Since the first week in September I have been spending my tuesday and thursday afternoons at a local school coaching in the Girls on the Run program. Girls on the Run is a program designed for 3-8th graders that encourages making good and healthy decisions, avoiding peer pressure and developing good self-esteem-in addition to many other topics- and all while training for a 5k. I can't say enough good things about this program. The program at my school was designed for 4-5th graders and it was great to see the transformation in the girls in the 12 weeks I got to work with them. There are a few girls that I noticed a drastic change in confidence level from the start to the finish of the season and all of them improved their fitness level and running ability! On November 22, we had our final 5K, which all of our girls ran with a running buddy and and did fantastic (despite the freezing temperatures)! I had the opportunity to run with one of the girls and it was great to see her accomplish that goal of finishing the 5K. The race was such a fun and encouraging atmosphere. I was so proud of those girls, I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling the rest of the day. If you ever come across this program in your town, volunteer, donate money or run in the race-it sure does make a difference in the lives of those little girls.
My little girl also loved to go to GOTR. There were several days that I brought Sophie along and she absolutely loved it. She now plays Girls on the Run almost daily. This consists of getting out the stickers, starting with a cheer of "Girls on the run is fun", and running laps around the house. If it's my turn to run laps, she cheers me on and each time we finish a lap, we get a sticker. Hopefully someday she will be able to participate in a real GOTR program, but for now we will wear out our carpet running laps.
On a side note: I also got to meet Mary Wineberg who ran in the Beijing Olympics and won a gold medal in a relay. I realize she was there to motivate the girls, but hey, we coaches need a little motivation and encouragement too sometimes. 
2 comments:
What a cool program. I hope Audrie can do that when she gets older. And I love that Sophie plays that game - so cute!
I'm glad it was such a successful rewarding program for you to be a part of! Those girls were so lucky to have you as their coach :)
Post a Comment