KinG is entering their second year of partnership with Catholic Youth Organizations (CYO) to administer fitness assessments as a part of the CYO FitnessGram Challenge. The KinG Staff, who led the assessments last year for over 1,000 kids in schools across the city, played a significant role in the professional development of current PE staff of participating schools. Both integrated FitnessGram as a part of the PE classes. As the FitnessGram Challenge has continued to build, KinG will have an even greater impact in the development of the program this year. Working in conjunction with PE teachers and coaches throughout the city, KinG is hoping to bring measurable and reliable testing to over 20 schools throughout New York City.
In a city where physical fitness is difficult to attain at any level, we are trying to do our part to continue the fight against child obesity and to make sure that every child has a reason to be active. The continued partnership with CYO allows our scope to go beyond and creates meaningful opportunities for us to provide fitness programs all across the city.
The FitnessGram assessment is an initiative of The Coca-Cola Foundation that teaches kids about health and fitness through a series of tests. These tests measure endurance, flexibility, and strength in a fun, non-intimidating way that focuses on personal growth as opposed to a national standard.
This year, to kick off the FitnessGram challenge, KinG coaches teamed up with New York Knicks legend, John Starks, to provide a fundamental basketball camp for about one hundred 8th-10th graders from schools throughout the Bronx. The students rotated through stations run by KinG coaches, beginning with fast break drills with Michael Murphy, the President and Founder of Kids in the Game and a former basketball coach at Columbia University. Murphy emphasized the importance of fast-break drills, citing that the drills were in line with Starks’ style of play. The students then rotated through defensive, layup, and individual offensive moves stations, where Starks jumped in and played one-on-one with some of the students.
The event concluded with a Q & A with John Starks, where he spoke on the relevance of health and fitness in his ability to play basketball at the highest level. Starks applauded the collaborative effort of Kids in the Game, CYO, and The Coca-Cola Foundation in the continued goal to get every child “in the game.”
