At Camp Olmsted, COPE stands for Challenging, Outdoor, Personal, Experience and it’s meaning coincides with a 16-element COPE course.

The idea came out of a conversation head coach Jim Penley had with his coaching staff early in the spring of 2022.

“We knew we had a lot of talent coming back with a veteran team, but we wanted to get them involved in some team-building opportunities,” Penley said. “This came up and I just loved the idea.”

The leaders for the day were instructors Tim Carpenter and Mike Triskett, both volunteers at Camp Olmsted and both experienced in instructing on the course.

Kris Bunk helps teammate Garrett Jensen on the rope swing element. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

“The COPE course is designed to teach team building,” Carpenter said. “It provides opportunities for individuals to search within themselves and the group they are in to work out a problem so the group or team finds success.”

“When this opportunity came up we just could not pass it up. These young men work extremely hard at our summer workouts and 7-on-7 drills. We thought this would be a fun way for them to do something as a team.” Penley said. “These guys have had quite a bit of success over the last few years and have been around some tremendous leaders on those teams. Some of the guys have seen a lot of playing time but have not been asked to lead; this will hopefully allow those guys to demonstrate their abilities to some of the younger players.”

As he watched his players head out to the course, Penley added, “our ultimate goal is to help these football players become better men and better dads someday. Hopefully what they learn today will help them accomplish that.”

Shawn Pascuzzi builds an elevated bridge for his teammates to cross. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

Logan Penley attempts to complete the tire swing element. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

Logan Penley shed blood for his teammates. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger