Liberty studens learn to have fun by moving at Wellness Day

LIBERTY

Boot Camp. Two words that don’t bring to mind good times.

But in the gym at Liberty High School on Wednesday, fifth- through eighth-graders were enjoying their turn at it.

It beat sitting at their desks — getting up and moving, that is. That’s what Liberty Schools’ annual Wellness Day for W.S. Guy Middle School is all about.

“It’s to get them more involved in physical activity, instead of just their thumbs on an Xbox,” said Keith Harry, fitness director for the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown. The JCC is one of several organizations that participate in Wellness Day activities for the school, and Harry leads the “boot camp” with push-ups, jumping jacks, planks, sit-ups, bear crawls for lateral movements, basketball relays for speed and hand-eye coordination, “and most importantly, we make them sweat,” he said.

Other activities included karate, an obstacle course, jump stretch, revolution wellness, endurance training and line dancing.

They spent 40 minutes on each activity.

The effort they put in during that time is what’s important, he said, not perfection. It’s also important, he said, that they have a good time.

“I said to them, ‘When you go home tonight, take 10 minutes and have fun instead of watching TV,’” he said.

Read more about the program in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.