Sam versus Ropes Course

HARVEY — Teaching Family Homes held a special ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday to introduce their new ropes course.

After about five years of planning and fundraising, the course was finished and ready for climbers to tackle. Program manager Mike Smith says there isn’t just a physical benefit to taking on the course.

“It’s a real self–esteem and confidence builder. You learn to trust the equipment that you’re using,” said Smith.

The course has many different elements that vary in difficulty, but ABC 10’s Sam Ali gave it a shot. First, he began getting strapped in with the help of volunteers from Teaching Family Homes. And once his helmet on, it was time to go up. Then, it was time to try the railroad tracks.

“It’s a series of small bridges that they have to negotiate and it’s not very stable so balance is the key there,” Smith said.

Next up was the jungle gym which was pretty easy after getting used to everything else. Finally, it was the last stage of the course that he was looking forward to the most.

“There’s a 200–foot zip line, which is kind of the icing on the cake. It really is a great ride from the top. You zip from about 30 feet off the ground, right down the 200 feet into the woods and you’re brought back down safely from there,” said Smith.

If you would like to try the course yourself, contact Teaching Family Homes to book a reservation.