POTTSTOWN PA – When athlete Kevin Kolb takes the field Sunday (Jan. 2, 2011) to play as the Philadelphia Eagles’ football team quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys, replacing the Birds’ injured-but-healing Michael Vick, some students at Pottsgrove Middle School may be watching more for usable fitness tips than the mechanics of a shovel pass.
Twenty-five students at the school, 1351 N. Hanover St., Pottstown PA, are enrolled for a second year in the “Fuel Up To Play 60″ health and wellness program sponsored by the National Football League (NFL), of which the Eagles and Cowboys are a part, and the National Dairy Council. The program focuses on teaching students to eat healthy, make health-smart choices, and exercise for 60 minutes each day.
- Watch a student-produced video about the effort, above, or see it at the middle school’s account on SchoolTube.com.
The initiative began in October (2010), about a month after school re-opened, according to physical education and health teacher Marilyn Eaton. Since then its participants have walked circuits around the school’s outdoor track, held push-up competitions inside its cafeteria, and even taken a field trip to go hiking near Pennsylvania’s Bushkill Falls.
Members have succeeded in completing three of the NFL’s Fuel Up activities, Eaton reported, and they meet regularly “to map out the rest of the challenges for the remainder of the school year.”
Besides Eaton, six other teachers – Christine Henry, Jen Forwood, Jim Polli, Gloria Fritz, Eric Engstrom and Steve Palladino – also help supervise events.
The NFL program dovetails with others at the school, and across the Pottsgrove School District, to encourage students to think more about personal health, middle school Principal Dr. William Ziegler added. Not surprisingly, it also helps promote football in general and NFL professional teams in particular. A large “Fuel Up” poster (below) is one of the first things students see when the enter the lobby on the school’s west side.
Given his successes this season, it’s likely some of the participants wish they could excel like Vick, who was hurt Tuesday (Dec. 28) while playing against Minnesota. And maybe, if only for Eagles pride, those who watch Sunday’s game are rooting for Kolb to do as well.
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[...] NFL Program Attracts Pottsgrove MS Interest For 2nd Year Sunday’s Eagles football game against Dallas may be watched by some particularly avid Pottsgrove Middle School fans, all hoping for the best. [...]
[...] Pottsgrove’s Fuel Up team of 25 students now ranks as “one of the premiere schools in the state,” district representative Beth Trapani claimed Wednesday (Jan. 5, 2011), for its effort to encourages healthy eating and lifestyle habits, including 60 minutes of exercise daily. Team members are among those leading the state “in the number of hours logged in physical” and other activities that promote fitness, she said. [...]