In partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project, ASF has designed a comprehensive health and wellness program to support our wounded troops. The program includes a series of experiential workshops and events that are intended to both introduce new participants to the world of adaptive outdoor sports and to provide returning participants the opportunity to enhance their skills and interests. The goal is to provide wounded warriors with experiences that improve their health and wellness over the long process of healing. These events will expose them to healthy life skills and opportunities that they can explore on an ongoing basis in their local communities.
The Warriors in Motion program also includes the signature events that we’ve done at ASF in the past, the winter learn to ski and ride weekend in January, the summer lake event in July/August, and the women’s weekend in June. These events are primarily intended to attract new participants into ASF and WWP outdoor sports, though we also welcome back previous participants.
New to ASF this year are workshops in Applied Coaching and Teaching (ACT); Sports, Outdoor Activity and Recreation (SOAR); and Instructor Training Courses (ITC). The ACT workshops focus on learning how to coach others in an outdoor setting, with particular focus on how to coach and mentor fellow warriors and people with disabilities. The SOAR programs focus on learning technical skills in outdoor sports, especially in adaptive outdoor sports. The ITC program is intended to train participants who are interested in volunteering to teach others here at ASF or in the ASF winter or summer signature events for wounded warriors.
The concept is that warriors who have experienced the benefits of healthy living through outdoor sports and recreation will continue to explore these activities and lifestyle changes in their civilian lives, and perhaps even learn to share these benefits with others in a coaching role.
Each workshop includes basic information on nutrition, fitness, mind-body connections, as well as adventure-learning activities to enhance group interaction, relationship building, and the overall being-in-nature experience. To date, we’ve conducted courses entitled, “Introduction to Outdoor Education,” “Introduction to Kayaking and Canoeing,” and “Psychological Basis of Outdoor Activity.” We’ll also have workshops on adaptive biking, career opportunities, strength training for personal wellness, and sports nutrition and kinesiology.
ASF was one of a few adaptive sports programs nationwide to receive funding from the Wounded Warrior Project to develop and conduct regional health and wellness programs such as our Warriors in Motion. We are excited to be a part of a health and wellness program that provides comprehensive and ongoing support for our wounded troops, and introduces them to the various benefits of a healthy outdoor lifestyle.