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| Messenger photo by Rick Palsgrove |
| Stephania Peyton, sports/fitness manager at the Groveport Recreation Center, will be the lead instructor for "Recess at the Rec." |
Children can get plenty of exercise and have fun at the same time this summer at the Groveport Recreation Center.
"Kids love to move," said Stephania Peyton, the center’s sports/fitness manager.
With that in mind, the recreation center, located at 7370 Groveport Road in Groveport, is offering "Recess at the Rec," a youth fitness program designed to show children that exercise is not just about jumping on a piece of expensive equipment to reap the benefits of health.
"Exercise should be introduced to children as an enjoyable experience that keeps mind and body strong and healthy," said Peyton. "Recess at the Rec is not sport specific. It will feature fun games to get kids moving and active. Exercise is important to our children and their well being. More than nine million children are either overweight or obese. The rate of childhood obesity has more than doubled from 1980 to 2007. Over half the overweight youth will become overweight or obese adults. The condition of our youth is a very serious and life threatening problem. Our lifestyles are lessons to our children. Living a healthy, active life as a child is a great way to ensure a healthy, active life as an adult."
Registration for Recess at the Rec, which is for ages 8-12, began June 30. The program and will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting July 29 and ending Aug. 8. Cost is $15 residents/members and $20 nonresidents.
For information visit www.groveportrec.com or call 836-1000.
Peyton said Recess at the Rec will focus on simple, active games which forego a "win, win, win" approach by replacing it with an attitude of "let’s play."
"I tried to think of things that I liked to play when I was a kid," said Peyton of the games.
She said basketballs and volleyballs will be available for use, but not for structured team contests. Instead the kids can play games centered on shooting the basketball or hitting volleyballs.
But the main focus of Recess at the Rec will be playing games like: "pin bombardment," where kids try to knock over pins with balls; "head it/catch it," where kids bounce a ball off their head and then try to catch it; "dragon tag," where three kids in a circle of other children are the head, body, and tail of the dragon with the idea that the head and body try to protect the tail from being tagged by the other kids; and "battleship," where kids stand on mats that serve as their "ship" – the mat is lined with cones that opposing ships try to knock over, once your cones are knocked over, your ship has "sank" and the kids must climb aboard another mat until only one ship remains.
"These games are something new and different for kids," said Peyton. "You don’t have to be a star athlete to be healthy and fit and have fun."
