Many people correlate a healthy diet with weight loss. Physical activity is just as important as a healthy diet when it comes to weight management. The combination of making the right choices in the kitchen as well as being physical active has proven to increase the chances of losing weight and more importantly keeping it off. Unfortunately many people use calorie counting as justification for their level of physical activity; however, it is important to note that not only does exercise burn calories, it also results in numerous other advantages of a physically active lifestyle. Being physically active may help…
- Regulate your appetite
- Boost your metabolism
- Reduce and maange your stress
- Boost energy level
- Reduce your symptoms of insomnia
- Help decrease the risk for
1) heart disease
2) type 2 diabetes
3) high blood pressure
4) Osteoporosis
- Reduce anxiety and likelihood of depression
- Promote positive mental health
- Build strong bones and muscles
What is physical activity?
Being physically active does not mean you have to be in the gym every day, in fact, most of your physically activities could be integrated during your everyday life. Here are a few examples of how to incorporate physical activity in your daily routines
1) Take the stairs or escalator and not the elevator at work, at home, or at the mall
2) Park your car at the far end of the parking lot
3) During your lunch break, take a walk around your building, around your block, around your house, and etc.
4) If you live near a grocery story/market, walk there instead of driving.
5) Hide your remote control and get up to change the channel on your television.
Other physical/recreational activities to include in your daily life:
1) Find active outings to do with friends and family:
- Ride your bike
- Go bowling
– Garden as often as you can
– Go dancing
– Take walks after dinner or before work
– Go swimming
– Go hiking
2) Join a group to enjoy your favorite activities
- Walking group
– Hiking group
- Cycling club
– Swim team
Aerobic & Strength Training Exercises – How they help?
1) Aerobic exercises will cause you to breathe faster and more deeply → maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood → heart beat increases → blood flow to your muscles increases → blood flow back to your lung increases → blood capillaries will widen to allow more oxygen delivery to your muscles → body will release endorphins (natural pain killers that increase sense of well-being)
2) A stronger heart doesn’t need to beat as fast and work as hard. The stronger your heart gets, the more efficiently it pumps blood and thereby, improves blood flow to all parts of your body.
3) Aerobic exercise boosts your high-density lipoprotein (HDL), otherwise known as “good” cholesterol. It also lowers your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) otherwise known as “bad” cholesterol. Overall, the potential result of aerobic exercise and a stronger heart is less plaque build up in your arteries.
4) Strength training exercises help you maintain muscle mass. Unfortunately muscle mass diminishes with age, but with strength training exercises, the rate at which muscle mass is lost decreases. If you don’t do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose with age, you will increase the percentage of fat in your body.
5) One of the most important benefits of strength training is developing strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Also, strength training helps control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body begins to burn calories more efficiently. The more toned your muscles, the easier it is to control your weight.
Olympic Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the Olympic movement. Annually, on June 23rd, more than 150 countries come together to celebrate the birth of the modern day Olympic Games. Although Olympic Day is meant to remember, rejoice, and commemorate the efforts of reviving the Olympic Games, it is also used to promote every day fitness and well-being. Additionally, according to www.teamusa.org, Olympic Day also helps highlight Olympic ideals such as fair-play, perseverance, respect and sportsmanship.
History of Olympic Day
On June 23, 1984, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue, started what has since become Olympic Day. With a lot of determination, passion and patience, he began his journey to revive the Olympic Games. Thanks to Coubertin and his team’s diligence, the first Games of the modern era took place two years later in 1986, in Athens, Greece. More than a century later, millions of people, thousands of athletes and hundreds of countries are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of something so much bigger than anything any one could have imagined.
What Olympic Day Looks Like Now
The entire month of June is a celebration of Olympic Day. In different cities, states and countries, people are celebrating a movement that began over a century ago that has now evolved into an international phenomenon. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the complimentary resources and services provided by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). The USOC provides:
Access to our Olympic Day Store where you can purchase a variety of Olympic branded materials for your event.
Assistance in contacting a local Olympian, Paralympian or hopeful to speak at your event
Assistance connecting with community-based organizations when applicable (i.e. Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA)
USOC account managers are available to assist you in planning your event. Please call: +1.719.866.4535 or e-mail: OlympicDay@usoc.org for assistance
Olympic Day toolkit including:
Logistical Resources including recommended Olympic Day agenda, FAQs, Certificate of Participation, etc.
