University fitness program

University School students will be surprised when they return in October. The gymnasium where they usually sit and wait in the mornings before classes begin is being transformed into an arcade-like fitness center, complete with activities such as Dance Dance Revolution and video game bikes.

ETSU students and faculty from the Kinesiology, Leisure, and Sport Sciences, or KLSS department (formerly PEXS) are teaming up with University School to implement an experimental fitness program for middle and high school students. The program is set to start Oct. 10 and will take place every morning from 7:30-7:50 a.m. before the students go to class.

“The students have just been coming and sitting in the gym and doing nothing at all,” said senior Cody Patterson, president of the P.E. majors club. “This program will give the students an opportunity to play games and do other various physical activities instead of sitting still.”

The program will appeal to all ranges of fitness, and students who don’t want to participate can either go to the school’s media center or stay outside.

University School is asking ETSU faculty and staff to donate any used fitness equipment to the program. They also expect to receive up to $1,000 in grants between the College of Education and The Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, or Tahperd, to help fund the project. Besides the standard exercise equipment such as treadmills, stationary bikes and stair steppers, students will also be able to choose from arcade-like activities such as DDR and video game bikes.

“They get excited watching the video game but they have to pedal to make it go,” said Dr. Diana Mozen, assistant professor in the KLSS department.

ETSU students who are members of the P.E. majors club are in charge of collecting equipment from faculty and staff. They will also be responsible for helping keep the students safe by monitoring and supervising activities once the program starts.

“Students who help out in the program will get points toward their professionalism grade, which they have to fulfill as part of the professionalism requirement,” Mozen said. “Plus they get hands-on experience.”

ETSU senior Jonathan Greenlee, a physical education major and P.E. club member, is one of the students who will be helping out with the program. “I think it will be great,” he said. “I also need the extra points any way I can get them.”

University School and the KLSS department are implementing the program in response to a new state law that requires high school students to exercise 90 minutes per week at school. A good thing, considering 16 percent of children and teens aged 16-19 are overweight, a percentage that has more than tripled since 1980 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University School program will be evaluated every nine weeks to see how exercise affects students throughout their school day.

“We’re trying to provide activities to get them moving,” said Sharon Cradic, physical educator at University School. “Research shows that activity in the morning makes them more alert and can have a positive effect on academic achievement,” she said.

Some teachers, however, have voiced concern that students will not want to get hot and sweaty before class in the mornings. Cradic doesn’t seem to think this will be a problem. “It’s all about motivation and excitement,” she says. “You really don’t care as long as it’s fun.”

University School students have been asking for more things to do in the morning, but they won’t find out about the program until they return from break. The teachers, however, are already getting excited as more and more equipment begins to come in. Teachers have also been asking if they too can have a time to use the machines and games. DDR, anyone?