Several years ago, I was busy directing a health and fitness program called TrackHawks. A run of poor health and multiple operations put me on the sidelines, but following my most recent hip replacement surgery, I am finally well and mobile enough to get back into it.
I taught PE (physical education) several years ago and I was up on the data and information published regarding the health and outlook on American kids. When I was looking for some information relating to the current state of kids' health, I was hoping that things were getting better, that somehow our society was turning things around.
Just this past week, I got a hold of the 2016 Nationally Report Card of Health and Fitness of American youth. Sadly enough, it read just last like all the other health studies and report cards put out by groups charged with investigating this that I had read before. The health and fitness of American children is bad and steadily getting worse.
Since the computer revolution, our kids have been steadily going outside less and less, and have been been getting more and more sedentary in their lifestyles. One report I read stated that the average third grader and up spends seven hours a day staring at an electronic screen of some kind, be it a video game, smart phone, TV or computer
It is not surprising that most commissioned studies reveal that that as much as 80 percent of our children under exercise. They don't get enough exercise to tone and grow their muscles, something that has far reaching effects into adulthood. Being sedentary (sitting in one position for too long) is bad for boats, airplanes and especially people.
It's not just lack of exercise that is brewing an uncertain future. Nutritional studies have stated that, in addition to children lacking enough exercise to grow healthy bodies, the average American diet has had the effect of making a bad situation worse. Our bodies are designed to run on a certain kind of fuel (fruits, vegetables, meats) and when folks start mostly eating things that are packed with sugars, refined grains, sodium and high carbs, our bodies will begin to break down.
The movie "Wall-E" came out a few years ago, and the human characters were living in a place where they didn't have to move a muscle to get things done. As a result, they were all physically handicapped and vastly overweight. Of course, it was a cartoon but at the rate our country is going, in the not too distant future, a medium sized shirt might be the 2XL of today.
There is no way that a program in Pea Ridge will change the health of the nation. But maybe, it could improve the health of youths living right here.
The TrackHawks will be a low stress running/walking program with the chief and over-riding goal being the improvement of every participant.
This program will have as their motto, the Seventh Habit from the Seven Habit Program that Pea Ridge Schools brought into being two years ago. The seventh habit is "Sharpen the Saw." We will set to sharpening our saws, and in doing so, improve the mental and physical function of those who take part.
Better fitness will increase blood flow through the brain, which leads to better ability and stamina at concentrating on things academic. A fitter body means a stronger heart, stronger lungs and a general improvement in the cardio-vascular system. Meaning that you become healthier, get sick less and can work harder.
While I did work as a PE teacher a long time ago, I also spent more than 20 years as a master certified official with the United State Track and Field Association, working for Arkansas track coach John McDonell at all the Razorback home meets. My experiences there, and running college track for United States Hall of Fame track coach Ted Lloyd has taught me a lot about running mechanics.
Besides the exercise that the TrackHawks will be taking on, proper running techniques and strategies will also be stressed. A lot of kids hate running because they feel they aren't good at it, but many times they are just held back by poor form, something that can be modified or corrected. Stretching exercises will be introduced to get the most benefit out of every session.
This program is open, at no charge, to everyone in the elementary grades. Youths hoping to gain speed and quickness to perform better in team sports are welcome as are those who just want to be stronger and fitter.
Way back in 1991, I was teaching at an elementary school in eastern Arkansas and we decided to make a run at winning the Arkansas State Physical Fitness Challenge. We has some pretty motivated students and by year's end, we improved our school composite score enough to be the best in the state and one of the better ones in the country. The sad thing I learned was that our school was the only one in the entire state that even scored above the 50 percentile.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was the national chairman of the President's Council for Physical Fitness in the early '90s and he was making a tour of all the states to review their fitness standards. While speaking in Little Rock, he remarked that he had seen the data from Arkansas schools and declared that the state was one of the unfit ones in the United States. He kind of upset people at the time, but he was right.
We will be using a variety of fitness tests to determine each student's fitness level, and there will be awards based on improvement and effort. Race will be conducted for those who would like to, but the goal of each TrackHawk will always be "get better, be better."
Hawks ranked among
top 10 defenses, offenses in 2016
The Blackhwk football team had a good mix of offense and defense in their run to the state championship game last season. Here are the best 10 from 2016.
Note that Booneville, our second opponent this fall, had the best scoring defense in the state in 2016. Their average includes the 40 points that the 'Hawks hung on them in the opening game. Without the 'Hawks game, they allowed just 12 points a game for the rest of the season. Expect a fierce battle when Pea Ridge visits the Bearcats on Sept. 1.
2016 4A scoring offense
Nashville 53 avg.
Prairie Grove 44 avg.
Warren 43 avg.
Robinson 42 avg.
Pea Ridge 39 avg.
Shiloh 38 avg.
Hamburg 36 avg.
Pocahontas 36 avg.
Dardanelle 35 avg.
Heber Springs 34 avg.
2016 4A scoring defense
Booneville 14 avg.
Ozark 16 avg.
Prairie Grove 17 avg.
Dardanelle 17 avg.
Shiloh 18 avg.
Batesville SS 19 avg.
Pea Ridge 20 avg.
Dover 22 avg.
Waldron 22 avg.
Warren 22 avg.
Sign up papers are available at the Intermediate School office. Information can be had by contacting John McGee at [email protected] or by calling 479-381-7412.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools and writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 08/23/2017