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Liberty kids get moving
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.
Having fun is what will encourage a pattern of physical activity for their lifetimes, said school Principal Judd Rubin and Danielle Songer, the health teacher for the middle and high schools.
“It’s just getting the kids exposed to new activities they’d never get exposed to,” Songer said. “They never realized they’re actually working out when it’s fun.”
In the obstacle course, Judd said, they were jumping rope, using a hula hoop and doing push-ups. “But they were having a blast, so they didn’t realize they were working on seven or eight different skills there,” he said.
In the gym, Kaylee Murphy, 13, said she was feeling pretty good about getting the chance to work out. The seventh-grader, who belongs to a winter volleyball club, said she believes everyone should.
Her favorite activity: using the resistance bands to really stretch her legs out.
Wellness Day began five years ago after physical-education teacher Dave Davis came up with the idea, Rubin said. At first, speakers came in. Kids listened to athletes and nutritionists, he said.
Then it dawned on them, he said, that it should be more about getting active. That’s when Wellness Day got moving, and it’s been in motion ever since.
Others who participated this year included Dick Hartzel, jump/stretch; Matthew Smith and Shelia Cornell, JCC, boot camp; Burt Stellers, physical-education instructor, obstacle course; Nick Vitale and Levi Reed, karate, Austintown ATA Martial Arts; George Summers, Revolution Wellness; Michael Mattocks, endurance training, My Fitnessist, M & Audix Multimedia Agency; Joe Moss, Blessed Body Fit; and Tara Schuster and Alyssa Crump, LHS line dancing.