Seal Training for teens in Fl 36 hour challenge: Do you have what it takes

Seal Training for teens in Fl 36 hour challenge: Do you have what it takes

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'If You Don't Mind, It Don't Matter'
By MICHELE SAGER, The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 11, 2007

TAMPA - While most of his neighbors slept, John Fletcher stood alone on his dimly lit cul-de-sac, staring into the darkness. He occasionally glanced at his watch while he waited for some sign of movement. Finally, a shadowy figured darted though the pools of light beamed onto the asphalt. A runner's pant and rubber soles pounding the road broke the silence. The face of a tired teenage boy soon came into focus and Fletcher knew it was time to jump into action. He shouted words of encouragement as the teen ran past him.
"Come on, Carter, you can do it!" he yelled. "Way to be here, way to push it out!" As the teenager whizzed by him and again slipped into the darkness, a smile grew across Fletcher's face. "That kid right there is what this is all about," he said. "That's what gets me up in the morning. These kids are my fresh air."
Fletcher is the force behind a group of workout warriors who take to the streets of New Tampa before dawn. They do dozens of pushups. They scale obstacle course pieces. They run miles before the sun rises. The former Navy SEAL leads high school students through rigorous workout routines that challenge their physical and mental limits. But this 43-year-old married father of two didn't set out to be the workout mentor to a bunch of high school kids.
'I Figured They Would Come Once'
Fletcher's day job is a financial adviser at Raymond James Financial. An exercise fanatic, stemming from his days in the military, Fletcher performed rigid workout routines through his Pebble Creek neighborhood to maintain his own runner's physique.
So when a couple of teens wanted to shape up SEAL-style five years ago, a neighbor suggested the boys contact Fletcher.
"When they asked if they could work out with me, I told them to show up at 5 a.m.," Fletcher said. "I figured they would come once and I would never see them again." Something else happened instead. The boys stuck with the program and told their friends. Then those friends told more friends. And what started with a couple of students turned into a pack of about 20 followers who still show up for predawn workouts four times a week. Jumping into Fletcher's workout program is no easy feat. Fletcher often asks his military buddies to help lead the workouts. The teens perform maneuvers like pushups with another student sitting on their back or while dangling from their feet.
While Fletcher offers encouragement, he often shows no mercy. Sometimes he runs beside them, barking commands like a drill instructor. He teaches teamwork through mental challenges. If one student lags in exercise, it often prolongs the rest of the crew's routine until all are up to speed.
Ryan Irwin was 13 when he became one of the original participants. Irwin said he didn't realize he was that out of shape. "I couldn't even run a mile," he said. "I puked at the bus stop the first day after our workouts." Five years later, the 18-year-old runs 5-kilometer races, dashes through a set of pushups and hurls through an obstacle course in record time. He graduated from Freedom High in May and wants to be a Navy SEAL. "I wanted to get fit because I want to defend my country," he said. Fletcher "doesn't just focus on the physical challenges. He has taught us to be mentally stronger. He is preparing us for the real world."

Motivating With A Message
Fletcher said he works with the kids to give back to his community. He recognizes that today's generation is in a health crisis, with a rising rate of obesity among teens and a cut in physical fitness education in schools. Many of the teens have aspirations of entering the military, with some already applying to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. But Fletcher accepts any student. And the only payment he requires is sweat. One of the group's newest members is Carter Hurst. The 16-year-old Freedom High student heard about the workout group from a friend. "I thought it would help me get in shape for wrestling," he said. "That first day was rough. It was a long day because I was sore all over." This past Columbus Day, Carter attended his first "monster mash." That's when Fletcher puts together an obstacle course that includes a half-mile run with a weighted rucksack, pull-ups, chin-ups and inchworm pushups. Carter told Fletcher he couldn't come because it was too early. But Fletcher, suspecting the teen was afraid of the challenge, persuaded him to attend. Fletcher has a saying with the kids: "Mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter."
After only a couple of weeks with the group, Carter struggled to complete the inchworms, which require crawling across a basketball court while doing push-
ups. His exercise mates flew past him on the court that day.
The other teens returned to Fletcher's backyard to finish up their last tasks, and Carter was still not in sight. Fletcher waited alone under the crescent moon for the moment he knew would come. Carter emerged from the darkness. He was the slowest that day, but Fletcher didn't care. Carter was there and made it through his first "monster mash" and that's all that mattered. "I'm already seeing a difference," Carter said. "I'm stronger and faster. I just tell myself that I want to catch the person in front of me and I'm going to do it. That's why I do it. Well, that, and honestly I want to have a six-pack someday."Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-4843 or msager@tampatrib.com.

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