Olympic Day event materials including suggested activities that can be easily implemented, such as recipes, coloring, trivia, and more.
Olympic Day logos
Publicity Resources including press release template, mayoral proclamation, flyer template, etc.
Athlete speaking points for one of the following topics: Fair Play, Respect, Perseverance, Sportsmanship
Videos
How to Celebrate Olympic Day
Many surrounding cities and community organizations hold events celebrating Olympic Day. In the event that you and/or your family would like to participate in any of them this year, here are a few of the closer options to LA.
June 21, 2013; Monrovia – Santa Anita Family YMCA; Time: 1:30-2:30PM
June 21, 2013; Pasadena – US Olympians; Time: 6:00-0:00PM
June 21, 2013; Moorpark – Boys & Girls Club Moorpark; Time: 1:30-2:30PM
June 22, 2013; Hawaiian Gardens – City of Hawaiian Gardens; Time: TBD
June 22, 2013; Whittier – Whittier Narrows BMX; Time: 5:30PM
June 23, 2013; Simi Valley – Sycamore BMX Raceway; Time: 10:00 AM
June 24, 2013; Los Angeles – BeachVolleyballCamps.com; Time: 10:00AM
June 24, 2013; Los Angeles – Boys & Girls Clubs of East Los Angeles; Time: 2:00-4:00PM
June 26, 2013; Newbury Park – Miller Family YMCA; Time: 10:30 AM
For more information regarding Olympic Day please visit:
As the school year is coming to an end we would like to reflect on all of our amazing accomplishments as a program this year and more importantly individually in schools all throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District. Throughout this school year we have reached over 50 schools within LAUSD while working with over 40 Olympians & Paralympians.
RSG! Fun Facts
Oldest Olympian in our Program – Michael O’Hara, born September 15, 1932 – 80 years old and going strong!! (Volleyball, 1964)
Youngest Olympian in our Program – Meghan Avrett , born July 12, 1989 – 23 years old! (Synchronized Swimming, 2008)
Most Decorated Olympian in our Program – John Naber, 4 Golds & 1 Silver (Swimming, 1976)
New Schools in RSG! this year – Harmony Elementary; Kingsley Elementary; Shirley Ave. Elementary, Toluca Lake Elementary; Vista Academy (Inner City Education Foundation); Olive Vista Middle School; Rancho Dominguez Middle School; Rancho Dominguez High School; Santee Educational Complex.
New Olympians in RSG! this year – Olympian Amanda Freed (Softbal, 2004); Olympian Meghan Avrett (Synchronized Swimming, 2008); Paralympian Katy Sullivan (Track & Field, 2012); Olympian Althea Moses (Track & Field, 1996); Olympian Giddeon Massie (Cycling, 2004 & 2008); Olympian Jenny Johnson Jordan (Beach Volleyball, 2000); Olympian Barbara Ferrell Edmonson (Track & Field, 1968).
Memorable Moments of 2012-2013
- Santee Educational Complex visits The Velodrome at the Stub Hub Center with Cycling Olympians Adam Duvendeck & Giddeon Massie
- Figueroa St. Elementary students visit Mt. SAC to participate in the Track and Field Clinic with the coaches and athletes of Mt. SAC w/ Olympian Myra Mayberry
- Olympian Peter Vidmaramazes the students of Elizabeth Learning Center with a performance on his floor mounted parallel bars.
- Paralympian Katy Sullivanvisits the students of Kingsley Elementary with her husband (a paraplegic) and their service dog. The look on the kids faces said it all. Talk about motivation!
Welcome New Olympians – 2013-2014 School Year
- Olympian Tamara Christopherson, Canoe-Kayak, 2000; Southern California Olympian’s & Paralympian’s President.
- Olympian Julie Zetlin, Rhythmic Gymnastics, 2012; the only Rhythmic Gymnast to represent the US in 8 years.
We need YOUR help! As many of you know Ready, Set, Gold! Program is a non-profit organization that relies solely on funding to be able to function. Please help us and vote for our submission in the My LA2050 challenge. Spearheaded by the Goldhirsh Foundation, the winner of this challenge will receive $100,000! This could be HUGE for the students of all Los Angeles Unified Schools.
