The flying trapeze is scary because “it’s too high,” 13-year-old Amanda Gui said after her second turn. “It was scarier the first time. The second time I was just brave, trying to prove a point.”

Amanda wanted to encourage her best friend, she said.

“She swore and she made a promise that she would do it,” Amanda said. “She’s nervous and she’s scared.”

So Amanda climbed the ladder and stuck out a hand to the trapeze herself to prove that anyone could do it.

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Stevey Goggins, 11, showed no fear. He learned to flip upside down, swing by his knees, and do a backflip dismount.

Stevey and Amanda came to the Trapeze School New York's Baltimore location with Chesapeake Courage Camp, which brings campers to the school each summer to teach them to overcome their fears.

The 12 campers shouted words of encouragement to each other and their counselors while taking turns climbing the 22-foot ladder.

“It got a whole lot of challenges I never faced in my life before,” Stevey said. “I never did it before, but when you get the hang of it it’s fun.”

al.robinson@baltimoreexaminer.com