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My name is John Fitzgerald and I've always enjoyed playing sports. I've played soccer, tennis, squash and lacrosse for many years and being fit has made these sports more fun to play.
Being fit has made me a better player in all these sports. Being fit has also given me a lot of self confidence on and off the court/field. The magic weapon to enjoying all these sports is being in the best possible shape that you can. There is nothing fun about running for a ball if your leg is killing you, or if you are out of breath after you start running. Being flexible, being able to react and get to the ball more quickly all add to your enjoyment of whatever sport you are playing. I've seen friends who go right onto the tennis or squash or basketball court without warming up. There's no fun in that and you risk injury. |
Because of this, I've come up with a simple 5-step warm up that you can do in 10 minutes before you begin playing or exercising.
I think it's important to be fit and I think high school or even middle school is too late to begin. That's why I've aimed my program at kids who are still in elementary school, 7-10 year olds, so they can start a lifelong habit early in their lives. When I was 14, I injured my back and could not play any sports for a couple months. This made me realize the importance of staying fit, in my mind as well as my body. Being fit made me feel better both mentally and physically. It made me happier. It made me think of my body as a machine. I began to think about a program for kids to learn how to become and stay fit for life. My goal is to help change the lives of kids in some small way through fitness. |
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