We need your support! Here’s how you can help in less than 1 minute:
1. Starting April 3,2013, through the April 17, 2013 click this link and vote for ABC.
2. If you have time, please post a short comment on why you love Ready, Set, Gold! and why you think it’s important for our program to continue and more importantly, grow within LAUSD.
3. Share the link with your family, friends, & colleagues.
Remember, everyone can only vote once, so please be sure to let your friends know and spread the word!
Here’s the link again (if it doesn’t open in Internet Explorer, try Google Chrome, Safari, or from a phone)
Peter Vidmar walked into the gymnasium at Elizabeth Learning Center in Cudahy, just southeast of Los Angeles, and it was obvious it would take more than displaying three Olympic medals to impress a couple of hundred adolescents.
Vidmar, one of the golden boys on the men’s gymnastics team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, had brought with him a set of parallel bars, lower to the ground than normal. He hopped onto the bars, gripped them with his arms, and pointed his feet toward the roof into a V position. And held it.
That got the kids’ attention. The more he did, and spoke, the more riveted they became. He narrated a video of his stunning performance to win a gold medal on the pommel horse at the ’84 Games, his mouth open as wide as a wind tunnel when the score of 10.0 went up.
“It’s a fun way to get the kids to laugh at me because they don’t know who I am,” he said. “I’m just some old guy who walked in.”
Vidmar, 51, is among dozens of Olympians who regularly visit Los Angeles schools to inspire kids, and maybe cajole them, to perform well on the California Physical Fitness test. There are 42 Olympians who signed up this year for the program, called Ready, Set, Gold! With 800 or so former Olympians living in Southern California, the program is the only one of its kind in the country.
Vidmar is a native Angeleno who recently moved to San Clemente after living in Coto de Caza for years, and he is the group’s chairman. Other Orange County-based athletes include softball player Amanda Freed, the former Cypress star who helped Team USA win gold at the 2004 Athens Games; and Rami Zur, who advanced to the semifinals in canoeing at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Vidmar is hardly an “old guy.” He’s still impossibly lean and he competes in triathlons. But he’s right: None of the kids at the 50 schools served by RSG this year (including 29 elementary schools) was alive when he and his teammates – including Mitch Gaylord, Tim Daggett and Bart Conner – beat the heavily favored Chinese team for the team gold.
What he can do, though, besides recount that thrilling summer is tell them what he learned on his long journey to 1984: No one gets good at something overnight; it takes hard work, a little bit at a time.
“You’ve got to practice mind over mattress,” he said. “Maybe every morning when you get up you’re gonna do some push-ups or some sit-ups, or before you go to bed. But when you get off the mattress or before you hit the mattress, you have to do something. And these kids, when before they could only do one push-up, all of a sudden, they can do three push-ups. And if they keep working on it, all of a sudden they can do seven, 10. And they realize, gee, it didn’t take that much effort. And so then you say, ‘How does that apply to the rest of your life?’ A little bit of effort here and there.”
The main mission of Ready, Set, Gold! is to get kids in shape. In California, this is quantified by the state-mandated Fitness Test, also known as the Fitnessgram. It involves six categories of fitness, and is given to fifth- seventh- and ninth-graders every year at this time (the deadline for the ninth-graders is April 5).
Results won’t be known until the fall. If the past is any guide, far too many children will fall short of passing the six basic skills, which measure aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk-extension strength, upper-body strength and flexibility. Last year, Orange County students did relatively well, compared with the state average: Among fifth-graders, 32.8 percent met all six benchmarks, and 40.5 percent of seventh-graders and 44 percent of ninth-graders. In California, the averages were 25.2, 32.1 and 36.8, respectively.
But in Cudahy and other L.A.-area communities, there are socioeconomic challenges that go beyond how many push-ups someone can do. Cudahy, with less than 24,000 residents, is the second-smallest city in Los Angeles County, but it’s incredibly dense – about 19,000 people per square mile (compared with 6,600 for Anaheim).
The kids in the K-12 Elizabeth Learning Center already get attention from one Olympian – their Olympian. She’s Cathy Marino, who competed for the U.S. kayak team in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. She’s in her fifth year with Ready, Set, Gold!, and in her fourth with the school. She’s from Huntington Beach, and she rode her motorcycle to school on the day Vidmar came for his special assembly.
