Fitness Games Children
Oct0
Jump to Comments
“In today’s technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world it’s easy to forget that we are born movers - animals, in fact - because we’ve engineered movement right out of our lives. Ironically, the human capacity to dream and plan and create the very society that shields us from our biological imperative to move is rooted in the areas of the brain that govern movement.” - SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John J. Ratey, MD.
The evidence is here, folks. Movement can increase the quality of life, which is, as some of you might remember, my definition of fitness. Wanna know who is showing this to us? KIDS! And Dr. Ratey’s book starts by discussing how a shift in thought, a challenge to conventional ‘gym class’ protocol, started a revolution that is not only making children healthier, but is turning their brains into learning machines. It all starts with a simple, but controversial, premise…
Sport is not fitness. Drill this one into your brain. SPORT is not FITNESS. They might be cousins, sometimes of the kissing variety, but regard them as two different parties to attend. At the end of the night, ya might have crashed both of them, and you might have heard of one through the other, but both parties had different DJ’s, games and costumes.
Here’s a statistic that Phil Lawler will be quick to throw at you…
Less than 3 percent of adults over the age of 24 stay in shape by playing team sports! So what kind of fitness bridge are we building into adulthood, thought this Lawler guy, if our children’s PE classes are filled with a bunch of kids standing around waiting for the ball to be throw, hit or dribbled to them?
Who’s this Lawler guy anyway? Phil Lawler, along with his partner-in-crime Paul Zientarski, is partly to blame for bringing up the test scores of entire school districts. Check it out… exercise builds brain cells! Yup, despite what your D.A.R.E. propaganda told you in high school, we can keep our brain a-growing, and bookloads of modern research is pointing towards movement - intense and challenging movement - as what both Ratey and Lawler call Miracle-Gro for the brain.
So does these mean complete dismissal of sports from the curriculum? Oh no. But individual work does make up a great deal of the class (agility games, rock climbing and extra credit for time spent on a rower or aerodine bike for a given distance), and team sports are downsized to smaller teams and more action. But most importantly, the grading process gets a needed slap in the face. Now the new model is based on assessing EFFORT instead of SKILL. A heart rate in the 90% range for an out-of-shape child (or adult) is a greater amount of work than an athlete at 70%. The slower kid might lap the track dead last, or finish a task at a slower pace than the more athletically inclined, but when that child is finished, there is proof that he or she was working at remarkably intense rate, thanks to heartrate monitors.
This model, which had its roots in a Naperville, Illinois school district had initial stunning results. Many are mentioned in SPARK and include increases in national test scores as well as lowered incidences in behavioral problems. When the model was applied to other schools, some groovy things happened as well…
When the national percentage of overweight children was at 30%, the freshman classes in Lawler’s district was 3%.
In Titusville, Pennsylvania, the standardized test scores in reading and math hopped from below average to 17 and 18 percent above average, respectively.
In a piloted Kansas City program, not only did strength levels increase over 400%, but disciplinary incidents and days of suspension dropped by 59% and 67% respectively, with the only change in the school system being the PE4Life program, which is the national model of the Naperville New PE program.
why.
isn’t.
every.
school
doing.
this??!!
In fact, google your city and PE4Life and see what comes up. If you’re anything like Sacramento… nothing. Well I’m delving into trying to change that. I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile, spend a minute perusing the PE4Life website.
__________________________________________
This weekend
Tav will be leading a basic tumbling workshop at Bodytribe for the Saturday Tune Up. Get playful and learn to move your body again, like you did when you were in GREAT shape… ya know, like a child. This Saturday at 10 am. Here’s the info:
Tumbling: Get Your Roll On! Tumbling is a great skill to develop for total body awareness and general physical preparedness. Bodytribe Trainer Tav Byerhoff will cover the basics of ground rolling, including forward and backward rolls and side rolls, as well as a discussion of how to incorporate them into bodyweight workouts. Any one interested in adding rolls to their workouts or learning to move in new and dynamic ways is encouraged to attend. No previous experience with tumbling is required to participate and benefit from this workshop.
________________
If you’re closer to the Bay Area, I’ll be teaching a Brutal Recess workshop at DIAKADI Body in San Francisco this Sunday at 11.
Here’s the info:
Date: Sunday, November 8th, 2009
Time: 11am – 2pm
Location: DIAKADI Body, 290 Division Street, Suite 200, San Francisco
Cost: $60 per participant
Mobility: it’s not just for warm ups anymore. By taking elements of yoga, martial arts, tumbling, hand balancing, dance and some good ol’ fashioned strength training, we give you the tools to create an artistic workout through intense mobility, with the main piece of equipment being YOU. This workshop brings you and your body into a new relationship, one of movement as evolution to freedom, both of mind and muscle. Begin to understand ‘athletic mobility,’ new levels of movement that don’t just support our pursuit of strength but enhance the journey.
