Obstacle Course Readies Students for Youth Academy

Law Enforcement and Personal Training students from two Academy locations recently collaborated in a training exercise to benefit both programs. Personal Training students designed an obstacle course for their Law Enforcement counterparts that is similar to the one used in the Suffolk County Police Department’s Youth Academy, a program many students want to participate in this summer. Training fellow students to prepare for this course provided those studying to be personal trainers with the opportunity to treat participants as clients. The Eastern Long Island Academy of Applied Technology is the career and technical education component of Eastern Suffolk BOCES (ESBOCES) with campuses in Oakdale, Bellport, and Riverhead.

Law Enforcement students travelled from the Oakdale location to the Bellport campus where the Personal Training Program is housed and the obstacle course was created. The course consisted of jumping rope, performing push-ups, scaling a wall, dragging weights with a tow rope to simulate pulling a victim to safety, performing CPR on a dummy, fighting off a perpetrator, making a quick arrest, and other physical challenges. All the while, student personal trainers shouted encouragement to keep participants moving at top speed. Law Enforcement students worked with their peers in the Personal Training Program for most of the year to improve their fitness levels and prepare for this event.

The event also provided for cross-collaboration among many programs, supplying students with realistic industry-related experiences -- Carpentry students built the wall for the obstacle course and Professional Photography students documented great moments, as did TV Production students. The ESBOCES Food Service Special Career Education Program prepared healthy meals and beverages for everyone. The Special Career Education programs equip special needs students with skills that may aid them in securing entry-level employment in specific industries. Personal Training students also took students with special needs through the course, as they’ve learned to work with people of all ages, those with physical limitations, and developmental needs. “Everyone came out of this event a winner,” said Personal Training Teacher Jonathan Audiino. “While the project was conceptualized to benefit the Personal Training and Law Enforcement programs, students from numerous classes used this opportunity to engage in project-based learning.”