“You bring not just a message of physical education but a message of possibilities,” she said.
The Elizabeth kids rolled out the red carpet for Vidmar, putting up a handmade sign with his name on it. Three girls practiced the national anthem, which they sang when the bleachers were full of classmates. Vidmar enlisted one shy volunteer, a seventh-grader named Darvin Castro, 13, to do some exercises with him. After proving his superb fitness and flexibility, Vidmar mercifully let Darvin sit back down and then mostly talked about fulfilling his Olympic dream.
Vidmar spoke of his father, John, who learned gymnastics on the rings at Muscle Beach in Santa Monica but got polio at age 29. It left him with a permanently withered left leg, but he didn’t sulk about it, not even one day when he came home bloodied after stumbling into a pothole.
“My father never complained about that,” Vidmar said. If he had a difficult gymnastics workout, “I didn’t feel I could complain about it, because I had to go home to that man every day,” he told the kids.
“I’ve always hesitated to share that over the years,” he said later, “but I’m more likely to share it now, because it did have a big impact on me. Kids have hardships they’re struggling with. My father was one who showed me what was possible. My guess is that a handful of these students are gonna say, ‘Hey, that’s not a lot different than what I’m experiencing at home. I’ve got people around me who are great examples.’”
Adults in the gym said they’ve never heard a group of kids so quiet, so attentive for one of their presentations.
“If you don’t connect with them, you’re just losing them,” said Christine Berni-Ramos, the physical education teacher at Elizabeth.
RSG says schools that get visits from the Olympians have increased the number of students who pass the Fitnessgram by 40 percent. Since Marino, the former kayaker, has been working with Elizabeth, the school has gone from 11.4 percent of fifth-graders passing the test in 2010 to 17 percent in 2011 to 24.4 percent in 2012.
Marino is a vice president on the committee trying to bring the Summer Games to Los Angeles for the third time, in 2024. Vidmar, who is on that committee, as well as the chairman of the board of USA Gymnastics, said Ready, Set, Gold! was born out of L.A.’s failed bid to land the 2016 Olympics.
“Funding is the big issue,” Vidmar said. “We’d love to have the opportunity as an organization to go beyond the borders of L.A. Unified School District. … The largest fraternity of Olympians is here. In a way, we don’t have to recruit.”
NORTH HOLLYWOOD — Paralympian John Siciliano’s face lit up as he gave Fitnessgram certificates to two fifth grade classes at Julie Korenstein Elementary School on Friday.
About 60 students, along with staff and parents, celebrated the last day of Ready, Set, Gold!, a program where Olympians and Paralympians coach students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The nonprofit helps students fight childhood obesity and pass a statewide physical fitness test.
“When I got in my accident and found out about my leg, it devastated me,” said Siciliano, who lost his right leg in a car accident when he was 22. “When I got sports and fitness back in my life, I got confidence to do what I wanted to do in life.”
The gold program is a legacy of Los Angeles’ 2016 Olympic bid. It works with fifth, seventh and ninth grade students who need to take California’s six-part physical test, Fitnessgram, which includes a one-mile run, curl-ups and push-ups.
In the 2011-2012 academic year, some 32 percent of fifth grade students in Los Angeles County were deemed unfit based on the California Department of Education’s Healthy Fitness Zone. This data correlates with the claim that childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet the situation might be worse without the help of 42 Olympian and Paralympian coaches.
A 2009 study using Fitnessgram numbers found a 41 percent increase in Healthy Fitness Zone scores in the 29 schools that had participated in RSG! in the previous three years, according to the RSG! website.
Maria Ricabal, program coordinator at Julie Korenstein Elementary School, found out about the program during winter break, she said.
“Whenever someone says motivation, that’s a magnet,” Ricabal said. “The kids are looking for someone to say you have power to do something, and a lot of our kids don’t have that at home.”
Since January, Siciliano has coached three fifth grade classes. In the end, only about 5 percent of the students failed one of the five fitness tests, mostly because of a disability or illness, said Ricabal. Because the students took the annual statewide exam recently, Ricabal doesn’t have official numbers yet.
