Team Fit Kids debuts at Santa Rosa Elementary

Chances for Children-Arizona is initiating its Team Fit Kids program in Maricopa, aimed at the fourth and fifth grade students of Santa Rosa Elementary School.

The non-profit organization has been involved with Valley schools for 5 years, providing opportunities to grow, support and improve children’s quality of life. It is committed to fighting childhood obesity and funding programs that provide access to not only physical education but also character education.

Erin Dray, project manager for Team Fit Kids, said, “Just getting kids moving is our goal, and trying to get the families involved as well. We have an adult program here this year in Maricopa, so to correspond with that we wanted to have a school involved. We have 11 schools throughout the entire Valley that are participating, so it will amount to about 2,000 plus kids participating this year. Students are working towards incentives; for a certain amount of miles, they will earn prizes. The idea is anything to get them moving, interested in exercise and, hopefully, that carries over into the family. A lot of nutrition and ideas about living are started. It can be a family goal to become fit.”

Beginning with a necklace that has a single plastic shoe on it, kids receive another shoe for each mile they earn. Dray explained, “At 15 miles they earn Nike tennis shoes, at 25 miles they earn an award certificate, at 50 they earn a goodie bag, and for 75 they get to join the 75-mile club and get a t-shirt. For achieving 100 miles, they get tickets to a Diamondbacks game.”

Dray added, “Every 15 minutes of exercise equals out to one mile, so the kids can add it up really quick. One of my favorite things to say is, ‘If you are going to be sitting there watching TV, at every commercial get up and start doing some squats, or run up and down the stairs a few times. Make sure everybody gets up off the couch together and does it. It adds up, commercials are long!'”

The kids will not only be practicing at the school but will also be competing in four different races, free of charge, throughout the program. The Iron Man one-mile kids run will be the first race in November at Tempe Beach Park. The next is P.F. Chang’s Rock n’ Roll kids mile run in January, followed by the Mini-skirts and Shirts one mile run in February. The program ends in April, with the Family Fit Night finale, when all the schools come together at a park in Tempe and do their final run.

Santa Rosa Principal Rick Able said, “This is a program I learned about several months ago; I talked to the teachers about the program, and we feel very, very pleased to have this opportunity for students here at Santa Rosa. We are the first school in the community to have this opportunity, and we want to make the very best of it. I hope it’s something that other kids in town get to do as well.”

Dray presented Able with the ‘Big Shoe’ necklace; he also adds little plastic shoe charms for miles he has accumulated. “It encourages me to get more exercise as well. I’ve started to walk in the last few weeks, and I just feel better. It’s a good opportunity for kids and families. It’s a very simple, no cost program for kids,” said Able.

Able also recognized Marlene Pearce, a parent of a former Santa Rosa student, who suggested the school be the program’s first in Maricopa. Pearce, a Maricopa resident, has been doing fundraising for Team Chances for two years.

Team Chances Executive Director Janell Bolen offered up a challenge to the students, “I am challenging every single one of you in this room to get at least 15 miles. You guys have a huge job, and I look forward to watching you cross every finish line. I have all the confidence in the world you are going to do great!”

“For every one of you who puts in the work and the effort to get there on race day; goes out and runs the race, as long as you can say to me at the end, ‘Janell, I did my best; I gave it everything that I’ve got, and I had fun.’ Then that’s all we need because that’s what winning a race is,” said Bolen.

Photo by Brandi Stange