We recently returned from what we have been referring to as our 100 mile bike ride.  Our goal on this trip was to push students outside their comfort zones and squeeze them to find out what was inside.  We were incredibly impressed with the positive attitudes and good team work demonstrated by our students.  While only a handful of students were actually able to complete the full 100 miles, every single student gave this challenge all that they had and they worked hard.  During this trip we introduced a concept of “Work Hard, Play Hard.”  I have seldom seen a group of students grasp a concept so quickly and naturally.  While riding bikes our students worked and pushed themselves beyond their limits.  Once we arrived at camp the majority of the students were helpful and happy and played like little kids at a playground.  It helped that we actually were camping in play grounds along the way.  Multiple staff talked about how they were impressed with so many of the interactions and ability our students have to form sincere and enduring relationships.  The following is a quote from one of the coaches who lead a group of boys who named their team “Humble Gumble.”

“Humble Gumble as a group made sure that this experience was about the process and not the task. More...

Every once in a while I will hear something that probably seems obvious or unimportant to most, but it speaks to me on a very intense and personal level.  I recently had this experience during a staff meeting as our CEO was taking about the growth of CALO.  As he was talking he mentioned that a company is either growing or it is dying.  That concept struck me quite profoundly.  Grow or die.  It seems a little intense and even melodramatic, and at the same time makes so much sense.  With that concept on my mind I decided to do some soul searching of my own and looked for areas in my life that were too comfortable, areas where I had room for growth.  This has been a difficult and rewarding process for me.

Our students at CALO are being encouraged to go through a similar process in recreational therapy.  We recognize that most students are here at CALO because they spend too much time in either their comfort zone or the danger zone.  One important concept they will be encouraged to internalize and benefit from is this: Progress only happens in the growth zone.  They will experience this as they learn to set goals and work towards achieving them. 

CALO students are currently training and preparing to go on a 100 mile bike ride.  This will take place at the end of March.  Students will pack their camping gear and hit the Katy Trail with their own personal goals to cover 100 miles in three days.  In preparation for this great accomplishment students are running, biking and swimming to get their bodies in shape and ready for the vigorous workout they will soon complete. It has been a great experience already to watch these talented youth exceed their own expectations in training as they set goals, disrupt their comfort zones and learn added self worth as they do things they didn’t think were possible.