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By the seventh week the early starts and exercise drills may feel easier, but it sure isn’t getting any warmer.
There was a sting in the air and a crust of ice on the Feilding High School hockey turf as teenagers taking part in the Cactus self-confidence programme braved zero degree conditions on Friday morning.
There were several solemn faces, but no complaints, and definitely no giving up.
For the past two months the 33 recruits have been improving their fitness, hardening their resolve, and developing a team-first mentality three mornings each week.
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Many of them had never contemplated rising before the sun. Now it was a habit – at least for one more week.
Sam, 14, was on the sideline supporting his mates.
He had suffered a knee injury playing rugby league for the Levin Cobras in the third week of the programme which ruled him out of the fitness regime, but he still attended every session.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
The group of teenagers, most of them students at Feilding High School, have been rising early three mornings a week for fitness drills and challenges that build a team-first mentality.
He had been put forward for Cactus by the police, having got into trouble with gangs and been “kicked out” of Palmerston North Boys’ High School.
Sam dreaded the programme at first.
“On the first day I got here, as I got in the room, agh, there’s so many weirdos in here. I don’t know any of them, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to do this.
“But by the end, I thought this isn’t too bad, and when we all got in uniform, it was like everybody’s in the same boat.”
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Despite suffering a sports injury in the third week of the programme, Sam, 14, has been attending every session, supporting his fellow Cactus recruits.
Sam, now enroled at Feilding High, was still to work out how he would contribute to The Longest Day, the programme’s culminating challenge on June 25, which includes an epic truck pull through Feilding.
He was keen to walk alongside the team and assist however he could.
The main thing Sam would take with him from Cactus was a sense of discipline.
“I was naughty. I went by ‘I do what I want, no-one tells me what to do’. But when you get talked to by all these sergeants and people giving the talks, you learn that being the biggest guy doesn’t always work out.
“There’s always going to be one guy who can one-up you in anything. So it’s better to just listen, do as you’re told. That’s helped me out quite a bit with school.”
DAVID UNWIN/STUFF
Feilding High School hosts Cactus, a youth development programme that covers physical and mental development as well as military-styled discipline. (First published, August 2021)
Sione, 15, was also nominated by the police. He was doing a YMCA trades course after being excluded from Feilding High.
He was looking forward to turning 16 so he could attend Ucol.
The 6am starts were a shock to the system to begin with, but he had got used to it, but the running was always tough.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Sione, 15, says he’s “a bit scared” about what The Longest Day challenge on June 25 will consist of.
Sione said Cactus had helped him take his mind off things, and it benefited his health.
“It’s been good for a lot of things … My discipline is way better. If you were to look at me two years ago…”
The Cactus (Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit & Support) programme is woven together by several agencies and volunteers, including New Zealand Police, NZ Fire Service, Manawatū District Council and fitness trainers from Ōhakea air force base.
As well as the physical component, there’s a breakfast, guest speakers, and a graduation following The Longest Day challenge.
Warwick Smith/Stuff
The fitness component of the Cactus programme is run by Ōhakea air force base personal trainers, including Luke Cowie.
Both Manawatū district mayor Helen Worboys and Feilding police youth aid officer Allan McLean noted the change in the group over the past seven weeks, from a silent or softly-spoken motley crew to a chatty, supportive team.
McLean said recruits learnt early on it’s “not going to be a honeymoon” and at about week six the commitment was well bed in.
“By the time you get to that week eight period, you’ve already created that habit, routine and structure.”
Warwick Smith/Stuff
Friday was the coldest session yet for the Cactus teens, with the temperature hovering below 1 degree.
Being a voluntary programme, he said it was always a challenge to try to ensure the kids who would benefit most from Cactus were there and sticking at it.
Five recruits had dropped out in the early weeks from an initial intake of 38.
McLean said it was important to have a mix of young people, from high achievers and those who wanted a physical challenge, to teens with behavioural issues at home, and the ones who “owed” it to the police and themselves.
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