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:
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.”
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.
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!
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.
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
ReplyDeleteMy family goes swimming in the summer to stay healthy
ReplyDeleteDancehottie1621 at aol dot com
Katie R.
We like to walk in the woods and pick wildflowers.
ReplyDelete(Susan Chester)
Our kids always actively play with the grandkids. They walk, bike, visit the park, etc.
ReplyDeleteThey are also Chicago Bears fans, so would really get into this prize.
we swim and go to the park
ReplyDeleteWe 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 :-)
ReplyDeleteWe eat healthy and walk or ride bikes around the neighborhood. We also love the Bears!
ReplyDeleteBear 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!
ReplyDeleteWe play badmitton in the backyard
ReplyDeletertrexel@gmail.com
We love going to the park or swimming in the lake/pool in the summer to keep active
ReplyDeleteHotsnotty2@hotmail.com
We enjoy swimming, spending days on the lake, hiking and my childrens ball games during the summer months.
ReplyDeletejweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
We run as a family.
ReplyDeleteTWBellamy@hotmail.com
We love to go swimming and for family walks. DA BEARS!!!
ReplyDeleteWe love to swim and play outdoor sports, can't wait for my little one to be old enough to enjoy it!
ReplyDeletecaydensmommy@hotmail.com
Love hiking for fitness
ReplyDeleteWe love to play basketball and baseball in our yard.
ReplyDeletemintstatesportswear(at)juno(dot)com
We swim in the lake behind our house to stay healthy.
ReplyDeleterache81(at)hotmail(dot)com
Hiking, biking and swimming in our pool are our summer activities.
ReplyDeleteWe love to go hiking in the summer
ReplyDeleteWe keep ourselves busy in the summer by keeping busy with alot of outdoor activities: hiking, swimming and biking.
ReplyDeleteOur family love to play tennis, which is great for cardio and we love to go camping which is relaxing.
ReplyDeleteWe go swimming and we ride bikes
ReplyDeleteWe spend alot of time during the summer swimming at our condo pool!
ReplyDeletepauline15_01(at)hotmail(dot)com
we swim a lot
ReplyDeletelowville04@yahoo.com
We do a lot of outdoor activities. We like to play volleyball.
ReplyDeleteWe do a lot of walking and outdoor activities on weekends.
ReplyDeletewe go for walks and swim during the summer.
ReplyDeleteWe go swimming at the cabin 3 times a week
ReplyDeleteWe swim, hike, walk play basketball and football
ReplyDeleteschueler.jessica@yahoo.com
playing basketball
ReplyDeleteamy16323(at)gmail(dot)com
Every afternoon we go outside with a huge bouncy ball and kick it to each other, sounds sill but we all enjoy doing it
ReplyDeleteWe play softball when it is cool enough and when we go swimming we play pool basketball.
ReplyDeleteWe go swimming, play basketball and baseball.
ReplyDeleteBshaw75015@aol.com
We do a lot of swimming and other water sports
ReplyDeletemightynaynay(at)cs.com
we play basketball
ReplyDeletegothicdaymares@aol.com
We go swimming and walk to the park!
ReplyDeleteptavernie at yahoo dot com
we go swimming and running around the park during the summer
ReplyDeleteWe go swimming and play frisbee golf
ReplyDeletecookster77@aol.com
We go swimming pretty much all summer long. It helps my husband with his arthritis and also helps keep us in shape.
ReplyDeleteMy kids stay active in the summer by doing YMCA camps.
ReplyDeletewe go to the beach a lot or run around in our yard
ReplyDeletewe play football every day
ReplyDeleteWe play basketball in the driveway.
ReplyDelete(Virginia Rowell)
We go swimming, walking and we ride our bikes during the summer to stay active and healthy.
ReplyDeleteWe ride bikes and go swimming and my kids play baseball, soccer and football wilcarvic
ReplyDelete[at]gmail[dot[com]]
We do lots of outdoor activities during the summer. We camp, fish, bike ride, swim, hike, play sports, anything to stay active and healthy.
ReplyDeleteHi My family fishes and we swim a lot. saltpepper1_2000@yahoo.com
ReplyDeletewe swim,fish,football,baseball always doing something
ReplyDeleteardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com
We play 2 on 2 basketball with the neighbors :)
ReplyDeletektgonyea at gmail.com
we swim almost every day the kids love the water
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, we love swimming, volleyball, everything really.
ReplyDeletedaveshir2005@yahoo.com
fb/ shirley greenawalt zolenski
My daughter started gymnastics today!
ReplyDeletewe swim all the time!
ReplyDeletewe spend a lot of time at the pool and park
ReplyDeleteWE like swimming!
ReplyDeletefreebiegoddess03@aol.com
Lots of outdoor play.
ReplyDelete