On a humid, 98-degree Monday, six boys found themselves standing on a wire in the woods, needing each other to cross the Life Walk.

Not one made it across.

Three Sheriffs School Resource officers stood on the sidelines watching each time a boy fell. They strained to keep quiet, to not give instructions on how to win the challenge.

"Its frustrating," said Deputy Dave Goss, SRO at Blue Ridge Middle. The deputies know that the boys must find the solutions themselves, and must make their own choices. That is the key to Road DAWG, a gang-awareness camp that is part of the Gang Resistance Education and Training, or G.R.E.A.T., program. The Sheriff's Office runs both programs.

The officers want the children who go through Road DAWG (Dont Associate with Gangs) to walk away knowing that "when they are faced with difficult choices, they have the ability to control the outcome," said Deputy Goss.

About 48 middle-school-age boys and girls are going to be part of the camp, which runs the month of July, and it's not too soon. Gangs are already on these childrens minds.

One 11-year-old camper worries that even if he is not involved with a gang, the violence can still reach him.

"If a shoot-out happens and I am in a house, [bullets] might go through the wall. I'm scared of drive-bys," he said. "No matter what, you cant escape."

This is where the deputies hope to step in. They want the children to get to know them, not just as police officers in uniform and sunglasses.

"The hope is that they get to know and trust us," said Deputy Mike Hansen, SRO at Seneca Ridge Middle. "We want them to know they can come to us if they have any problems."

The key for the day at Hemlock Overlook, an experimental education camp in Clifton where these six Loudoun boys have come for the first day of Road DAWG, is to learn teamwork and communication skills two areas the boys were struggling with early on in the day.

"As a team, what do you think you did well?" asked Brian Keenan, challenge course facilitator at Hemlock, of the wire challenge. Not one boy answered regarding the team as a whole. Answers came in the form of individual accomplishments -- their own strength or balance.

The question was turned around and Keenan asked about the team's weakness. All the boys agreed it was listening, or lack thereof.

As the boys moved through the next challenge, balancing a huge platform with their own body weight, the communication slowly crept into the task at hand. After minutes of trial and error, and looks of frustration and defeat, the six boys worked together and balanced the board for the 15 seconds needed to complete the challenge.

The three SROs hope the communications continues through the week, especially when it comes time to talk of gangs.

"We want to build a rapport. Let them see that we are just people," said Deputy Jason Fedkiw, SRO at Blue Ridge Middle. "We want them to have the interaction with law enforcement and come to us with problems."

Throughout the rest of the week Road DAWG campers will get to go behind the scenes of law enforcement. They will tour the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy in Ashburn and the Juvenile Detention Center in Leesburg. They will see what it's like to drive while intoxicated through Fatal Vision, a goggles device that simulates driving impaired.

After the first day, some of the campers are calling the camp a success.

"Teamwork is what is needed," said one camper about the challenges and how they relate to life.

Another camper jumped in and added, "Teamwork, yeah, because you need to help the other person who doesnt know much and help them stay out of gangs."