is now open to all teachers at WHS and their classes after going through demonstration training. Teachers are encouraged to use it for team building events or competitions.

“Long after the grass grows tall and the logs have met many hands, the story of the AFJROTC journey here at WHS will remain,”” Boatman said.

Steve Krueger laughed and said he wished he was a kid again. “This was the kind of thing I would have loved as a kid.”

Alanna Christianson and Shyanne Massie are Journalism II students and write for the WHS Warrior Word.