Diego Velazquez called physical education, "important."
"Yeah, I play baseball," said Diego.
He said he always looks for ways to improve his skills.
"I really wanted to do archery, because it's kind of like pitching for me in baseball," said Diego.
That is why he begged his mother to let him take the Outdoor Adventures class at Copperas Cove Junior High School.
"I was actually really reluctant because, he is so involved in like sports and outdoor activities outside of school, that I didn't want him to miss the traditional route," said Lisa Velazquez, Diego's mother.
However, after learning more about the class, she quickly changed her mind.
"They do outdoors stuff. Like I said, my husband is not an outdoorsy kind of person," said Lisa Velazquez.
"We focus on archery. We do some other outdoor adventures: camping, hunting safety, fishing. We're going to do some hiking, some outdoor cooking," said Robin Miller, a paraprofessional at Copperas Cove Junior High School.
For the first time, Copperas Cove Junior High School will offer the class as an alternative for regular PE for sixth and seventh graders.
"They're learning basic skills that will help them. You know like animal tracks, how to pick up on different animal tracks. Which things are could potentially be deadly," said Miller
"We had this test where we had a compass, and we had to try to find these certain points," said Diego.
Diego's mother said the benefits come full circle.
"This is an opportunity for him to do real life things, and have a real life experience that he wouldn't have at home," said Lisa Velazquez.
The class was initially started through an Education Foundation grant, and on Wednesday, the teachers received their second round of funding for additional equipment.
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