WINNACUNNET VS. SPAULDING
- When and where: Tonight (7) at Spaulding High School in Rochester.
- Team records: Winnacunnet is 6-3 overall, 4-3 in Division II. Spaulding is 0-9 overall, 0-7 in Division II.
- 2008 result: Winnacunnet won 40-7 in Hampton.
- Noteworthy: The Warriors secured a playoff berth with last Friday's 34-7 triumph over Merrimack. The victory stretched Winnacunnet's winning streak to three games. ...; A victory over Spaulding will earn the Warriors the No. 3 seed. In that scenario, Winnacunnet would face the loser of Saturday night's game between Exeter and Bishop Guertin. A Timberlane victory over Alvirne coupled with a Winnacunnet loss would leave the Warriors as the No. 4 seed. ...; Spaulding is still searching for its first victory of the season. If it doesn't come tonight, the Red Raiders will have one more shot at a victory when they meet Division V Somersworth on Thanksgiving. ...;Spaulding has failed to score more than seven points in four of its nine games, and has allowed at least 27 points in each of those nine contests. ...; Winnacunnet is averaging 27.7 points per contest, and allowing an average of 16.2 points per game.
YORK VS. MOUNTAIN VALLEY
Western Maine Class B Semifinals
- When and where: Tonight (7) at York High School.
- Team records: York is 8-1 in Western Maine Class B. Mountain Valley is 7-2 in Western Maine Class B.
- Regular-season result: York won 33-14 in Rumford.
- Noteworthy: Second-seeded York enters this contest with the highest-scoring offense in Western Maine Class B. The Wildcats are averaging 38.6 points per game. ...; Mountain Valley, last year's Class B state champion, is averaging 27.2 points per game and allowing an average of 10.4 points per contest. Mountain Valley shut out five of its nine opponents. ...; Senior running back Jared Prugar rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries when these teams met during the regular season. Prugar has scored 27 TDs this season. ...; York's regular-season victory over Mountain Valley ended the Falcons' 19-game winning streak. ...; The winner of this game will face either top-seeded Cape Elizabeth (9-0) or fourth-seeded Wells (6-3) in next weekend's regional final. ...; York has won its last seven games.
portsmouth vs. con-val
Division III Semifinals
nWhen and where: Saturday (7 p.m.) at Portsmouth High School.
Team records: Portsmouth is 8-1 overall, 7-1 in Division III. Con-Val is 5-4 overall, 5-3 in Division III.
nRegular-season result: Portsmouth won 20-7 in Peterborough.
Noteworthy: The Clippers earned the No. 2 seed by beating Milford 28-21 last weekend. Portsmouth overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit in that contest. ...; Third-seeded Con-Val beat Goffstown 21-19 Saturday to earn the program's second playoff berth. Con-Val also qualified for postseason play in 2007, when it lost to Plymouth in the semifinals. ...; Con-Val quarterback Jon Queen completed 5 of 8 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns against Goffstown. Terry Ellis made three catches for 145 yards and two TDs. ...; Portsmouth has scored at least 41 points in five of its nine games, and is averaging 35 points per game. ...; The winner of this game will face either top-seeded Souhegan (8-1) or fourth-seeded Milford (5-4) in next Saturday's Division III championship game. Souhegan beat Portsmouth to win last year's Division III title.
exeter vs. bishop guertin
nWhen and where: Saturday (7 p.m.) at Stellos Stadium in Nashua.
- Team records: Exeter is 8-0 overall, 7-0 in Division II. Bishop Guertin is 9-0 overall, 7-0 in Division II.
- 2008 result: BG won 45-9 in Exeter during the regular season, and 14-7 in Nashua in the Division II championship game.
- Noteworthy: There's plenty at stake in this contest. The winner will earn the No. 1 seed for the Division II playoffs and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. ...; The game features the top offense in Division II (BG is averaging 44.5 points per game) against the top defense in Division II (Exeter has allowed 39 points in eight games). ...; BG and Exeter are among five unbeaten teams in the state. The others are Salem (Division I), Plymouth (Division IV) and Trinity (Division V). ...; BG has a 113-39 record under head coach Tony Johnson. ...; The Cardinals and Blue Hawks have met in each of the past four Division II championship games. BG won in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and Exeter prevailed in 2007. ...; The winner of this game will face either Alvirne, Timberlane or Winnacunnet in the Division II semifinals. A BG victory coupled with a Winnacunnet victory over Spaulding would create an Exeter-Winnacunnet matchup in the semifinals.
ˆ' Capsules compiled
by Roger Brown