This is the first time Julie Korenstein Elementary School has been a participant in the nonprofit program, but it is the second year Siciliano, a 42-year-old Sherman Oaks resident, has coached Los Angeles County kids.
Though the immediate goal is to combat childhood obesity and pass Fitnessgram, Peter Vidmar, the organization’s chair and a 1984 gymnastics gold medalist said he also hopes the program inspires children to set goals in their lives. Some students said the lessons went beyond eating well and exercising.
“John Siciliano, you have changed my life,” fifth grader Edith Lozano said. “You have shown me a lot of stuff I didn’t know about exercise. I also learned that people could succeed through life even though you had gone through troubles.”
While Olympians fight for the gold medal at prestigious international events, California kids are working to pass their own mandated fitness tests at schools throughout the state. These two groups come together in a program called Ready, Set, Gold!
The mentoring system brings together Olympians and Paralympians with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students to encourage kids to be healthy and physically active. It also helps prepare them for the California Fitnessgram, a standardized test that evaluates the physical fitness of 5th, 7th and 9th graders.
David Brinton is an Olympic cyclist who has been participating in the Ready, Set, Gold! program for five years. Earlier this month, he was at Hooper Avenue Elementary in South L.A. to cheer on students as they took their Fitnessgram test.
Brinton competed in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul and and still competes in professional events. When he’s on the schoolyard, he’s focused on encouraging kids to get out of their comfort zones.
“My message specifically out here is not about getting as many kids to pass this test as possible, but set personal bests and personal records,” said Brinton.
In the Fitnessgram, kids are required to do push-ups, sit-ups, a mile run and other physical tests. In addition to preparing them for the test, Brinton said he uses his time with the students to encourage them to be physically active because every pro athlete has to start somewhere.
Ready, Set, Gold! began in 2006 as part of L.A.’s bid for the 2016 Olympics. The city didn’t win the Olympics, but the program stuck and now has 42 Olympians working with students throughout Southern California.
Ready, Set, Gold! is a public-private partnership between the LAUSD and the Southern California Committee of Olympic Games (SCCOG) with financial contributions from Samsung Electronics – North America. According to the organization’s website, there are more than 800 Olympians and Paralympians in Southern California—which means there are many opportunities to expand the program.
“Southern California is a hot-bed for Olympians,” said the organization’s publicist Mark Meyers.
He said that although the program could exist elsewhere, it wouldn’t work to the extent it does in SoCal.
And California kids need the help. According to 2011-2012 statistics from the California Department of Education, only 19 percent of LAUSD fifth graders passed all six portions of the Fitnessgram test.
While a majority were proficient at upper body and abdominal strength tests, it was the cardio that often posed the most problems for kids.
Ready, Set, Gold! was created in part to help tackle childhood obesity and diabetes while encouraging exercise and healthy choices. Although it’s too early to know whether a few training sessions with an Olympian will alter the kids’ physical fitness in the long run, Ready, Set, Gold! officials say their mentoring system is showing immediate results.
In 2009, a study found a 41 percent increase in the number of students scoring in the “healthy fitness zone” of the Fitnessgram, among the 29 LAUSD schools that have participated in the program for the previous three years.
Brinton said many students he’s worked with have been especially enthusiastic in recent months after watching the Olympics last year and then getting to meet an Olympian in real life. This momentum may only continue as L.A. puts in its bid for the 2024 Olympics.
The last time Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympic Games was almost three decades ago, in 1984! Before then, the last time they held the Summer Games in L.A. was in 1932. Needless to say all of Los Angeles is extremely eager and anxious for the possibility of the games to return to the City of Angels.
Although other cities in the nation have shown interest in hosting the 2024 Games, Los Angeles hopes to be the domestic winner of the group. The decision that the United States Olympic Committee needs to make is no easy task. Hosting the Olympic Games requires not only billions of dollars, but numerous years of preparation and countless hours of discussion. Nevertheless, the road ahead could be long and daunting, but we are hopeful!
Ready, Set, Gold!, a program of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) is a legacy of Los Angeles’ 2016 Olympic bid and it is the only program of its kind in the country. It was created by the SCCOG in 2006 to provide a lasting program for the community and to inspire a whole new generation of young people. With the help of 42 Olympians and Paralympians, Ready, Set, Gold! now reaches over 50 schools throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District helping tackle the epidemic problems of childhood obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, by promoting student fitness, nutrition and healthy living habits.
