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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - More than 40 young men gathered at the Ramstein Air Base Youth Center to take part in one of the many programs offered through the center Oct. 30, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
According to Ramstein Teen Program coordinator Montaque Bussey, young men can face numerous adversities and obstacles as they transition into adulthood and they will need tools to fight and overcome those things.
This is where the Work Accountability Responsibility Respect Integrity Opportunity Represent (WARRIOR) Program comes in.
The WARRIOR Program, open to males ages 13-18, is a targeted effort designed to engage young men in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in discussion and activities that reinforce character, leadership and positive behavior.
“In life you’re going to have to face highs and lows and overcome battles,” said Bussey. “We want our young men to be able to channel negative energy from challenges and use it to create a positive outcome.”
The program, which is offered Friday nights at the youth center, consists of 4-hour sessions and uses basketball as a tool to bring young men together.
“Sports can teach you teamwork,” said Bussey. “Sports can also unite a community.”
Each night of the program, participants play multiple games of 5-on-5 team basketball before moving on to one of the 14 structured lesson plans taught by mentors from various organizations within the KMC. Lessons are taught after the basketball games and consist of group discussions and one-on-one question and answer time with mentors. Topics include self-esteem, fatherhood and family, relationships with girls and responses to authority.
“Our program is important because it teaches us leadership skills and how to work through problems,” said Cameron Davis, WARRIOR Program participant. “It’s more than just playing basketball.”
At the conclusion of the session, Youth Center coordinators were presented with a contribution to help establish a similar program specifically geared toward young women.
As the WARRIOR Program continues to grow, there are plans to develop it into a summer basketball league.
Participants left the session with more knowledge and techniques to cope with challenges that they may face and looked forward to the next session, which is scheduled for Nov. 13.
For more information about the WARRIOR Program, please contact the Ramstein Youth Center at DSN: 480-3099 or commercially at 06371-47-3099.
| Date Taken: | 11.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2015 09:15 |
| Story ID: | 181150 |
| Location: | RP, DE |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mentoring to manhood, by MSgt Sharida Jackson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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