Opening Doors to Success Through Physical Activity

When you think of physical activity, what goes through your mind? Maybe a “tenured” football coach rolling a few basketballs out onto a court and saying “have at it?” A bevy of kids sitting in small clusters in the bleachers, faces illuminated by their iPhone’s?  Or maybe a completely empty gymnasium and a non-existent PE program that seems to be plaguing so many public schools in our nation. Sadly, all of these are now considered norms in the public educational system. With a larger emphasis being placed on academic achievement in our country, PE has been reduced to a hollow shell of what it used to be.

While systematically removing things “unrelated” to academics and increasing class time may seem intuitive and would seemingly yield better academic results, it actually decreases students’ classroom performance.  Researchers have been studying the effects of physical activity on brain function and learning capacity for years now. The final verdict? You need daily physical activity if you are to be at the top of your game mentally. Not only that, it’s necessary to create healthy, active, fully functioning adults. That’s where Athlos Academies comes in.

The What and The Why of Physical Activity:

The Athlos athletic curriculum is a new and innovative approach to physical education. Our program is designed to increase students’ physical activity levels, as well as their overall athleticism. Don’t be fooled, we are not trying to create superstar athletes, or make great athletes out of decent ones.

What we are trying to do is open up doors for students that they did not know existed; to allow them to experience joy in physical activity, sports, teamwork, and hard work.

The program is designed to be all inclusive for any athletic ability and activity level. Led by content experts, Athlos students start their journey from kindergarten, learning fundamental movement, body control, and awareness with activities requiring them to work together to overcome set challenges.  Progressing in levels, Athlos students continue to build on their movement literacy and immerse themselves in challenging, dynamic activities that not only teach them sport-specific skills but movement efficiency and proper movement patterns throughout their journey at an Athlos Academy. The ultimate goal of the program is to prepare the students for a life full of physical activity.

Ultimately the question arises, why put so much effort into creating a program that will create active, fit, and efficient movers? The answer? Physical activity is the missing piece in our educational system and our lives in general. Childhood obesity is on a very steep and dangerous rise and society’s push for greater simplicity and subsequently, inactivity has no end in sight.  Children (and everybody for that matter) spend more time sitting than they do being active. And what do we have to show for it?  Obesity is at staggering levels across the country. ADHD being diagnosed at an alarming rate, and mental health issues at levels we have never seen before.  All the while more and more research is showing that most of these issues could be diminished by simply increasing our physical activity levels. So why create a program like the Athlos athletic curriculum? To make sure that the next generation can lead happy, healthy, active lives.

“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John F. Kennedy

Guest post by: Rob Bawol