May 16, 2012

Football Rivals Come Together to Score Fitness Solutions for Kids


Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Non-Contact Youth Football Camps Promote Fun Fitness This Summer

Did you love Life cereal when you were a kid?  Even if you never touched the cereal you probably remember the commercials where ‘Mikey’, the kid that hates everything, actually likes eating Life cereal (you remember, “Hey Mikey!  He likes it!”).  The idea is that although Life cereal is healthy, it taste great—so kids don’t realize they are eating something that is actually good for them.

Isn’t that how it always is with kids?  As soon as you tell them something is good for them, they shut the idea down.  This is also true when it comes to physical fitness.  We have been hearing a lot lately about childhood obesity and how important it is to get our kids moving, but the moment we start throwing around phrases such as “It will help your body weight” or “You will get better endurance”, kids shut us down.  The trick is showing kids how fun fitness can be and the experts at Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Youth Football Camps have seemingly taken a page from the Life cereal handbook and have created a safe, non-contact football camp experience where kids learn how to enjoy getting healthy and fit. 

“Kids do Bears and Packers Youth Football Camps because they are fun,” says Tom Finks, Executive Director of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Youth Football Camps.    “They don’t know that there is this big, underlying health initiative happening underneath all the fun-filled activities.”   The camps, which each run for 5 days from 9am to 3 pm (that’s 30 hours active learning, instruction and fun!), do more than just introduce kids to sports, they make kids passionate about being healthy.  From learning new skills and pushing beyond comfort zones to making healthier food choices and honing young leadership skills, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Youth Football Camps provide a great opportunity for kids to develop a lifelong love of fitness, and camp experts, provide parents with great tips for nurturing this love of fitness at home:

Set Fun Athletic Challenges, Reward Efforts
Kids love learning new skills and are always excited to succeed.  “At our camps, through fun skill challenges, fun competitions and fun games, kids exert themselves—often beyond their normal comfort level,” says Finks.  Finks suggests introducing your child to a new skill—making great catches, running faster, setting an obstacle record, etc., which will often get your child to push him or herself on their own.  “The fitness discovery is indirect,” adds Finks.  “They experience an increased work capacity or ability.  They see that they can move faster and longer than they ever imagined and for a longer period of time.  That experience raises their understanding of what their bodies can achieve.”

They Are Primed for Learning
Once kids begin exercising regularly, they will notice how different their body feels.  “They are relaxed, they sleep well, they are happy,” adds Finks.  “Their body may be tired, but it’s a ‘good tired’ and parents should openly talk about this.”  This is also a great time to begin talking about how the foods you put in your body affect how your body performs.  Off the field moments during camps include nutritional education games, interactive classroom activities such as “Eat Like a Bear” or “Eat Like a Packer” and lunch hours for kids and coaches.  There is even an interactive online game called “Eat Like a Pro”—which is a great tool for starting the parent/kid nutrition discussion   “Kids are now primed to consider what kinds of foods will help them perform better tomorrow than they did today,” says Finks.  “You want them to begin thinking about what foods provide them energy, repair muscles and help them feel great.”  This is also a great time to begin talking about how the foods you put in your body affect how your body performs.  If they want bring the same energy and success to the field tomorrow, they need to make smart food choices today!

Provide Proper Motivation
Just as all kids are different, all kids are motivated by different things.  Parents need to tap into the one or two things that will motivate their child to try his or her hardest and do their best.  “At camps, kids want to run hard for different reasons.  From making a great catch to winning a leadership award,” says Finks.  “Either way, that child is going to give it everything he has to achieve his own personal goal.”

You can register now for either a Chicago Bears or a Green Bay Packers Youth Football Camp near you and enter to win a great football prize pack here (entry form below)!

Winner will receive a Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps prize package that will include items such as*:
Small leather binder, Bears rally towel, water bottle, Play 60 drawstring bag, D.J. Moore fan face, Bears gloves and football cards.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of being healthy…does your child have a “Healthy Hero”?  Head over to the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers Youth Camps Facebook pages and share a comment and/or photo of your child’s ‘Health Hero’.  They will select one ‘Hero’ to be featured in an upcoming Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Youth Camps blog!

Enter to Win the Chicago Bears Youth Football Camp Prize Pack!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Chicago Bears Youth Football Camps and Green Bay Packers Youth Football Camps are safe, non-contact instruction for kids ages 6-14 and are very suitable for any kid that just wants to learn the game.  They provide a station-based training format that allows campers to be divided by age and experience level so each receives the right level of instruction and support.  Kids will learn to run, throw, catch, defend, form block, form tackle and explode out of their stance with proper technique and improved speed.   The camps, which each run for 5 days from 9am to 3pm (that’s 30 hours active learning, instruction and fun!), do more than just introduce kids to sports, they make kids passionate about being healthy and help develop a lifelong love of fitness.  

