The Sedona Police Department’s Cadet Program competed in the Mesa Team Building Challenge on March 9, represented by Ryan Pfaff and Ari Tedrick, and in the Chandler Tactical Competition on Jan. 13 and 14, in which Pfaff and Tedrick were joined by Elle Douglas and Maxwell Jankowski.

“With [51] teams and it being a fraction of a point in the difference between first [place] and 25th [place], it’s super competitive, and they did good and it was fun to watch them,” SPD school resource officer Michael Lucas said. “Just getting there and getting the experience is probably the most important part of [the cadet program] for the kids. It’s the fruit of their labor [for] showing up to the meetings every other week, and putting in the time and learning.”

The Chandler competition included simulations of assaults on a narcotics lab and moving vehicles as well as a bike rodeo, marksmanship and archery.

“It was quite the experience to go down there and be faced with these challenges as a test of our abilities, and test our cohesion,” Jankowski said. “I was really proud of my cadets. We definitely made plenty of mistakes. We did lack some communication … But I think we were just all on our nerves.”

Jankowski said the group’s performance improved on the second day, when they took first place in the archery contest.

“We had an advantage over the other teams because Officer Lucas is an excellent archer, which I had no idea before,” Jankowski said. “We’d knocked it out of the park with how many hits we’d gotten, so that was really fun.”

“I definitely lacked a lot of confidence in my leadership abilities and my social abilities because I moved to Arizona right during … COVID and that had a big mental impact on me,” Jankowski said. “ Coming out of that I just was in the low and then mid-sophomore year, I kind of kept those feelings. Around junior year, my friend Hunter White [encouraged me] to join the cadets. I worked up to become sergeant. So that was a moment of clarity for me.”

The Mesa competition had a different format in which Pfaff and Tedrick were randomly assigned to teams with different cadets to test their ability to collaborate.

“The standout thing is because I was with [Tedrick’s] team [was] just seeing how quickly those kids came together and how they [found] their own natural positions within the team,” Lucas said. “Some people were the super confident leaders and they stepped up … and that was cool to see that wherewithal from a group of teenagers.”

The cadet organization is not an agency within the city of Sedona or a city-funded program and is funded by donors.

“I think people are intimidated  by [the program]being part of the police force,” Jankowski said. “But you don’t even have to be a police or one of the police officers to join. I don’t want to be a police officer but it really builds your learning and your communication skills.