Week-long class spends time outdoors:
By: ASHLEY BIUNDO SPORTS EDITOR:
Camping and Floating is a one credit PE Class than can be taken in either semester. Only being a week long, it is an off-campus class.
Camping and Floating Instructor, Colin Maag takes his students to Onondaga Cave State Park in Leesburg, Missouri. He spends a weekend with them, showing students how to camp, float, and survival skills. Student Amanda Vandenhoek said the class looked like the most intriguing and fun class with the bonus of being a weekend trip.
Students learn teamwork, Maag says. “They learn safety, safety, and safety,” he said. “We really stress safety skills and sometimes we have very terrible weather and just surviving the experience is just a personal milestone.”
Student Mike Bellamy says, “I want to learn more knowledge and confidence so I can take my kids camping.”
Although students learn safety and teamwork, there are other benefits to taking this class according to Maag. He hopes his students can learn, not just more knowledge, but confidence.
“I have people that take this class with a wide range of skills, ranked beginners as well as people that have a lot of experience under their belt.,” Maag said. “For the person that already has a lot of required skills, hopefully there is some new knowledge that they will walk away with that will feel as valuable as well as a beginner.”
Maag has high expectations for his students. They can expect learning low impact camping skills with a PE class that requires exercise, Maag said. “They can expect to learn proper paddling technique at a good foundation upon which to continue their paddling career,” he said. “They are going to learn how to read the water and use the river to the best advantage. They are going to learn how to get along with other people, and for some people that can be a challenge.”