The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games was formed in 1939 at the request of the United States Olympic Committee reflecting the success of the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. SCCOG has continued to provide its support to the Olympic Movement and bring the spirit and competition of the Olympics to Southern California. This was exemplified in their successful 1984 bid for the Olympics and the history-making success of those games. They left legacies including the LA84 Foundation, a charitable organization which continues to spend millions of dollars annually to fund youth sports programs in Southern California. The time has come to repeat history and to create new legacies that will help our city evolve and grow in the coming years.
Los Angeles is ready; Los Angeles is eager; Los Angeles is excited; Los Angeles accepts the challenge and hopes to host the 2024 Summer Olympic & Paralympic Games! GO USA!!!!!!
Ready, Set, Gold!, a program of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, tackles the epidemic problems of childhood obesity and chronic diseases by pairing Southern California Olympians and Paralympians with Los Angeles area public schools to help promote student fitness, nutrition and healthy living habits.
UCLA and USA men’s gymnastics great Peter Vidmar is the Chairman of RSG! and seven other Bruin Olympians participate in the program. “The Olympians take great interest in reaching out to inspire the students at their schools to better understand the benefits of setting goals and working diligently to achieve them,” Vidmar said. “They address not just physical fitness and nutrition, but also how to succeed in life”.
Many of our Olympians and Paralympians have overcome significant hardships to reach their goals, and, through the telling of their life experiences, they can inspire and connect with many of these students in a unique way. “This is a great experience for all involved. In the end, I think the Olympians benefit as much as the students,” he said.
Each Olympian is matched to a specific school and meets with the PE classes at least five times during the school year to inspire, educate and motivate the students toward a long and healthy life through fun physical activity and good nutrition. During the school visits, Olympians exercise with the students and share their stories of how they became Olympians and the importance good fitness and nutrition played in their success.
Past UCLA Olympians who participate in RSG! include: Bruin women’s track & field head coach Jeanette Bolden; Annett Davis (beach volleyball); Amanda Freed (softball); UCLA middle distance track & field assistant coach Johnny Gray; Jenny Johnson Jordan (beach volleyball); Althea Moses (track & field), and Michael O’Hara (volleyball).
Ready, Set, Gold!, the only program of its kind in the country, is primarily funded by worldwide Olympic sponsor Samsung Electronics North America and currently operates in 50 schools, positively affecting approximately 25,000 students each year. There are 41 Olympians participating in the program this year, including 18 medalists.
OLYMPIAN REYNALDO BROWN & RSG! LIAISON STEPHEN BOCHICCHIO!
View Park Middle School is one of two ICEF schools that RSG! is currently in throughout LAUSD. We have been lucky enough to have two great liaisons working with us from each of these schools. Stephen Bochicchio is our RSG! liaison at View Park MS and he works with RSG! Olympian, Reynaldo Brown. These two have been a SPECTACULAR team since the very beginning. We have been at View Park for two years now and the kids there absolutely love it. Rey has such wonderful relationships with the students and that’s undoubtedly due to Mr. Bochicchio’s assertiveness and preparation.
Earlier this month, Program Director, Bernadine Bednarz attended an RSG! session with Rey and was left in awe at how responsive and excited the students there were. These were her thoughts…
“Middle school students aren’t always easy to reach; but Thursday, February 7th at View Park! WOW! Brown and Bochicchio know how to do it: they prepared, they respected and they carried it out. And that was the key; their message never faltered: focus, don’t be afraid, and never give up. You could see that with Olympian Brown who is healthy and off dialysis after exercising and taking care of his body.
The program was well structured: there were stations with jump ropes, pushups, pull ups, standing/sitting against the wall, running…and the students never stopped or appeared bored or tired…ok, one seemed tired! Messrs. Brown and Bochicchio spurred them: Rey walked around, the students listened and Mr. Bochicchio’s son was there too interacting with the students. Good things run in families and this family has great values! Bochicchio and Brown are one impressive team.
ICEF students never give up because they have a program like RSG! and the administrators understand that you bring a range of people and programs to the school to bring out the best in their kids. GO USA! AND GO ICEF!”
THANK YOU REYNALDO AND STEPHEN! WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION!
