Last year Team Get Fit had the opportunity to partner with Oakdale Neighbors and lead a sports training camp. Oakdale Neighbors has a summer program called the Learning Café. They have over thirty children in grades 3 thru 8. These children are all African or African-American. Each week the children learn about a different type of profession. They learn what it takes to get started and how challenging it can be to keep it going. They also get to experience how rewarding, and fun, these professions can be.
For my week, I decided to teach them about a new sport every day. Day one was the weigh-in day. We wanted to get the weight and height of each student so that they would know that information about themselves, and for our records. After that, I taught the children about calories and nutrition. We learned that calories give the body energy, and how to calculate their BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) using their height, age and weight. With this information they learned how many calories they need in order to maintain their weight. Each student was then given a nutrition tracker form so that they would see just how many, or how few, calories they eat each day.
After that it was time to get out and get active. The first sport was basketball. The children, volunteers and staff all walked to the park. After a water break, we started running some basketball drills. Some of the children were confident in their basketball skills, while others had never dribbled a ball before, but everyone enjoyed themselves and tried their best. It didn't take long for some of the children to give in to the temptation of the playground which was right next to basketball, but who can blame them?
For the second day, before our workout, we learned about the importance of hydration and how many cups of water are recommended for boys and girls. We also learned how many calories are in the lunches they eat every day when they're at the program. They were all surprised at how many calories they ate every day for lunch. Especially how many calories are in an apple.
The sport for day two was one that they told me they all know well. Some call it Futbol and some call it Soccer. We walked to the soccer field at a local high school and started off with a fun passing drill. We all formed a giant circle in the middle of the field and kicked a few balls to whomever we could get it to. Then we played a where I stood in the middle of the circle and was the human target. We had a blast. After all of the drills and exercises, we finished the day with a half court game of 3 on 3, in which my team lost.
At the end of each program day the children are required to journal about what they did that day. Because they were able to beat me and my teammates in soccer, they were eager to write about my defeat in their journal. Hey, if it gets them excited to write then I'd say that losing was a small price to pay. This is one of the many tools that the Learning Cafe implemented that I plan to use while working with youth in the future. Team Get Fit journals coming soon.
For the final day of the camp I thought it would be a good idea to switch things up a bit. So after the children finished their survey of my camp, we went to the location of our final sport. I didn't tell them where we were going but they knew it wouldn't be outside. I decided to take them bowling. Most of the children said that they had been bowling before, but after watching them bowl I think they were just saying that to not be embarrassed. Although no one was great at it, everyone had a blast. I think that makes it even more fun.
I really enjoyed training and teaching those children. Programs like this are some of the ways that I plan to use Team Get Fit going forward to really make an impact on the community. One of the many goals that I have set for myself is to make a bigger effort to make a larger impact on the community. The youth keep me motivated to continue to reach for my goals. The flame of their youth reignites my passion to help people.
PLEASE SUPPORT
Moving forward, I would love to give each child a Team Get Fit t-shirt to make the next group look like one big team. If you would like to help gift the youth of our Summer Training Camp with some of merch, please donate today. In order to get all 30 students, all volunteers/mentors, and staff a shirt, we will need $1,300. Your donation will help to get the purchased, get our logo printed on them and have them shipped to us.
Have a blessed day, and thank you for your support.
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