MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Get Earthquakes Fit Program Returns In 2010

Published on February 22, 2010 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today the return of the Get Earthquakes Fit Program. Last year, the team collaborated with the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) and a focus group of teachers and educators to create the "Get Earthquakes Fit" fitness program. This program is part of the Earthquakes community efforts to promote healthy lifestyles and the importance of being active for children. In its inaugural year, the Get Earthquakes Fit program was tried out at a few schools, and was very successful.

This year, the program kicks off Tuesday, February 23rd, with a visit by Chris Wondolowski to the Luther Burbank Elementary School in San Jose. Other players will be visiting more schools during the upcoming weeks in the San Jose Unified School District. Due to last year's success, the program has expanded in 2010, and will reach a total of 30 schools in many different districts.

"Get Earthquakes Fit" is a five-week program working with third and fourth graders that supports the SCCOE'S fit for learning(tm) initiative. fit for learning(tm) was launched in 2005 in cooperation with Healthy Silicon Valley, Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara County Public Health Department, and the Lucille Packard Foundation to combat childhood obesity. The goals of the fit for learning(tm) initiative are to improve the wellness of our County's K-through-6 schoolchildren through increased physical activity and healthy nutritional choices within the school environment. The "Get Earthquakes Fit" fitness program complements these goals by instructing and supporting teachers to use ten fun activities to encourage students to make physical activity a regular part of their day.

"At a time when school districts across the country are being forced to make difficult decisions about the place for physical activity in their curricula we at the Earthquakes wanted to demonstrate our support for the notion that physical fitness is a key contributor to 'academic fitness'," said Earthquakes head athletic trainer Bruce Morgan. "With childhood obesity increasing at alarming rates it was our hope to become part of a larger team that had as its primary goal the development of a love for a lifestyle that embraces physical activity."

This program for the Earthquakes will involve a Quakes player making an appearance at an elementary school and introducing the program to the children. For the next five weeks the students will spend 20 minutes a day with their teacher participating in the various physical fitness activities. The exercises were originally created by Earthquakes head athletic trainer Bruce Morgan.

"We know that as students' fitness improves, so does their performance in the classroom," said Charles Weis, Ph.D., the Santa Clara County superintendent of schools. "Anything we can do to enhance student fitness is a benefit to student learning--and ultimately, to the entire community."

Following the completion of five weeks, all participants in the program will receive an autographed photo from the player.

The core values of the program state that the activities are non-competitive, designed to be low-tech and that the activity is its own reward. These values were created to encourage the students to be active without the pressures of competing and to help teach children the joys and benefits of physical activity.

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Major League Soccer Stories from February 22, 2010


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