56 comments:

  1. This is so cool! I almost wish I had a little boy to send to football camp and stuff...then I remember I have two girls who are going to be hell on wheels when they hit puberty and I thank God I don't have any more LOL

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  2. My family goes swimming in the summer to stay healthy

    Dancehottie1621 at aol dot com
    Katie R.

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  3. We like to walk in the woods and pick wildflowers.
    (Susan Chester)

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  4. Our kids always actively play with the grandkids. They walk, bike, visit the park, etc.
    They are also Chicago Bears fans, so would really get into this prize.

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  5. we swim and go to the park

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  6. We ride bikes in the evening when it cools down and swim during the day, my kids love to do races from one end of the pool to the other. We also love to play HORSE and pick up basketball games. My boys are always running around :-)

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  7. We eat healthy and walk or ride bikes around the neighborhood. We also love the Bears!

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  8. Bear Down Chicago Bears! Lets hope 2012 will be the year for the Chicago Bears with Brandon Marshall teaming up with Jay Cutler for an awesome one-two punch that will rival every other teams! Superbowl Bound!

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  9. We play badmitton in the backyard

    rtrexel@gmail.com

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  10. We love going to the park or swimming in the lake/pool in the summer to keep active

    Hotsnotty2@hotmail.com

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  11. We enjoy swimming, spending days on the lake, hiking and my childrens ball games during the summer months.

    jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com

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  12. We run as a family.
    TWBellamy@hotmail.com

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  13. We love to go swimming and for family walks. DA BEARS!!!

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  14. We love to swim and play outdoor sports, can't wait for my little one to be old enough to enjoy it!

    caydensmommy@hotmail.com

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  15. We love to play basketball and baseball in our yard.
    mintstatesportswear(at)juno(dot)com

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  16. We swim in the lake behind our house to stay healthy.
    rache81(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  17. Hiking, biking and swimming in our pool are our summer activities.

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  18. We love to go hiking in the summer

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  19. Donna Timmerman OCPacific10@aol.comMay 29, 2012 at 12:16 AM

    We keep ourselves busy in the summer by keeping busy with alot of outdoor activities: hiking, swimming and biking.

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  20. Our family love to play tennis, which is great for cardio and we love to go camping which is relaxing.

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  21. We go swimming and we ride bikes

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  22. We spend alot of time during the summer swimming at our condo pool!
    pauline15_01(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  23. we swim a lot

    lowville04@yahoo.com

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  24. We do a lot of outdoor activities. We like to play volleyball.

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  25. We do a lot of walking and outdoor activities on weekends.

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  26. we go for walks and swim during the summer.

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  27. We go swimming at the cabin 3 times a week

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  28. We swim, hike, walk play basketball and football
    schueler.jessica@yahoo.com

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  29. playing basketball
    amy16323(at)gmail(dot)com

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  30. Every afternoon we go outside with a huge bouncy ball and kick it to each other, sounds sill but we all enjoy doing it

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  31. We play softball when it is cool enough and when we go swimming we play pool basketball.

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  32. We go swimming, play basketball and baseball.

    Bshaw75015@aol.com

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  33. We do a lot of swimming and other water sports
    mightynaynay(at)cs.com

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  34. we play basketball
    gothicdaymares@aol.com

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  35. We go swimming and walk to the park!
    ptavernie at yahoo dot com

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  36. we go swimming and running around the park during the summer

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  37. We go swimming and play frisbee golf
    cookster77@aol.com

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  38. We go swimming pretty much all summer long. It helps my husband with his arthritis and also helps keep us in shape.

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  39. My kids stay active in the summer by doing YMCA camps.

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  40. we go to the beach a lot or run around in our yard

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  41. We play basketball in the driveway.
    (Virginia Rowell)

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  42. We go swimming, walking and we ride our bikes during the summer to stay active and healthy.

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  43. We ride bikes and go swimming and my kids play baseball, soccer and football wilcarvic
    [at]gmail[dot[com]]

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  44. We do lots of outdoor activities during the summer. We camp, fish, bike ride, swim, hike, play sports, anything to stay active and healthy.

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  45. Hi My family fishes and we swim a lot. saltpepper1_2000@yahoo.com

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  46. we swim,fish,football,baseball always doing something
    ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com

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  47. We play 2 on 2 basketball with the neighbors :)

    ktgonyea at gmail.com

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  48. we swim almost every day the kids love the water

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  49. Oh gosh, we love swimming, volleyball, everything really.

    daveshir2005@yahoo.com

    fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski

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  50. My daughter started gymnastics today!

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  51. we spend a lot of time at the pool and park

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  52. WE like swimming!

    freebiegoddess03@aol.com

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